Customer Reviews

Prior to Consciousness

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Prior to Consciousness is set up as a number of interviews between Nisargadatta Maharaj and spiritual seekers from all over the world. These talks were given from the August of 1980 till just before Maharaj's death in September 1981. Through clear and simple words Maharaj tears away the false and leaves the reader with the pure state of one's own beingness. Nisargadatta's main advice is for one to stablize in the state of the "I am," which is really one's only reference. Nisargadatta is similar in his approach as Ramana Maharshi, getting one to question the questioner. Freedom is yours to be had, you are free already; just get rid of all your notions of freedom. This is the most powerful book I have ever read and still continue to enjoy reading sections of it whenever I pick it up. If one is interested in Advaita this is a must.

After reading "I am That" a little more was needed. Jean Dunn's book is filled with questions I myself would have asked the Maharaj. The answers given to her questions were a bit more spelled out and easier for this simple mind to grasp. Very profound and moving.

Prior to Consciousness is set up as a number of interviews between Nisargadatta Maharaj and spiritual seekers from all over the world. These talks were given from the August of 1980 till just before Maharaj's death in September 1981. Through clear and simple words Maharaj tears away the false and leaves the reader with the pure state of one's own beingness. Nisargadatta's main advice is for one to stablize in the state of the "I am," which is really one's only reference. Nisargadatta is similar in his approach as Ramana Maharshi, getting one to question the questioner. Freedom is yours to be had, you are free already; just get rid of all your notions of freedom. This is the most powerful book I have ever read and still continue to enjoy reading sections of it whenever I pick it up. If one is interested in Advaita this is a must.

Want to stop your mind? Read this book. Read the other reviews too. They really say all I want to say.

This is a challenging book. I can't really give an opinion as to what I think about it or if I like it or not. I have read it off and on many times. It always causes some reaction. I've read a few other books compiled by Nisargadatta, all challenging. This one has a different quality than the other ones. I'm tempted to say deeper but don't really think that I'm qualified to say that.

After reading I Am That, I am Unborn, and Nectar of Immortality, I picked this book up and just couldn't put it down.

I'm not sure why, either. He's not teaching anything new, you know? But the questions in this book were quite good, the editing is great (better than I Am That, much better than I Am Unborn). It's hard to explain, but after reading this book I feel different, and I've had the motovation to meditate on "I Am" again. I immediately picked up Consciousness and the Absolute, and I think I benefited more from reading this one. The questions in the Consciousness and the Absolute weren't quite as good as this one.

Chronologically the order the books go (that are still in print) are: I Am That, The Ultimate Medicine, Seeds of Consciousness, I Am Unborn (free e-book, poorly edited though), Prior to Consciousness, Consciousness and the Absolute. There are a few others that are out of print and cost way too much, they include: Gleanings from Nisargadatta, The Experience of Nothingness, The Nectar at the Lord's Feet. These three are way over priced and I'd recommend against them. The only out of print book reasonably priced is Nectar of Immortality. That's a really good book and worth ten dollars more, IMHO

A record of Nisargadatta Maharaj' teachings during the final period of his excruciatingly painful desease. His response to his devoties' questions appears to be more profound and penetrating. If you have read previous collectios of his answers to devoties you really want to read these. Prior to Consciousness

Someone said "It is dangerous to follow a piece of advice, but it is more dangerous to give one". Reviews are like that. People want to hear about other people's opinions - and perhaps vicariously experience a small portion of the reading process - and yet they react to everything that is antithetical to their own viewpoints. I expect most people who ended up here, reading reviews about this book, to have read it - and probably loved it - already. And so, they perhaps seek confirmation or even merely pleasure in reading opinions similar to their own. If that is the case, you can stop reading this review right here. Because I am about to shout, The Emperor is naked...

I am certainly not an expert in Eastern mysticism - an oxymoron, rather; I doubt anyone would call themselves one - but I do have an education in Philosophy in general and a personal interest in consciousness and epistemology. I consider myself open-minded, ready to challenge any "established" ideas.

I borrowed this book from the University library - having heard nothing of Maharaj. Reading through the first pages, I realized I was being resistant to what was offered - a rather puzzling, almost disappointing realization, as I have always enjoyed reading about similar topics (both in the sense of consciousness in general and Eastern mysticism in particular). The format, with Q&A, is easy to follow, and that is one of the very few positive things about this book, being also in accordance with what is being discusses, on a metatextual way - no beginning, no progress, no conclusion. But the philosophical foundations are extremely shaky, to say the least, and the content all but non-existent. Only a complete denial of everything, akin to nihilism, offered with a rather annoying taste of patronizing guru-ism. Maharaj (ridiculously referred to as "the Maharaj", rather than "You") talks in circles, offers no epistemological base, and once the questions become a little too hot to handle, resorts to the usual "Don't ask too many questions, just Be" mantra (no pun intended). The turning point for me personally, was his comment "I have lost all love for this manifested world". My instinctive thought was "Wow, that's so f... sad". His refuge of The Absolute is not an all-inclusive transcendental spaceless/timeless "Everything". Rather, it is Nothing. Nothing exists, there is no experience, and even consciousness (contradictingly elevated elsewhere) is reduced to a contingent byproduct.

Someone will say "You have lost the point". Well, my reply - or rather, Maharaj's - is this: There is no point to be lost; there is no meaning to be gotten; there is no knowledge to be acquired. There is simply, Nothing. Maharaj's Megaverse is teleologically void - actually, everything is void, because nothing exists. Only the Absolute, which does not have consciousness or experience of itself, and thus, it does not exist.

If you look for old-fashioned 70s-80s guru-like, Beetles-style mysticism, you're in the right place. If you look for truly philosophical and argumentatively solid books on consciousness, do yourself a favor and bypass.