The Ultimate Medicine: Dialogues with a Realized Master [Paperback]

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (Author), Robert Powell (Editor), Peter Madill M.D. (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2006

The Ultimate Medicine is not for those who like their spirituality watered down, but for serious students searching for awareness. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981) lived and taught in a small apartment in the slums of Bombay. A realized master of the Tantric Nath lineage, he supported himself and his family by selling cheap goods in a small booth on the streets outside his tenement for many years. His life exemplified the concept of absolute nonduality of being. In this volume, Maharaj shares the highest truth of nonduality in his own unique way. His teaching style is abrupt, provocative, and immensely profound, cutting to the core and wasting little effort on inessentials. His terse but potent sayings are known for their ability to trigger shifts in consciousness, just by hearing or reading them."The point is that man freed from his fetters is morality personified. Such a man therefore does not need any moralistic injunctions in order to live righteously. Free a man from his bondage and thereafter everything else will take care of itself. On the other hand, man in his unredeemed state cannot possibly live morally, no matter what moral teaching he is given. It is an intrinsic impossibility, for his very foundation is immorality. That is, he lives a lie, a basic contradiction: functioning in all his relationships as the separate entity he believes himself to be, whereas in reality no such separation exists. His every action therefore does violence to other 'selves' and other 'creatures,' which are only manifestations of the unitary consciousness. So Society had to invent some restraints in order to protect itself from its own worst excesses and thereby maintain some kind of status quo. The resulting arbitrary rules, which vary with place and time and therefore are purely relative, it calls 'morality,' and by upholding this man-invented 'idea' as the highest good–oftentimes sanctioned by religious 'revelation' and scriptures–society has provided man with one more excuse to disregard the quest for liberation or relegate it to a fairly low priority in his scheme of things."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In the Ultimate Medicine, Nisargadatta, like the great sages of old India, elucidated the nature of Ultimate Reality clearly and simply. He makes the highest Self-realization a matter of common understanding so that any sincere seeker can grasp the essence of it." -- David Frawley, OMD, author of Beyond the Mind,Tantric Yoga,and Ayurvedic Healing

"Nisargadatta Maharaj is my greatest teacher. His words guide my writing, speaking and all of my relationships." -- Dr. Wayne Dyer, author of Your Sacred Self and Your Erroneous Zones --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Robert Powell was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1918. After obtaining his doctorate in chemistry from London University, he pursued a career first as an industrial chemist and later as a science writer and editor in Britain and the United States. Robert Powell's personal exploration of spirituality began in the 1960s, and his quest for self-discovery led him to Zen and a number of spiritual masters including J. Krishnamurti and Ramana Maharshi. His own spiritual awakening coincided with his discovery of the teachings of Nisargadatta Maharaj. He is the editor of a Nisargadatta trilogy, and the author of a number of books on what he describes as "human consciousness transformation." Powell now lives a busy life in La Jolla, California, with his loving wife, Gina.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books; 1 edition (September 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556436335
• ISBN-13: 978-1556436338
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #509,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very deep and direct--a priceless book., April 23, 2003

By 

Zen (sherman oaks, ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Medicine: Dialogues with a Realized Master: A Message and Example That Can Awaken Us to Our Original Nature (Paperback)

For those that have read I am That-Nisargadatta Maharaj's main work, this book is an amazing compliment to his work. This book differs from I am That in one main way, Nisargadatta Maharaj is in his last years and is extremely direct and no nonsense. He respnonds to questions with cutting honesty. No handholding or sugarcoating. For instance he bluntly points out the many pitfalls of many popular spiritual concepts that separate you from the Self. In I am That, he was a bit softer in his responses, here because his body is old and weary-not to mention he's been teaching for decades at this point, he has little tolerance for getting into "kindergarten spirituality"as he terms it.

Here, he goes for the very core of spiritual teachings. He doesn't say anything new from I am That, just poses things more directly and from a few new angles. I loved this book. It is well worth purchasing, especially if you are one who prefers very direct teachings.

The core of the teaching is--You are not the body/mind. Stay with the I-am-ness and discard all concepts. Understand what consciousness/beingness is until you come to the realization of your true nature as the Unborn Reality.

Some Quotes " Consider this beingness or consciousness as the supreme god"...."The beingness itself is the Guru"...."There is no birth, death it as all a concept, an illusion....You are that which observes the coming and going of consciousness....Stay put in beingness and all desire to be will melt away.

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Consciousness, November 15, 2005

By 

Nathan (U.S.) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Ultimate Medicine: Dialogues with a Realized Master: A Message and Example That Can Awaken Us to Our Original Nature (Paperback)

This book is a collection of some of the later question and answer sessions between Sri Nisargadatta and visitors from around the world. After finishing `I Am That' I read this book. There is a noticeable difference between the words of Nisargadatta in the two books. `I Am That' is unquestionably the better of the books, and the pinnacle of Maharaj's teachings.

During His earlier days, Maharaj was eager to teach, and would continually answer beginners questions. In this book, which collects talks during which He was ill and close to death (the body's death), he stated that he no longer desired to teach, and was a little intolerant of beginners unfamiliar with the basics of his teachings. So this book deals with some of Nisargadatta's more advanced teachings.

Maharaj in this book talks about the necessity of understanding your own incarnation, and what you were before the body was born. He talks about the interdependence of the vital breath and consciousness, stating that both consciousness and the sense of `I-Am-Ness' are dependent on the body. This book gave me a better understanding of the principle method taught by Sri Nisargadatta, which is holding onto the sense of `I Am.' He taught that this method will lead to the realization that you are not the body, but consciousness. However, He also said that this isn't the Ultimate, and that even the association with consciousness has to be given up eventually. If I understand correctly, realizing that you are consciousness is Brahman, and when this is realized you become the totality of manifestation. But the Ultimate, Parabrahman, is the witness of the Brahman and the full and final enlightenment. All of this is elucidated in `The Ultimate Medicine.'

So, while not the monumental work that `I Am That' is, this book is still very worth reading, especially if you want to go deeper, and read some of the more advanced teachings by this great Master, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for the serious seeker, September 18, 2002

By 

Arvind (India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Medicine: Dialogues with a Realized Master: A Message and Example That Can Awaken Us to Our Original Nature (Paperback)

A must have for any earnest seeker. Rarely do we have opportunities to be guided by a genuine teacher of Hindu philosophy in such a deft manner. If you are looking for instructions on meditation for the highest purpose you will find it here. A no-nonsense practical book that hits the nail on the head.