Exploring Another Side of Nisargadatta

    Like many individuals who have delved into contemporary non-dual spirituality, I was once deeply influenced by Nisargadatta Maharajs' unconventional contemporary Advaita Vedanta-derived teachings on liberation via radical self-effacement. Alongside Ramana Maharshi, he is one of the primary influencers of these self-effacement teachings in our present-day Western world, particularly the extremely powerful, most pitfall-laden "direct path" approaches to "enlightenment" that cut out all preparatory stages/safeguards that existed traditionally before attempting to obliterate your sense of self. This is done in favor of a sort of instant enlightenment approach that is understandably attractive to people in the West. Nisargadattas' influence extends beyond strictly Advaita-derived teachings, encompassing the broad range of modern Western amalgamations of Eastern non-dual teachings, which typically mix and match cherry-picked elements of traditions like Advaita Vedanta, Tibetan and Zen Buddhism, and others. 

    Most who reference him as an inspiration (everyone from Neo-Advaita's Rupert Spira to Buddhist Psychotherapist and teacher Tara Brach) portray him as not only enlightened (a Jnani in Advaita terms) but an exemplar of profound compassion, kindness and love, which definitely seems to be reflected in his most commonly repeated quote:

"As wisdom I know I am Nothing. As Love I know I am Everything. Between the two my life flows." 

As well as in several other quotes that seem to come from the lips of a profoundly benevolent sage:

"In my world love is the only law. I do not ask for love, I give it. Such is my nature." 

“The innermost light, shining peacefully and timelessly in the heart, is the real Guru. All others merely show the way.” 

That said, I was pretty shocked to stumble upon this portrayal which paints a starkly different, unsettling picture of him:

"He was often the very opposite of the stereotypical gentle patient guru. He would criticize, scowl and shout in an effort to get his questioners not to understand him, but to understand themselves." 

-Advaita Fellowship (Source) 

    Fascinated and alarmed, I decided to dig deeper into the character of the man behind the quotes. I suspected it was true, but needed to do my due diligence before forming a conclusion about how accurate this portrayal was. Sure enough, in searching for everything I could find about his actual character and behavior, I uncovered a dark side of Nisargadatta that I believe most Western admirers and quoters are completely unaware of.  It feels important to share these excerpts from memoirs of two of his most enamored devotees, who had many personal interactions with him while receiving his teachings at his home in India.  If not just in service of the truth, I'm hoping for this revelation to inspire constructive contemplation and dialogue about the implications. 

    Below are the excerpts depicting someone who I believe few would argue sounds like a volatile,  uncompromising guru with a recurring pattern of behavior that certainly, at times, aligns with characteristics commonly associated with notoriously "uncompromising," hostile, and even abusive "crazy wisdom" teachers. These are the gurus, who engage in bullying and humiliating their disciples, and cultivate a reputation as unconventional "badasses" within certain circles. Some individuals admire and even romanticize these qualities, seeing them as displays of the guru's fearlessness and willingness to challenge both societal norms, and the status quo of "what a spiritual teacher/person" is supposed to be like. This perceived badassery has earned the label of "crazy wisdom," in which the abusive behavior is believed to be a radical and necessary means of awakening the disciples, but many believe it crucial to critically examine the implications of excusing and/or glorifying such behavior.

 

Jean Dunns' Memoirs (Source):

"Nisargadatta seems to be better, so much so that he begins by attacking me:

Why are you writing this book?

I try to explain.

Do you think — he yells — that you will succeed where others have failed?

I say the outcome is not in my hands.

He makes dramatic, hostile gestures with his arms. He wants me to ask questions.

I repeat what I said yesterday…one can only ask for Grace.

There is more yelling. His disciples laugh. I keep silence but am extremely surprised, uncomfortable.

He shouts: Say something!

The power — I reply — that brought me here yesterday appears to be turning me away this morning.

He is now laughing at me.

Someone then asks Nisargadatta a question.

He replies. I am hoping the provocation-scene has passed and I am spared more embarrassment.

There’s a brief pause, but then he comes back to me again:

What did you make of the answer?

I have been thrown into the most unexpected of situations. What can I make of anything now?

I reply: My intellect is telling me that what you have said must be right, but as I haven’t attained enlightenment it is still a concept.

More yelling: GET-RID-OF-ALL-CONCEPTS!*

I am deeply disconcerted. I try a weak reply by saying:

I am begining to think it is probably far better to be shouted at by an enlightened person than to be ignored by him.

He manages a quarter smile, waves his hand, we all rise, bow and struggle down the narrow staircase.

I am desperately trying to disappear, evaporate as quickly as possible. I am physically very very tired…this is not the perfect time to have to cope with Sufi-Zen situations."

David Godman, Remembering Nisargadatta Maharaj (Source):

"I have an embarrassing memory of another time he got angry with me. One afternoon my attention was wandering and my mind was embroiled in some larger-than-life ego fantasy. I was off in my own little world, not really listening to what was going on. Maharaj stopped the answer he was giving to someone else, apparently in mid-sentence, turned to me and started shouting at me, demanding to know whether I was listening and understanding what he was saying. I did a little prostration as an apology and put my attention back on what he was talking about. Afterwards, a few people wanted to know why he had suddenly launched such a ferocious attack on me.  So far as they were concerned I was just sitting there minding my own business. I definitely deserved that one, though. In retrospect I can say that it increased both my attentiveness and my faith in him. When you know that the teacher in front of you is continuously monitoring all your thoughts and feelings, it makes you clean up your mental act quite a bit." 
 

"On another occasion Maharaj got angry with me simply because one of the translators didn’t understand what I had asked. I said that the previous day he had said one thing, whereas this morning he was saying what appeared to be the exact opposite. The translator somehow assumed I was criticising the quality of the translation on the previous day and passed on my critique to Maharaj. He really got angry with me over that..."*

"This is the best show in the neighbourhood,’ he told me once. ‘I just come here because I like watching how Maharaj deals with all the people who come. I don’t believe a word he says, but he puts on a good show. This man, incidentally, told me that Maharaj’s language in the original Marathi was occasionally very crude and vulgar. He told me that the translators, who were all respectable, middle-class Hindus, were probably too embarrassed to pass on the full force of his vulgarity. At the end of the sessions he would take me aside on the street outside and take great delight in telling me about all the various sexual jokes and innuendos that the translators had omitted to tell us."*

"I did hear him say a couple of times that he respected the fact that we had all abandoned our lives in the West in order to come to India in search of liberation, but that didn’t mean that in practice he treated us respectfully. We all got shouted at on various occasions, and we all got told off from time to time because of things we did or said. We were all a little fearful of him because we never knew when the next eruption would come."*

"...he would introduce an even more stringent test for questions: ‘I am not interested in answering questions that assume the existence of an individual person who inhabits a body. I don’t accept the existence of such an entity, so for me such questions are entirely hypothetical.’" - (Source)

"I still have vivid memories of him listening as translators explained in Marathi what some questioner had said. As he understood the gist of what the question was, Maharaj’s face would sometimes turn to a scowl. He would clench his fist, bang it on the floor and shout ‘Kalpana! Kalpana!’ which means ‘Concept! Concept!’" (Source) 

"David: He was a feisty character who stood no nonsense from anyone.

Harriet: From what I have heard ‘feisty’ may be a bit of a euphemism. I have heard that he could be quite bad-tempered and aggressive at times.

David: Yes, that’s true, but I just think that this was part of his teaching method. Some people need to be shaken up a bit, and shouting at them is one way of doing it."

"He gives no ethical guidance?"

"No. As long as you think you are a person and this world is real, then you live by certain rules. Once you understand the complete thing, your life lives itself…there are no rules, no good, no bad: I should do this, I shouldn’t do that. If you think about it, all this is taking place in this life span, in this span of consciousness, and when this consciousness goes, what difference does it make?" 
- David Godman, Remembering Nisargadatta Maharaj (Source)

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    My intention with this specific blog post wasn't to share my commentary or personal views on the implications of Nisargadatta's dark side (this will come at some point), but to bring it to light, and share some reflection questions for those who feel like contemplating it alone and/or in conversation with others, can be a learning opportunity with a meaningful outcome.

Reflection Questions  

1. How does the behavior of a spiritual teacher or guru influence your perception of their teachings? Should their actions be separate from the value of their teachings, or are they inherently intertwined?

2. Are there instances where you have witnessed or experienced abusive dynamics within spiritual communities or teacher-student relationships? How did those experiences impact your view of the teachings or the individuals involved?

4. To what extent do you believe that the behavior of a spiritual teacher should reflect the values and principles they espouse? How important is it for teachers to embody compassion, integrity, and ethical conduct in their interactions with students?

5. How can we strike a balance between honoring the wisdom and insights offered by revered gurus or spiritual figures while also critically examining their teachings and behaviors for potential harm or blind spots?

6. How might a more nuanced understanding of spiritual authority and the complexities of the guru-disciple relationship enhance our ability to make informed decisions about the paths we choose to follow?

7.  To what extent should we aspire to the goals that spiritual leaders (as well as other kinds) espouse when confronted with their questionable behavior?

8. To what extent might this side of Nisargadatta explain the phenomenon of "uncompromising" Neo-Advaita teachers? To what extent is it an aberration or a continuation/emulation of his behaviors/approach?