books by nirgun john

Sitting at the Open Door of the Heart

Sitting at the Open Door of the Heart

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This book is a collection of timeless teachings from Advaita teacher nirgun john of San Francisco, CA. The book’s chapters are taken directly from his Satsangs, and also include two of his writings.

nirgun j's message does not differ from that of Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji) or other well-known Sages, but he does present it in his own unique way that keeps the serious spiritual seeker 'looking' in the right direction.

In this book, we are clearly reminded that if we wish to awaken in this lifetime, the commitment to knowing the truth has to be the highest. After awakening, which is truly the beginning, if one’s attention remains firmly planted in presence, pure consciousness, the I Am will naturally dissolve, evaporate, revealing what is prior to consciousness, in what is called REALIZATION.

Each chapter begins with a pointer for reflection and meditation. It is a book that can be picked up and opened at any point for reading and contemplating the message within that chapter.

Pointer from the chapter You Don’t Have to Suffer: “It’s a dream of a thing called enlightenment. The more narrow one’s focus as believing in a body, in a world, in a someone — the more suffering. What if none of this existed?”

It is recognized that, as with all spiritual books, this book may make absolutely no sense to some, and yet be the ‘key’ for another. It is John’s wish that it be the key for you.

In addition to pointers, this book contains a number of black and white photos taken of the beautiful murals and artwork of Erin Tajime Castelan.

Also available as a PDF eBook.

Reflections of the Only

Reflections of the Only

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A selection of quotes taken from the Satsangs of nirgun john, spiritual teacher and author of "Sitting at the Open Door of the Heart." This is a beautiful little book of quotes that can be read from cover-to-cover… as each quote builds on the next… or it can be opened at any page for contemplation.

Illustrations based on the artwork of Erin Tajime Castelan.

pointers to the Only

Powerful nirgun john quotes for contemplation

Pointers to the Only

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In the Ego's imagined attempt to control life, a second, "inner" world of thought arises within and dominates by obsessive "thinking" ... all based on the lie of imagined reality of this "other I", which is not the true, universal "I" of Brahman. And because this bastard child of a barren women is simply believed in ... one never even begins to know the Truth ...

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Every moment is an opportunity, every moment is an invitation from Parabrahman. The opportunity that is being presented is to know the Self ― there is no other reason to be here.

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The commitment to wanting to know your Self has to be the highest ― Beyond any other commitment you could ever imagine. Or else not... though you won't get too many results. Grace doesn't respond to wishy-washy.

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When a surrendering happens enough that Grace moves forward, There will be nothing that could keep you from This. It is amazing what This is, and that will never cease to astound! That's the joy. That's why Consciousness does This, so it can experience itself as itself. The Absolute has no experience of itself without manifesting.

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We abide untouched and beyond any and all that can be perceived or conceived in language or action resulting from thoughts in the holographic display. Awareness looks upon the reading of these very words without any opinion, in the bliss and completeness of Itself, loving all equally. Dwelling at the threshold of emptiness-fullness, so easily the dweller disappears in the eternal ocean of Self.

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If you really want to know that which is your own eternal true natural Self, first show you are worthy of that grace by being silent and refusing to continue being owned by a thought stream of delusion. Stop being so easily transfixed by the continual lies of a mind, truly non-existent outside of the very words and language which contain it! Mind and its fleeting ‘isness’ and reality, are only when the words appear and are accepted as truth belonging to someone. And that ‘someone’ needs to continually be re-enforced by the story that’s nurtured over and over again in our tragically addicted need to remember a past, while projecting a future ― resulting in never really knowing true life or love at all. There is no other time when it will be more right to know the truth of your own Beingness.

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For some within this dream of life, a very small percentage, a yearning arises and stirs from within, that cannot be initially understood or ignored. We all have what we perceive as an ‘outer’ life and an ‘inner’ life with a subjective ‘view’ of an objective ‘world’. In the lives of some, spontaneously, a deep feeling of desire to be whole, a burning to really understand life, stirs from within, and it is the consciousness itself that produces this impulse to return to source.

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Many times, spiritual practice and concepts can be very strong barriers, before and after awakening, when they are adopted as truth, and not recognized as tools and pointers towards truth, which too must be finally discarded. Too many are lost in the ignorance of spiritual concepts as religion. All concepts must go in order to be free, yet meditation, contemplation, enquiry into the silence, mantra repetition etc., most certainly have great value in this process, but should not be allowed to become the goal no matter how splendid the experiences encountered.

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All our meditations, contemplations and any ‘spiritual’ practices’ are at best, tried and true tools for what is ‘yoga’, or union with wholeness, a yoking of the outward movement of attention back toward the ‘way we came’, back towards and finally dissolving in what is prior to consciousness. All spiritual practices are thorns to remove a thorn, and are themselves to be eventually discarded, in order for one who has awakened to ‘move’ into what can only be called nirvana (extinction), nirguna (without qualities), the nothingness of jnana.

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The whole universe exists because of you, without you there is no universe!

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Without you, nothing would be! Without you, I (nirgun john) wouldn’t be, and without me you wouldn’t be. We’re all dreaming each other. This is all a shared dream.

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Forget every memory that ever happened. Look at every moment as brand new... fresh, right NOW.

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The knower and the thought arise as one.

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This I-amness is the first concept, it itself is part of the illusion.

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How much do you want to know Reality? How much is your heart willing to extend itself to know Reality?

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What is the diligence? Be aware of the thoughts.

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Memory is the thread that sews all this together.

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There is no such thing as ancient because there is no past or future, there’s just this no-time now that everything is flashing in.

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The body is a perception. You don’t have a body in deep sleep, do you? We all run to deep sleep because we crave nothing more than our own absence. But we can have our own absence even in the so-called ‘waking state’. That’s what this is about. And then it is seen that the one who thought it was living a life, has died.

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There is no individual that needs to be enlightened because there is no individual! That’s what enlightenment is, realizing there’s no such thing as enlightenment.

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No one will know Oneness. No one will know the Self. No one’s ever known Nirvana because the one that knows, that knower—in the knower-known dyad—has to go.

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The mind is not comfortable with who you are. It’s frightened to death of it as a matter of fact. Nisargadatta said (paraphrasing): “Everything is afraid of nothing... everything is afraid of nothingness... because as soon as it touches nothingness, it disappears.”

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We’re all merged right now! It’s just this movement of mind that attaches itself to objects and things and ideas ― and they’re all wrong! There’s not a single thing, not one thing, that any of us can say that’s true. It’s all entertainment for the Consciousness.

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You’re only here for a short time... you’re not really here at all... but this opportunity is being extended by Parabrahman... “Come on, come in.” ― and it’s temporary. The loop will keep going, the dream will continue if it doesn’t get realized, and all is well regardless.

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You own nothing. You’ve done nothing ― good, bad or indifferent. Let go of any guilt. Let go of any pride. You’re never going to be bigger than your Self. And any thought that arises that lets one feel they are bigger than that Self ― there’s the joke! It’s all built on words.

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There is no world. There is no inside or outside. There is no is or isn’t. There’s no such thing as is or isn’t. That’s an idea within Consciousness. Once This is seen, you can’t say something is or isn’t. Reality can’t say that it is. It is, but it can’t say it. The only way that It can say it, is in these conversations within this dream. That’s how It’s recognized.

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