Nisargadatta Maharaj Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Nisargadatta Maharaj (March ??, 1897 - September 8, 1981) was a seller of cigarettes in Mumbai as well as a an enlightened being and a master of spirituality very admired for his direct and informal teaching. He is best known for the work "I Am That" that has been translated into many languages.His father, Shivrampant, worked as a domestic servant in Mumbai and later worked a petty farm in Kandalgaon, a small village in the back woods of the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. After his father died when Maruti (his given name) had reached eighteen he left the village and went to Mumbai where he worked briefly as a clerk. He then became a petty trader that later developed into a business. In 1924 he married Sumatibai and with her became the parents of three daughters and a son. He opened a bidi shop (hand rolled coarse cigarettes made from betel leaves) and began selling them. It was not until middle age that he became overtly interested in spiritual matters.
He had a friend named Yashwantrao Bagkar who one day brought him to meet his guru, Sri Siddharameshwar. Nisargadatta was given a mantra initiation and instructions on how to meditate.
Sri Siddharameshwar died three years later in 1936. At this point Nisargadatta abandoned his family and bidi businesses and took off for the Himalayas but he soon returned and started teaching his distinct form of teaching.