“Then, the question is what are ‘we’ – all of us? Each one of us, as phenomenon, is merely an appearance in the consciousness of those who perceive us, and, therefore, what we appear to be is a phenomenon – temporal, finite and perceptible to the senses, whereas what we are, what we have always been and what we shall always be, without name and form, is the noumenon – timeless, spaceless, imperceptible being.
However convincingly you may think you have ‘understood’ this basic fact, you will find it almost impossible to dis-associate yourself from the identification with your name and form as an entity. This can happen only when that which you have been thinking of as a separate entity has been totally annihilated. This is the second fundamental, the power of Maya. what is merely a phenomenon, without any independent existence of its own is considered to be ‘real’ and efforts are made by this phantom to ‘become’ something – a shadow chasing its substance. Whereas actually you have all along been the substance and never the shadow in bondage wanting liberation. How very amusing, but then that is Maya!”
Pointers from Nisargadatta Maharaj by Ramesh Balsekar
