November 8, 1980
Questioner: Why is it that we naturally seem to think of ourselves as sparate individuals?
Nisargadatta: Your thoughts about individuality are really not your own thoughts; they are all collective thoughts. You think that you are the one who has the thoughts; in fact thoughts arise in consciousness.
As our spiritual knowledge grows, our identification with an individual mody-mind diminishes, and our consciousness expands into universal consciousness. The life force continues to act, but its thoughts and actions ar no longer limited to an individual. They become the total manifestation. It is like the action of the wind - the wind doesn't blow for any particular individual, but for the total manifestation.
November 12, 1980
Nisargadatta: You can watch the body, so you are not the body. You can watch the breath, so you are not the vital breath. In the same way, you are not the consciousness; but you have to become one with the consciousness. As you stabilize in the consciousness, dispassion for the body and for the expressions through the body occurs spontaneously. It is a natural renunciation, not a deliberate one. It does not mean that you should neglect your worldly duties; carry these out with full zest.