La ricerca spirituale laica di Nisargadatta Maharaj

..On his return to Bombay after an absence of many months  Nisargadatta
Maharaj  (at the time simply Maruti Kampli)  took stock of his
business. It was completely upset. He could retain only his present
bidi shop. His old zest for business having waned he was content with
running only his present small shop. Since that was just enough for
the sustenance of his family he devoted minimum time to it and gave as
much time as possible for his spiritual pursuits.

Beyond the time that was absolutely necessary to keep his family and
business going, he was always engaged in meditation, singing
devotional songs contemplation and similar other spiritual matters. He
did not do any conscious efforts for these spiritual pursuits
[sadhana] because; whatever sadhana was going on was involuntary
taking place at the beckoning of the call within.

Without going out anywhere else he made use of the mezzanine floor of
his tenement itself for his spiritual practices. Having traversed long
distances over a protracted period, independently and without any
means his self- abnegating nature [vairagya] had come to stay. He
followed a strict and regulated daily regime. He spoke but a few
words. His devotion to his Satguru was so singular - that he never
thought of going out to temples or meeting any saints.

He regularly spent hours in meditation. While in meditation he
intuitively received replies to his spiritual doubts from within and,
felt reassured. He read spiritual books like "Dasbodh", "Sadachar" by
Sri Shankaracharya and in particular studied the "Yoga Vashistha" and
Eknatha's "Bhagwat". He was lost in getting at the root of their
meaning. He also carefully read works like "Srimat Bhagavad Gita",
"Upanishads", "Dnyaneshwari" and "Amruta-nubhava".

He loved singing devotional songs from the early days. While singing
these songs in front of a portrait he used to become oblivious of the
surroundings, turn his back to the portrait and was lost in himself
and lay still for a long time in the ecstasy of the luminous divine
light in front of his eyes. He literally experienced chewing a paan
[betel-nut] himself when he sang a line meaning a devotee offering a
paan to the Lord. He got all the spiritual experiences explained in
the traditional song of his Sampradaya [school of thought] sung
everyday in the afternoon. Owing to the rousing of serpent power
[kundalini] he gained very high spiritual experiences and was lost in
their ecstasy for long periods.

Ramana Hridayam