“I Am That” is a collection of dialogues between Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, a 20th‑century Indian sage in the Advaita Vedānta tradition, and seekers who came to him for guidance. Set in the informal context of conversations, the text presents a practical, question‑and‑answer exposition of non‑dual insight rather than a systematic philosophical treatise. Throughout these exchanges, Nisargadatta employs simple yet uncompromising language, repeatedly directing attention to the fundamental sense of being, the bare “I Am,” as the key to understanding one’s true nature. The work thus serves both as a record of living instruction and as a contemplative manual for those drawn to non‑dual inquiry.

At the heart of the book lies the teaching that what is ordinarily taken to be “me” — the body, mind, personality, and personal history — is a transient appearance in consciousness rather than the real Self. Nisargadatta characterizes the individual ego and the sense of separateness as illusory, insisting that the true Self is pure consciousness or awareness, non‑personal and timeless. This Self is described as the undifferentiated, absolute reality that underlies all phenomena, sometimes referred to as the Absolute, Brahman, or simply awareness. The apparent division between subject and object is treated as a construct of the mind, arising within consciousness rather than standing apart from it.

The dialogues repeatedly return to direct inquiry as the primary means of realization. Instead of emphasizing ritual, belief, or gradual accumulation of merit, Nisargadatta urges sustained attention to the feeling “I Am” and the question “Who am I?” as a way of dismantling false identification with the body‑mind. By tracing experience back to this pure sense of being, seekers are invited to recognize that their essential nature has never been anything other than awareness itself. Practical guidance on meditation and self‑inquiry is woven into the conversations, always with the aim of immediate recognition rather than deferred attainment.

A recurring theme is the relationship between misidentification and suffering. According to these teachings, suffering arises from clinging to the limited, personal identity and overlooking the ever‑present reality of the Self. Liberation, or Self‑realization, is presented not as the acquisition of a new state but as the clear seeing that one already is — and has always been — this non‑dual consciousness. In this way, “I Am That” functions as both a rigorous challenge to habitual assumptions about identity and a pointer toward the possibility of freedom through insight into one’s own essential being.