For Nisargadatta Maharaj, the phrase “I Am” designates the most fundamental sense of being, a bare awareness of existence prior to any qualification. It is the simple knowing “I exist” before the mind adds descriptions such as “I am this body,” “I am this role,” or “I am in this condition.” In this sense, “I Am” is pure being-consciousness, not yet entangled in personal history, psychological traits, or conceptual frameworks. It is the light in which all thoughts, perceptions, and experiences appear, the basic awareness without which nothing could be known at all.

At the same time, “I Am” is not regarded as the personal ego or an individual self. Nisargadatta distinguishes sharply between “I Am” as pure being and “I am something” as identification with form and concept, the latter being the source of bondage and suffering. The instruction is to remain with the unadorned sense of being, without turning it into a story or a role. By attending to this naked feeling of existence, without adding attributes or commentary, the habitual identification with body and mind is gradually loosened.

Nisargadatta also treats the “I Am” as a doorway rather than the final truth. Although it is the most direct and intimate experience available, it is still a subtle appearance, a pointer that leads toward what transcends even being and non-being. Abiding in the pure “I Am” reveals that this very sense of existence arises within a reality that is prior to it, an Absolute that cannot be captured as any notion, including “I Am.” Thus, the “I Am” serves both as the nearest expression of true nature and as the threshold beyond which even that primordial sense of presence is ultimately seen to dissolve.