Nisargadatta Maharaj on the Person, Witness, and the Supreme

Step back from action to consciousness, leave action to the body and the mind; it is their domain. Remain as pure witness, till even witnessing dissolves in the Supreme.

It is like washing printed cloth. First, the design fades, then the background and in the end, the cloth is plain white. The personality gives place to the witness, then the witness goes and pure awareness remains. The cloth was white in the beginning and is white in the end; the patterns and colours just happened — for a time.

Awareness with an object we called witnessing. When there is also self-identification with the object, caused by desire or fear, such a state is called a person. In reality, there is only one state; when distorted by self-identification it is called a person, when coloured with the sense of being, it is the witness; when colourless and limitless, it is called the Supreme.

The dissolution of personality is followed always by a sense of great relief as if a heavy burden has fallen off.

(Source: I Am That: Dialogues with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, 79. Person, Witness and the Supreme)