THE NISARGADATTA GITA

 
13. You have to be there before you can say 'I am', the 'I am' is the root of all appearance.

There definitely was a substratum on which this knowledge 'I am' arose, it was a wordless feeling. It was only when you learnt a language that you could say 'I am'. Along with the wordless 'I am' also came space and the world, so the 'I am' is at the root of whatever you perceive.