Enlightenment: The Truth
No matter how successful we are in our professional life, no matter how many friends we have, no matter how prosperous our family is, and no matter how loving our relationships are, we always yearn for ‘something else’ to give a sense of completion to our quests as human beings.
Knowingly or unknowingly, we are always on the lookout for a deeper and everlasting sense of bliss and love. Nothing that we achieve in the external world seems to be capable of filling up the void that we feel inside. At some point in time, every human being turns inward in the hope of finding fulfillment within himself. And thus begins the journey of Self-realization.
In our earlier article, we discussed the ultimate aim of human life. The goal or the ultimate aim of human life is that ‘life should know life’. Life, in this context, refers to the inner experience of aliveness within each one of us, which has been known as Self or God. It is the living consciousness due to which the body is alive and moving. In the absence of the enlivening consciousness, the body would be a mere corpse. The body moves only because of the presence of the Self, the conscious presence. When the living principle in a body is consciously aware of itself, it is called Self-realization.
Self-realization is the recognition of who-we-truly-are. Once we discover our true self, our ultimate quest as human beings comes to an end. Until then, we keep indulging in bodily, mental, intellectual and egoistic pleasures and try to seek solace in friends, television, music, food, drinks, etc.
The real need is to satiate our feeling of emptiness once and for all by getting to know our true self, rather than seeking solace outside. Our true self is the oneness that fills creation. It is the source of life. It is the essence of our greatest possibility. It is an unending source of energy, enthusiasm, love, joy and peace. When we tap into this unending source, the ultimate contentment is experienced.
Self-realization is a state of liberation from the sense of separateness and merger into oneness. This sense of separateness is the cause of all misery in life – fear, anxiety, worry, anger, depression, sadness, etc. With Self-realization, all misery comes to an end. All bondages that tie us down in this world snap.
As human beings, we have a body-mind mechanism provided to us. All of us try to fulfill the wishes of this body-mind mechanism to feel satisfied. But there is a limit to which satisfaction can be felt by pampering the body-mind. This is precisely because we are not the body-mind mechanism. We are the users of the body-mind. The body-mind is our tool. We are the driver of this mechanism. Unless we do not fulfill the ultimate wish of who-we-truly-are, the ultimate contentment, fulfillment, love, joy and bliss cannot be experienced.
It is only in order to realize who-you-truly-are and express its divine qualities that you have been associated with your body. When you know the real meaning of life, you will also understand the art of ‘being life’. Many people wish to learn the art of living. But we don’t have to learn the art of living; we need to learn the art of being life itself. This means that we have to shift our focus from the objects of perception to that which enables perception, from thought to that which enables thinking. We will then rise above the changing and limited to that which is changeless, eternal, and boundless.
But then that’s where the story just begins. You read it right. Self-Realization is just the half secret. Then, what can be the full secret about Self-realization?
Beyond Self-realization is self-stabilization. Enlightenment. What is enlightenment? Enlightenment or Self-stabilization is where one stabilizes (gets established) in the state of Self-realization and then expresses the divine qualities of the Self. That’s when we would have achieved the ultimate purpose of human birth.
There are many who experience momentary flashes of oneness when they are in the midst of pure nature or even in their daily lives. Mere glimpses that happen when the understanding of our true nature shines forth. Such glimpses are experienced when the judgmental mind momentarily becomes silent. But what happens after the glimpse? The judgmental mind emerges again and takes credit for the experience. For example: “I performed meditation; I attained this deeply profound state; I experienced Self-realization.” The mind lacks the understanding that it cannot experience the Self as we discussed in the earlier article on mind.
The mind takes up the task of realizing the Self, as if it were possible for the mind to do so. However, the obstinate mind that ‘tries’ to realize the Self is actually a hurdle. When this mind remains in peaceful stillness, the Self experiences itself. This is the full-secret. The secret to what is enlightenment. One lives with the firm conviction of one’s true nature beyond the body and mind.
Self-realization without understanding is futile. It is meaningless to proclaim that you have attained Self-realization based on a one-time experience, without being permanently stabilized in that experience. There are many self-proclaimed masters who claim that they have attained Self-realization. Their ego is boosted and they consequently indulge in gaining credit and recognition that gratify their ego.
If the body continues to indulge in old tendencies and habits even after many such glimpses of the Self, then the ultimate purpose is not served. The judgmental mind keeps returning with false beliefs and doubts about the experience of the Self. Due to this interference of the judging mind, the state of inner stillness in which the Self experiences itself remains veiled.
With self-stabilization comes Self-expression – the expression of the Self through the body-mind mechanism. On attaining enlightenment at the age of thirty-five, the Buddha continued to spread the message of Truth till the ripe age of eighty. Siddhartha Gautama’s body served as a medium for expression of the Buddha, the Self.
When the purpose of attaining enlightenment is not clear, you might assume glimpses on the path as Self-realization and mistake that to be the ultimate goal. If Self-realization is seen as enlightenment, then that is not the ultimate goal. If you see it as a one-time experience, then it is just the beginning. Hence one needs to train his body-mind to realize and then stabilize in that experience.
With this let’s also discuss how important it is to train the Body-Mind Mechanism
Glimpses of the Self can come about either as the feeling of oneness with all creation or as the nothingness beyond thoughts. These glimpses do come in various situations. One can also access this state (popularly known as an altered state of consciousness, or being in the ‘zone’) through various rituals such as regulated breathing or even in adventure vehicles. The mind goes blank and the stillness behind the mind is experienced.
However, when the mind returns, it memorizes such glimpses. Self-realization is then wrongly believed to be an event that happened in the past. However, the question to be asked to this mind is: Is it a living experience right now? If it is not being experienced in the present, then it was just a glimpse that has faded away; it is just a figment of memory.
As the credit-taking mind doesn’t realize this, it assumes, “I have achieved the ultimate state.” This can lead to a dangerous turn in life. Such a person may start propagating his half-wisdom and cause damage to society. Any claim by anyone that links Self-realization to a one-time epiphany or satori or a supernatural event does not hold. Self-realization is the most ordinary state that is experienced as the constant presence of Self-awareness, because it is essentially who-you-truly-are.
With Self-realization, there is every chance of backsliding, of falling back due to the entangling habits of the body-mind. If the body-mind mechanism where Self-realization has been experienced is still a victim of habits that entangle the Self, the glimpses of Self-realization have not served the real purpose.
Hence, while the glimpses of Self-experience do happen, it is essential to train the comparing, judging, doubting, and blaming mind to be silent. The goal is to permanently get rid of thinking patterns, habits and tendencies that do not allow the Self to be self-aware. The purpose is to surrender the ego (the feeling of separateness) and stabilize in the experience of the Self. A true Guru can lead you to such a state. He imparts the right understanding of the Truth. He cautions you about potential risks on the way. He helps you train your mind to become still so that Self-experience is established within your body-mind.
The journey to self-stabilization and enlightenment is also about raising your body-mind’s capacity to hold the experience of Self-awareness. What happens if you pass a large amount of current through a low-wattage bulb? The bulb burns out. The bulb, in this case, represents the human body-mind and the current represents the Truth. When the understanding of the Truth dawns for the first time in a human body-mind, it can be called Self-realization. But to hold on to that Truth permanently without falling to tendencies and mind patterns, it is essential to raise the capacity of the body-mind.
The process of achieving enlightenment also involves eradication of past conditioning with the guidance imparted by the Guru. The disciple performs constant contemplation even while going about his activities and encountering various incidents in life. Past programming reveals itself only during and after incidents. The disciple observes his own mind during activities and incidents. He reflects upon his thinking patterns. He meditates upon his Self constantly, even if he is in a busy marketplace. In the process, his mind gets cleansed of habits and tendencies.
Summary:
Beyond Self-realization is self-stabilization. Enlightenment. What is enlightenment? Enlightenment or Self-stabilization is where one stabilizes (gets established) in the state of Self-realization and then expresses the divine qualities of the Self. With Self-stabilization follows Self-expression – the expression of divine qualities of the Self, such as love, joy, peace, compassion, patience, consistency to name a few. The pure presence begins to stir the Self within other bodies to awaken and realize the Truth. The very presence of one who is established in the Self is a healing presence, radiating love and joy to everyone around.
The above article is an excerpt from the book: Secret Of The Third Side Of The Coin – Unraveling Missing Link In Spirituality
In our upcoming articles in July, we shall discuss True Guru and Guru’s role in the journey of life as we celebrate Guru Purnima this month.
Happy Reading!!!
2 comments
Gopal
Dhanyawad Sirshreeji
Very needful blog for understanding self realization. Dhanyawad for shifting on what is enlightenment to us, that what I wish to share others.
Mindvalley
Thanks for sharing this nice blog. I read it completely and get more interesting knowledge from this. I again thanks for sharing such a nice blog.