What is Enlightenment?
What do we really mean when we talk of Enlightenment? Is it not the bloom of life for a true seeker of spirituality? The life itself comes to a full circle the moment one reaches the stage of Enlightenment. Seeking Enlightenment in the present age (the metallic age aka Kali Yuga in Hinduism is more of a curiosity than the faint hope of being able to achieve it within the present lifetime.
Truly speaking even spiritual stalwarts like Swami Vivekananda, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Aurobindo Ghosh and many others in the line failed to reach the stage of Enlightenment. The reason is fair and simple... some like Swami Vivekananda never desired reaching the stage of Enlightenment in their lifetime whereas both Rabindra Nath Tagore and Aurobindo Ghosh attempted but failed in their mission. They have category stated in their literary works that they did not reach the stage of Enlightenment.
What is it while proceeding on the path of Enlightenment that is difficult to achieve? Even when it was possible for Swami Vivekananda to have gained Enlightenment under the guidance of his spiritual master and a god realized soul Swami Ramakrishna Paramhansa, he did not exercise the option! Why?
Enlightenment (in other words self-realization) is the culmination of all we know as spirituality. There is nothing beyond having reached the stage of Enlightenment that is left to be achieved by a human being. Having reached the Mount Everest, Edmund Hillary became quite depressed for he realized that the goal of his life had come to an end. There was no further to go anywhere? The moment one comes across the final goal of his life... it is all over for life itself. Probably, life loses its meaning.
Is it not true that the essence of life is while pursuing our goal? And one who gains Enlightenment merges his identity with the larger whole... the God Almighty himself. Having lost our identity of life it becomes difficult for a human being to be able to recognize one as a friend, a relative, a teacher and even your parents. For an enlightened person it is not difficult to maintain the relationship but while living in the society it becomes difficult to maintain the balance between the spiritual end of life one has achieved and the relationship with the physical world.
A flower having bloomed loses its meaning... it is no more related with the plant which gave it life and also everything which the bud needed to have flowered into a full-blown. The identity, the ego, the self lost its meaning the moment the bud bloomed into a beautiful flower. As long as the society, the community felt the sweet fragrance of the flower... it got recognition and the moment came the time to wither out and die... none cared! Life moves on and does not wait for anybody.
The essence of life lies in moving on and on until one gains Enlightenment. And this Enlightenment is the stage when one is totally liberated forever from everything we call as the materialistic world. Materialism is a phenomenon of the physical world. On the contrary, Enlightenment dwells in the absolute truth of our life. It is only related to our true inner self... our soul (the true self of us). And the moment our soul realizes and reaches its final potential... the need for the body vanishes.
Every enlightened soul has to abandon the body for ever... the cycle of life and birth ceases for this enlightened person. If I say that only two persons have gained Enlightenment in the last 150 years out of the 6000 million people residing on mother earth... then Swami Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana were truly blessed by God Almighty to have gained Enlightenment even when the society presently is passing through such a bad phase on the materialistic plane. Everything presently is measured in terms of materialistic achievements.
In the present times a spiritually enlightened soul residing in the deep dense forests of the Himalayas would not find as much public appreciation as the likes of Bill Gates... One who shall not be able to carry the wealth one manages onto the next life but always seems to cling on until the last moment of life arrives. The false hope one maintains that money can buy one the best in life in the present and the afterlife is an absolute misnomer. We fail to remember that it is only the likes of Madame Curie who shall gain a special status in the next life for the ones like Madame Curie come once in thousand years... those who dedicate everything one could have called their own to the mankind at large. They truly live for the society until the last breath and it is for that they shall be repaid by God in the next life.
Even though Madame Curie may not have gained Enlightenment... but chances are that these thinkers and true philosophers of life would gain Enlightenment a few lives from now on. A true enlightened person lives like a true trustee believing in the fact that everything belongs to God and one is only a maintainer on his behalf. It would not be in the interest of the trustee to look forward to materialistic riches in life. Every true trustee would do whatever possible within his means to work for uplifting the society.
I again repeat that every god realized soul loses everything in the materialistic world. It simply means our true self, the real self of us who exists within us as our soul... the moment it reaches its pristine purity, the dross having completely removed... the physical body losing its meaning... and one truly gains Enlightenment.
Vijay Kumar... The Man who Realized God in 1993 explains the inner meaning of Enlightenment. subscribe free Newsletter "Spiritual Secrets Unveiled" - Explore hidden cosmic truths- Tread the unchartered territory of enlightenment
green cleaning service Glencoe ..People engaged in kissing experience information and energy transfer, although... Read More
In the year 2000, I went on a mission trip... Read More
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself... Read More
I'm at that place in life many refer to as... Read More
Our church is infested with lobby lizards. They crawl around... Read More
Faith is the remarkable force that gives us the empowerment... Read More
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other,... Read More
"All you who are thirsty, come and drink." ISAIAH 55:1,... Read More
Ephesians 4:4-6 indicates that Christians ought to practice one single... Read More
This question, "what is grace" plagued me more into knowing... Read More
Over the past few years I have watched the popularity... Read More
The deeper beauty of spring is its process. In winter's... Read More
Continued from "Origin of Certain Thoughts, Part I"If you haven't... Read More
Limiting beliefs, just like positive, empowering thoughts, provide a foundation... Read More
It's real easy to look at the physical world around... Read More
ADDICTION: - There are numerous obsessions and addictions which prevent... Read More
As a Coach and Psychotherapist I have found that the... Read More
It was my intention to explain the word "simple," and... Read More
1. The name Michael means, "Who is like God". In... Read More
In looking back at my process over the years I... Read More
Freedom....The cherished goal of humanity throughout its history.No society has... Read More
In the last 2 weeks or so, I have been... Read More
The atmosphere surrounding the earth is still a matter of... Read More
Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in... Read More
What is the purpose of guilt?Well, let's look at it.Some... Read More
house cleaning company Bannockburn ..What power do we hold individually in the midst of... Read More
The Emmaus Journal What is Wrong With Being Common? This... Read More
Attachment... Bondage... Moha... state as we may but the meaning... Read More
The chakras are different coloured energy centres that originate from... Read More
Prior to the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United... Read More
People have always sought the sacred. It is the Divine... Read More
Has America known its finest hour? Are we losing our... Read More
Many of us have been taught that it is wrong... Read More
There was a time in my life when I seriously... Read More
Rose Ann Schwab is an internationally and world renowned professional... Read More
Over the past years, I have undergone a life-altering transition... Read More
This article is a reply that deals with certain criticisms... Read More
Do you ever feel that what you read in some... Read More
Judgement; What does this mean? The encyclopedia definition is, "The... Read More
Because of the bright lights behind me, the golf balls... Read More
Several months ago, I read an... Read More
You are a Creative Worker:God carries on creative work through... Read More
Irish myth has the power to transform your life into... Read More
The Apocalypse, or unveilling, is the name given to the... Read More
In the responsibility we have as Christians, we are displayed... Read More
The practice of meditating on loving-kindness may be over two... Read More
Today I was in rather a whimsical mood, and so... Read More
I was in the bank's vault. The Brink's armored truck... Read More
Did you ever get a feeling or gain notion of... Read More
I have been counseling people on weight loss, exercise efficiency... Read More
Spirituality |