There seems to be great confusion about enlightenment in the spiritual circles. The popular idea is that enlightenment is something that changes the person by immersing him or her permanently in a state of bliss offering complete freedom from the never-ending cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. It is also known by other popular names, such as Moksha, liberation, Mukti, or Nirvana. It is the word “bliss,” used in this context, which is at the helm of confusion.
Ramesh Balsekar would often ask this question, “What do you expect enlightenment to give you that you have not experienced before?“ How can the persona, which is a flux, attain a permanent state? The notion of a person is an image that continually changes. No matter what it acquires, it is nonetheless a changing entity.
The characteristic feature of phenomenality is that the change itself is the permanency here. Therefore, no state is permanent, not even Samadhi. Not even the greatest experience of ecstasy. Everything comes to an end, and there is no breaking the cycle of pain and pleasure. Nisargadatta Maharaj said that pleasure happens in the background of pain. It is our common experience that moments of pain are usually more than moments of pleasure.
So what exactly is Enlightenment? True enlightenment is the complete recognition of the fact that the endless cycles of pain and pleasure in duality cannot be broken through an individual’s effort. Therefore, it boils down to the basic understanding, beautifully put forth by Buddha, that Nirvana and Samsara are one and the same. What one truly desires is the peace of Nirvana, which has to be recognized while living in Samsara, and not outside of it.
It does not imply that one has to kill the person or get rid of the persona, but only to see it for what it is - an illusion that changes with changing conditions. Hence, the persona cannot be the ultimate Truth. The only cause of our suffering is our belief in separate existence, whereas, from nature’s perspective everything is an interconnected whole.
Enlightenment is the recognition of this wholeness – the One reality that functions through all my mind-body organisms. The consciousness that powers you, me, and the rest of the world is not different. It animates this world but remains unaffected by what’s happening. It is both the source and the substance of everything.
This understanding hits the ego mind like a lightning bolt. However, it takes time to penetrate into the deep recesses of the mind (which Ramesh called deliverance). The result of this understanding is not a permanent state of peace or bliss, but the acceptance of things the way they are. it is not passivity or rejection and does not lead to inaction or sloth.
On the contrary, it leads to intelligent and spontaneous action, which comes from the source and not from the individual with a sense of personal volition. The person to whom this understanding has happened sees everything as happenings and not as the “doings” of individuals.
To be continued … (Part 2: The Traditional Concept of Enlightenment)
Video playlist of Nisargadatta Maharaj’s Teachings from the book, I AM THAT
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUWWkOecgRYGSX0azBkDGHZt5i_OW9csD
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