Tuesday, February 3, 2009
What do enlightened people do?
Well..someone asked this question and it is not leaving my mind. What do you guys think..:)? BTW, I do believe that there are enlightened people amongst us and I also believe that enlightenment does not happen overnight but comes in little bits and pieces and we posses varying degrees of "enlightenment".
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Same stuff like we do. They eat, they shit, they sleep and they practice. But they eat, shit, sleep and practice in a balanced state. Oh, and they fart too. Like we.
ReplyDeleteWith palms together,
Uku
This shows you have the largest work to do only when you look back at your imature childish coments will you realise on a scale we are talking here to acheive this think of mount everest and you are not even the size of an ant ....that's where your at
DeleteI disagree that the "childish" comment shows lack of enlightenment. I don't believe enlightenment looks, sounds, or feels like anything in particular. Examine why you were so motivated to tell Uku they are childish.
DeleteLOL..good one Uku. I have seen and heard a lot where there is an expectation that somehow after you have an awakening, your life is different in some super natural way or that you stay in some super natural state of mind. I myself thought that when I was pracitising meditation in other traditions. It was an awakening to realize that "awakened" state has not so much to do with super natural but with a balanced state of mind.
ReplyDeleteHello i happen to be looking for enlightenment my self since sunday with out fall in the category of a brand or name like Chopra or Buda. Just think we been here for more then 1 million years, Just imagine how may people have found enlightenment, Do not just look the few thousand years of record history. By the way i never read any of the books about Chopra or Buda or Crist all what i have know is just by talking or living here and there.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all you have to describe what is to be enlightenment.
For me enlightenment means the communion with the universe (when i said universe i mean all) in it's peaceful or chaotic way. You will understand this when you get to understand supreme energy. no names or brands.
I happened believe that when we come to life we come from there at least the spark of vital energy but then we lost our connection or more we abandon it when we get surround by the mundane word. But is there we just have to listen to it and follow it when you find it, so far i see flashes of energy but not strong enough to rice a line to the earth atmosphere i gees i have to find the way to stronger that channel as this is the first step to the grate connection there the earth is you closest step hear it and become part of it then it come the rest. Have you ever think that the earth thinks? Holds memory ? way not at the end were are the thoughts? in a gray mass of cells that have electric charges here and there. well in a computer the information is holds in a chip and electricity. Well the earth have a big plasma cover that is full of electric charges. so yes it could be, then the rest open your mind and see how far you can go?. You and your enlightenment with contain all. Not just love like some one else said. that is way i tell you fall in to a brand and you may get lost.
Onother think i want to tell you is define are you looking to expand your mind or enlightenment you may get lost in the way.
I live in NYC so is hard for me to try to be in a relax environment to quip listening so i may have to go out for few days whenever i can. Again the mundane word but hope not for ever.
Enlightenment your self and show the part to others.
Good look
Erwin List
I see you have chosen the hard way.
ReplyDeleteBut enlightenment comes as a lightning. It is immediate.
Hi, enlightenment comes at once not in stages. If it is in stages, it is intellectual only.
ReplyDeleteWhat does an enlightened person do that is different than an unrealised person?
He or she firstly works to let IT express itself more clearly through them. Suchness guides his or her thoughts, responses and actions. IT expresses itself as a kind of stillness - the enlightened person sees it more clearly in himself/herself and other things.
Ideas of 'other' things begins to fall away and so does attachment to them.
The enlightened person is also guided by this re-connection - and it gives answers. Whether it is an innate wisdom or higher consciousness I'm not sure - I would say an inner wisdom that is intrinsic through all things.
Enlightenment is the beginning and not the end. Hopefully such a person would also help point people in the right direction.
Little Deer
Thank you, Little Deer and Erwin.
ReplyDeleteMyoChi,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting question. :)
We need to ponder what enlightenment is to answer this question.
Enlightement is different things to different people, but spiritual enlightenment is generally accepted as an awakening to the ultimate reality. or the Ultimate Truth.
Simply put, it is understanding anything and everything in absolute terms.
Enlightenment is not a mystical experience. It is knowledge. It happens at the intellectual level. And progresses beyond.
If you look at the word enlightenment, it is basically throwing light. But you should also look at it as removing darkness. both mean the same but have a slight difference.
Once the darkness/ignorance is removed, everything is clear.
There is also another word for it, Self-realization. Meaning, Knowing who you are. Knowing Who you Are is equiivalent to Enlightenment.
The difference between (Non enlightened) non-E and (Enlightened) E, is knowledge about the Self, or knowledge about themself.
This knowledge is simply that, we are not the limited persons with unfulfulled desires as we think, but the ever complete, ever fulfilled singular completeness. (I know it may sound simply words without meaning,But the true understanding comes in Stages as you have rightly said. The mind needs to mature enough to understand it fully).
This knowledge is the difference between non-E and E.
So we can infer things such as,
non-E might get upset over silly things easily, while E will not, since he knows there is nothing that can go wrong.
non-E will repent/regret about the past, E knows there is nothing to regret/repent
non-E will fear/be anxious about future, since non-E "expects" the future to be in certain way, and he fears ot may not work out.
E has no "expectation", hence no anxiety or fear.
E will generally be un perturbed, unexcited, and calm. Speak the truth, be compassionate, since E understands the difficulties that non-E go through.
Etc.. Etc..
These are general inferences. Like we expect the richest person to be "in general" charitable. But there are always exceptions to any rule :)
I like your summary in the difference of possible reactions of an E and a non-E when they are given the same situation.
DeleteDo you set these conclusions from your personal direct experience of the enlightenment of whatever level yourself?
Enlightenment does not come from intelectual level. Intelect belongs to mind, and enlightment comes when mind dies.
DeleteYou practice, you have patience, you have faith. You wait for opportunities to practice compassion for any living creature. We are blessed with self reflection. Our duty in that is to serve. There is great joy in that service.
DeleteHi MC,
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, enlightenment hit me suddenly. I was fearless and knowingness. It seems some people are able to maintain that level of expanded awareness. In my case, it slowly went away. Nevertheless i was transformed.
Mars
WOW Mars! That is a new one for me. Did it hit you when you were meditating? Why did it go away, I am curious now.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with the idea(s) that enlightenment is intellectual. Enlightenment is not something you can learn. If it were, we all would have learned it by now. Why wouldn't we?
ReplyDeleteIn this age of technology and shared communications, someone would have written down how to achieve enlightenment if it were as easy as taking a class.
Enlightenment is like God's love, in that, it cannot be fully understood by the human mind until it is experienced.
I am like many. I am in search of a greater understanding, of life and of myself. I do not think I am enlightened, but I believe I possess the ability to become so. I fear that someone who is enlightened realizes the simultaneous insignificance and significance of all and would completely abandon everything to be at complete peace. Because of this fear, I am reluctant. I would not want to be in a place where I could be comfortable without my family, my children.
I say that you are on the right track when you can look at a situation and see what is wrong with it. When you can see someone and sincerely want to help them for the right reasons. When you can live right and just for no other reason than it is the right and just thing to do.
What do enlightened people do?
They sit and watch the universe unfold.
I definitively agree with this; it is not an intellectual state. If one comes to what they think is "enlightenment" by an intellectual state, it will go away; what enlightenment truly is is a state of emptiness. Thoughts, feelings, and experience all comes, takes place, happens, just as it did before, but none of it stays.
DeleteListening to Mooji/Adyashanti or anyone else who is enlightened on youtube will tell you this if you are curious.
Personally, I do 2 things, because I have reached enlightenment in a backwards way. 1 is seek knowledge, because I have never read a single bit of scripture, so I can point to all of Buddhism and say "yes, this makes sense, it's wonderfully true", but at the same time I cannot speak from knowledge about scripture, because it isn't there. The 2nd thing is a desire to Serve; to be of service to humanity, God, whatever that name is. To share in the "seeing", because of one Truth.
"All good things occur spontaneously in the awakened mind"; I know this secondhand only because Mooji quoted someone else saying it.
This is the reason many people who are enlightened seek to share. My guess is there may be people who are enlightened and do not seek to share this, because there is no point unless you have something new to say. Otherwise it would be a task of "yes, I am enlightened, I learned it from him/her, they can say it better".
Lao Tzu was speculated to be enlightened; one of the things he says in the Tao de Ching is "do not glorify the achiever, and no one will squabble". If you are aware of this, and become enlightened, you may realize there is no need to seek attention for it, just do whatever makes you happy, because this will help intrinsically.
These are just things to think about if you like; only if they help in understanding (they are a bit wordy, I know).
Namaste
lolz...
ReplyDeleteenlighten person is most dumb. he/she will act very illogical. just living in present. such person know to give give give give and love love love love. he is clear vision of everything.
they are same like us only. but what makes difference is..they are 24 multiple by 7 AWARE AND IN CONSCIOUNSNESS STATE. living life ..........
whatever act they do..is like meditation. fully observe...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere might be a language barrier here. English is the worst language because it allows someone to say exactly what they mean but allow others to interpret it for the exact opposite of what that person meant to say.
ReplyDeleteTejanka, what do you mean an enlightened person is dumb? Do you mean that they do not have any care about what modern day society places importance on or are you saying the enlightened can be stupid and be enlightened?
I wonder if there is an intellectual minimum for someone to become enlightened? I bet yes...
dumb means illogical.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletehey yeah one more my guru who is enlighten..he said me that some enlighten persons really dont care . some are different. its confusing for me also.lolz. because so for met one enlighten person.
ReplyDeleteanonymous person. u can read mira bai, rabiya, osho, jiddu krishnamurti, buddha, sahajo bai and daya of chandradas, etc..this people were enligtened. its tough to find same quality in them. but mira bai and rabiya got enlighten due to unconditional love. its divine.. she is real idiol.
osho and jiddu krishnamurti was born enlighten master...
and swami vivekananda also got enlighten by gyan marg
lalia was some kashmire female. she has tantra path and one something related..which i m not aware about it.
there are many who got enligtened.. they hav different part.
i believe this sweet girl is now enlightened.
ReplyDeleteshe seems so amazed with what she has found.
the vibrations she emanates make me smile .
check out her utube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nIbyW9bgnw
Life is a play in the imagination of God, where He plays all the rolls. But at any rate the point is God is what nobody admits to being but really is. This is Enlightenment. You are god being human.
ReplyDeleteI believe I have experienced enlightenment and I am truly thankful. Afterwards all there is to do is live your life, moment-by-moment, not looking too far ahead, to give and love, be honest but humble.
ReplyDeleteEnlightenment can be found anywhere as it is in all things. All things are truth, some just show more than others. If you can accept paradox and reconcile all you know then you will feel it.
refer to tejanka's post on March 19:
ReplyDeletea statement that flew out of my mouth was "not caring and unconditional love are the same thing."
i my words:
ReplyDeleteEnlightenment is just REFLECTION(simply watch ).
Its like a mere child, god ,cow,etc
Putting on the other way its losing SELFNESS(SELFLESSNESS).
We try to live like our culture or society. But the truth is omnipresent. It's hard to convey conversations to others because no one sees things the we do except others who are also enlightened.... Life, It's like a horizontal line of being, all is explained right there in front of us at all times.
ReplyDeleteWe are all already enlightened. By searching for enlightenement you can only move further from it. Because when you do, you are by default telling yourself that you ARENT enlightened. You are not in the present, but in the future. Also, enlightenement is but a word. A word is but a word. There is only truth, which surrounds and penetrates our very being at any given time. Relinquish yourself of everything and thou shall become nothing. By becoming nothing, you will be everything. It is a paradox, and that is why it might appear ungraspable. Because how can everything be nothing? But you see.. without nothing.. How can anything exist? They are co-dependant and co-existing. By subjectively experiencing the "real world" you are creating it. You are making nothing, into something (your experience). The essence of our being is consciousness. Your thoughts are not the real 'you'. It is but a subjective experience just like how you subjectively experience the world. Once you stop believing otherwise, you will be truly enlightened.
ReplyDeleteThe reason that you feel duality is no different from why one cell in your body can not experience the rest of the cells. Yet they are still a part of a whole. It's the same way with consciousness. Just on a bigger scale. We are the individual cells.
Dear Anonymous,
DeleteI would love to have a more detailed discussion with you...can you please give me your mail ID?
Im finding now that their are degrees of what it is. To me personally i find that their is being present, enlightned, and somoneone who in enlightnment finds that by meditation one can understand death, this is just my process so far. And with the understanding of death now, or acceptance of it i almost feel this world becomming very boring. Its like death is what keeps up working, it keeps us afraid and always keeps fear within us.
ReplyDeleteFear still is very present until once looks at what it is that we fear. Closing ones eyes at night shows a scattered pattern of white and black swirling around. And recently found that this is the chais inside ones mind projected onto your eyelids so you can reflect and sort it out.
The closer one comes to experiencing death finds it that much faster to let go of the past and future, as you see that at any point you could experience death. If this process is the one thought in your mind, you begin to experience the moment. If practiced you learn to catch yourself in emotions and can objectivly adress them as they happen. It really is like soring out all your own shit.
Like an inital high, when you first awaken as a person you feel that to be silent and accepting to be the perfect answer to the meaning of life. To even talk about emotional things really pulls you back into the social reality from the enlightned state.
The closer also you come to being at peace within yourself, the more you feel conversation almost humorous because you learn that emotions are just learned behaviors to conceal past memories that you have covered up.
My family still doesn't get me when i say that to be angry is insanity. For an enlighned person it doesn't exist.
If anyone would like to know or ask anything, i would love to share. This isn't something that we hold above other people, this is the purpose of our life here. To be enlightned is the key to life. Sure we all live and die, but to find enlightnment here and now is an amasing process to be in, and experience.
Be well everyone.
I can only say one thing... "All my love to you." :)
DeleteI am 15 years old and have a lot of stress on my mind, school, sports, u kno. I want to be on the same level as dude (or girl) who commented before me. Not to escape life, but to live for the right reasons. Can some on a higher (no pun) level explain how to reach this intense realization?
ReplyDeleteI am recently learning it is about BALANCING our mind, heart, body and soul/spirit. (I like the way it is put across by the first comment so simply: eat, shit, sleep... in a balance manner)
DeletePerhaps, looking at four areas is too much, then at least mind and body first. In between, plant in moments of meditation or conscious/awareness in doing our activities. This is like truly enjoy the meal we are having, instead of distracted of worries ahead, frustration experienced earlier, IT IS IN THE NOW,truly tasting the food. Likewise, when studying we are IN THE NOW, really focussed, conscious.
Wow, I have sum up what I have learning into few paragraphs but still have to practise and truly integrate into my life!
Just found this YouTube, find it cute and useful :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6eFFCi12v8&feature=plcp
just see whats happening right now, see what u r doing right now, and how can you improve it. Live in the present and handle your problems as they arise becoming conscious. Live each and every moment of your life on purpose. When you become aware of now, u will find the answers for the best thing to do now to reach the state( in ur future) u desire to be. But dont dwell on the future because it never come.. Only become aware of the present moment, cuz the only thing you will experience in ur life is the present moment. Past and future only exist in mind, in reality there is nothing as past or future. So on the present moment, do the best thing to do at that moment, what your inner heart say is right. And only become conscious of what you are doing. By doing so, you can achieve your dreams, be where you want to be..fulfill your dreams, achieve your goals. Thats what enlightment is in the 21st century fellas.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thread.
ReplyDeleteEnlightenment is an idea. Existence itself is again an idea. We know that we exist because we are told so. When the questions vanish one by one, there is no agitation to attain enlightenment. There is no build-up or imagination of a 'blissful' state. Everything is as it is.
Well, one can talk about it. Walls don't respond. People who are interested in engaging are few and far between. No strong motivation to advance in any field. There is more sensitivity.
It happened for me over several years. I resigned my job and was completely after it. I have not been working since then.
I wrote a book. Self-Discovery from First Principles. Check the link: http://tinyurl.com/m9g766x
Currently, I do nothing. You may visit my site: www.theconnexion.in
I shall be happy to respond to you in this regard.
Love
Krishna