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Enlightment 5/9/2007 7:37:27 PM
Enlightenment is a state where you transcend the mind and its limitations. A Sadhak (student) once asked his teacher, "Master, Why can't I remain peaceful, in spite of doing so many spiritual sadhanas (practices). Why can't I be devoid of suffering in spite of reading so many spiritual books and listening to religious discourses? Is enlightenment possible for such as I?"
Sri Bhagavan says, "To be liberated from suffering, you must first understand what suffering is. Suffering is nothing but the continuous thought processing that happens in the mind over an event or incident of the past. Suffering is nothing but the ‘carry over' of the past events of our life."
There are two kinds of people who have walked on these sands, enlightened and unenlightened. Enlightened ones are those who are 'ordinary' and unenlightened are those who are 'extraordinary' (extra suffering). An enlightened one does not suffer because he is constantly living in the present - experiencing every bit of what life is offering him. But for those who are unenlightened, life itself is reduced to suffering.
To be aware is to be enlightened.
The whole purpose of life is to live life moment to moment.
If one observes the thought process in oneself, it can be easily discovered that this tendency of the mind to 'carry over', of not living life in the present, is the root of all suffering.
For example, there were two friends who were very close right from their childhood. Out of sheer misunderstanding, they landed in a bitter quarrel and they broke up. The fight by itself is nothing but mere ‘calling names'. But it doesn't end there, the event continues to plague the mind, be it in the kitchen, the office, watching TV, or even at a party! It follows you… It continues to live in your mind and emotions.
Suffering arises only when your mind indulges in unnecessary thoughts about living in past or the future, without living in the present. This constant commentary or dialogue in the mind is the cause for all suffering, where even after an event has ended it is continued within where we still talk to the other person who has hurt us.
An enlightened person experiences everything, which makes his life rich, eternal and ever fresh. But for the unenlightened, life is mechanical and repetitive, hence boring. One who is enlightened enjoys the ice cream whereas one who is unenlightened does not enjoy the ice cream because he would be busy with the question – Who made the ice cream? Which factory did it come from? Which cow's milk? What grass did the cow eat? One who is truly living will never question the purpose of life. Why would he. He is only experiencing.
Now the question is how to end this unnecessary thought process. Any effort in this direction is a futile endeavor, because any effort to silence the mind only creates more noise - "THOUGHT CANNOT END THOUGHT."
Buddha was Buddha not because he read books. Venkataramana didn't become Ramana Maharishi because he attended religious discourses.
Enlightenment is something that is beyond the purview of the mind. It is not transformation within the mind; Enlightenment is a state where you transcend the mind and its limitations. Such a happening is a benediction.
