IS BEING AWAKE ENLIGHTENMENT?

By Aruna Byers

In 1993 in Lucknow, India there was an amazing phenomenon happening that changed the consciousness of planet earth. For some unknown reason I was lucky enough to be part of it. What was so amazing? Ordinary people were waking up to the truth of who they are in numbers that were totally unheard of before. It seemed like there was a stream of consciousness running through the guru who lived there that touched everyone who came near him. He claimed to do nothing, but this nothing was magical.

People came from all over the world to sit in his audience, and all he told them was to “Be quiet.” There was an occasional one-on-one conversation with those who asked for it, but generally speaking, the phenomena of waking up happened without any action on his part. Five days a week he met with whoever came and shared a very simple teaching he called Truth. Those that got it really got it. Each one reacted differently, but you could tell who got from those who didn’t by the look in their eyes and the peaceful and joyful way you felt in their presence.

Since I was one of the recipients of this incredible gift I can tell you about it from first hand experience. In one moment in time, everything I had ever believed to be true fell away. In an instant I knew that Truth was something very different than all of those beliefs. I knew it because I had a direct experience of Truth that consumed every belief as well as my previous identity. I was also shown how everyone and everything is interconnected in One consciousness.

My mind became totally quiet. The chatter that had been giving counsel as long as I could remember went on permanent vacation. There was a peace I had never known, and laughter flowed easily in ways I had not experienced before. I knew I was love and my sole purpose in a body was to love. The depression that weighed me down for years was replaced by a bliss that was not limited to the physical. This bliss made physical bliss seem irrelevant. I had met my True Nature – the divine Self.

I awakened from a dream, and that dream was the story of my life. I now knew it was just a dream so I could no longer accept it as reality. My reality was suddenly different and I didn’t have a clue how to function in it.

But this story has been told elsewhere, (www.wheniawoke.com) and telling it again is not the purpose of this article. What I want to share with you now is how this kind of awakening relates to enlightenment.

Papaji (Sri H.W.L. Poonja) often said, “Your head is already in the tiger’s mouth.” Meaning that those sitting in his audience were already on their way to awakening or they wouldn’t be there. Being there meant there was a longing inside that didn’t care if Lucknow India was a filthy place and living conditions were difficult. It also meant that sitting in satsang with this little known guru was more important than sightseeing.

Watching three, four and sometimes five people a day be very visibly transformed made this statement very believable. Some of those that came were very ripe because they came and left with a new consciousness in a matter of days. For others it took weeks or months, but it was the end of lifetimes of searching for all of us. Was this the real thing? Was it instant enlightenment?

For some it might have been. For others it was not a permanent shift because they came back months later saying they had lost it. Papaji said that losing it was impossible because you cannot lose something you never had. What he meant was that awakening is not an attainment. It is not something you strive for and can achieve like you do with most things in life. Awakening, aka realizing your True Nature, can only happen when all striving stops. Realizing who you already are is not finding something new, it is recognizing what has always been and always will be. And since there is no longer an identity you believe yourself to be, there is no one that could possibly attain anything.

What had happened to those who thought they lost it was the return of thoughts and identification with them. They had accepted the unreal as real – again. Did they awaken? Yes. They just were not “seated” in that awakening long enough to ignore all those thoughts and let them return to their source. Once “seating” occurs, the dominating ego dissolves into a helpful ego in service to the One.

All those who came to Lucknow have their own stories as I have mine. For me, that awakening I just described was the beginning of a process that continues in every moment. Every life experience is an opportunity to re-identify with stories from the past or make up new stories about the present. But when we are fully present in each moment there is no thinking about what is happening in the world, in this life experience, this body, etc. True Nature, which is actually awareness itself, is fully aware of everything, and the body responds spontaneously according to the role that body/mind has in the play of life (leela). Choice no longer exists because there is no chooser. This way of being is called “being in the world but not of it.” The mind is quiet, peace, happiness and detachment from life’s circumstances are the norm, and all desires give way to a feeling of fulfillment that is everpresent.

Is this enlightenment? Enlightenment is not a destination of a person. It is the complete dissolution of all identification as a person. So if there is even a hint of an “I” giving thought to enlightenment, it isn’t. Awakening is the full realization of Truth. Whatever happens next is of no concern to the dissolving ego.

It is impossible for an outsider looking in to tell if someone is enlightened because all perceptions are projections of an unclear mind. The behaviors a mind believes an enlightened being would display are merely that mind’s imaginary concept, not in any way true for one who holds no beliefs or concepts.

If you ask someone if they are enlightened they could only say no, because if there is a person considering the question there is no enlightenment.

Are there enlightened beings on this planet? Yes. Could they identify themselves? No. Can you identify them? Only if you are sensitive enough to recognize pure emptiness without the use of your mind.

Are there Awakened ones on this planet? Yes. Can they identify themselves? Yes, because they have awakened enough to know the Truth of who they are and from this perception their reality is very different than it was before this awakening. Can you identify them? Only if you are awake or sensitive enough to know these things without using your mind.

Identifying the spiritual condition of another is really of no consequence unless you are looking for a guide to help you awaken. In that case, only someone who knows what awakened awareness is can take you there. There are many “teachers” and preachers who speak of enlightenment and have roadmaps they have created to get you there, but these concepts are from their minds, not Truth. There are no roadmaps to enlightenment and there is very little you can do to make it happen except to let go of all that is not Truth and get quiet enough to meet your true Self in the silence of your own heart.