Q: Is there “enlightenment”? What is that?
A:
Enlightenment is a notion, or if you like: a concept.
Numerous
concepts are connected to the notion of enlightenment. Some believe this is
some sort of a “sacred” thing, an aura surrounds you, similar to those depicted
on the medieval paintings of saints. You need to earn it, you are obliged to do
all kinds of strange things for it.
This is not
enlightenment. What we think about enlightenment is by no means what it really is.
All the
ideas we have about enlightenment are only created by the mind, but not what it
REALLY is.
You do not need to earn enlightenment, you do
not need to add more to yourself (information, knowledge, suffering), you just
need to recognize what you really have. The consciousness is already in you, it
has always been and will be in you. It is the one reading and understanding
these lines – it is the soul of the “machine”, which is your body.
All you
have to do is to focus inwards and recognize the consciousness behind the
thoughts. Who thinks your thoughts? Who feels your emotions? Who experiences
the world through your body?
You become
“enlightened” because you see past the swirling vortices of thoughts and
emotions. You observe them and see their real nature: that they are conditioned,
programmed patterns, not you. You are the conscious observer of thoughts and emotions.
This way you will not get lost in the outbursts of the unconscious. Nothing
mystical or esoteric happens, you just simply do not get lost in the thoughts
and beliefs of your mind.
Now you
direct the attention, previously used up by many-many thoughts, to the
conscious presence. Nothing more was added to you, consciousness (actually you
are in the consciousness) was in you all the way, you were just unaware of it.
There was no one to be enlightened. Nothing more is added to you, you just
“forget” all the thoughts that cause problems.
A “guru” is
just as much a guru is as you are. The same consciousness reads these lines in
you. But the “master” recognizes the consciousness as his true self.
Q: Is the awakening of consciousness permanent?
A: It is
not permanent.
You
need to make a choice every moment: you pick consciousness or let the
unconscious jabber of the mind absorb you? You need to make a decision every
moment: you choose the observing consciousness here and now or dive into your
dreams or nightmares?
What
do you choose?
Actually it
is easier to lead a conscious life than an unconscious one. The disarray of
thoughts and emotions stun you in an unconscious life, you are unhappy and
stressful because of worrying and overthinking all the time, all in the
meanwhile complete ignoring your existence, that you are alive here and now in
this planet teeming with life, whose beauty is only hidden behind the
physical-mental junkyards created by the mind.
The
conscious observation is our natural state: we do not get lost in
problems/thoughts, do not worry, do not suffer. We simply know about ourselves
and about the events of the world, we do not stick to them. We enjoy the
happiness of existence as a peaceful, calm observer, we live in the present
moment. And if we choose this peaceful, calm contemplation in every moment (in
the eternal now), then we lead an “enlightened” life..
Q: Is there a spontaneous spiritual awakening?
A: In some
extreme cases (your life collapsing, losing your identity) your mind gives up
all its ideas who you are, what you should do, what you should become.
What
remains is pure existence, which brings forward a cleansing, a catharsis: you
recognize your true self.
After a while
the mind – which did not lose its momentum after 20-30-50 or more years of
constant unrestrained functioning – returns.
The silent,
peaceful contemplation of the miracle of life ends, the steam engine of the
mind restarts: pounding, chattering, worrying, scared, your sufferings, the
hell return.
But since
you had a chunk of the ultimate experience, the die is cast: you want to return
to the blissful, happy state of mindless pure consciousness. You need to train
you attention, your consciousness, practice, until they settle in the existence
in the present moment.
This
happened with the most of those you may have read about: they had a glimpse of
the ultimate experience, then fell back into the hell of the mind, from where
they finally managed to establish enlightenment through repeated attention-focusing
exercises.
Q: Is the spontaneous and permanent awakening possible without exercises?
A: It is
not possible. Our civilization in the last couple of millennia has put thinking
on the pedestal.
The
majority of the cutting edge civilizational discoveries are the results of
this: the scientific discoveries, innovations, the currently highly developed
level of medical science, but at the same time, our stressful lives, our
unhappiness too. We harvested electricity by splitting the atom, but it also
gave us the nuclear bomb – this duality characterizes us: the neutral atom is
an excellent servant, but a devastating enemy as well, depending on what the
mind (ego, self-centeredness) uses it.
The
mind is a great servant but a terrible, tyrannical ruler. And we usually fell
under the tyrannical rule of the mind.
We are
unable not to think, thoughts just insidiously occupy us, they are constantly
flowing in us, they entwine us so much that we forget that we are who think,
know and use the thoughts, not the slaves of them. We should use the mind as an
outstanding tool instead of letting it rule over us.
In the last
few thousand years, thoughts have ruled us. We learn thinking from day one, we
are conditioned and programmed to do this up to the point where the insanely
rushing thoughts trap us.
We become enlightened for a moment, realize
our true Selves, then after a while the usual thought-flows and the mind
return, conquer and floor us. Every thought demands attention (“I am an
important thought, if you do not deal with me, you will ruin your life), and so
our full attention is occupied by thoughts and the related emotions. We have no
other option than interrupting the thread of compulsive thinking by focusing
our attention on the thoughts and detaching from them, then directing our
conscious attention to the consciousness hidden inside us. From this point the
mind’s magic that holds us captive gradually weakens.
Q: Is attention
a skill that we have to learn or an ability that we lost and have to regain?
A: As we have
successfully mastered the art of awakened consciousness, we realize that
consciousness had always been with us – we just did not know about it. We could
say that there is a constantly present consciousness, a knowing that we tend to
forget about. During enlightenment we rediscover and remember this human
dimension.
Q: What is the
guarantee that my consciousness will awaken if I go to satsangs and study the
words and deeds of the thousands of those who found enlightenment?
A: Nothing.
There is no guarantee, though these are undoubtedly the ways that open the gate
of “non-spontaneous” enlightenment for you.
If you read
books and listen to lectures from those who have awakened to the consciousness
of the mind, then – if you really do pay close attention to them and let their
words act as guides, follow the pointer finger where it points – you will
recognize what has always been in you too.
The guides
of those who have awakened to the consciousness of the mind emerged from the
dimension of the consciousness, they see what you may not yet see, describe the
indescribable to point where it is worth looking to.
There is no guarantee, because it depends on
you, whether you look where the finger points or you start munching on it and
forget about the guiding of the finger in the stupor of the munching.
Q: I do not have
time to practice and do not even feel like doing it, I just want to end my
sufferings!
A: What
makes you say you “do not have time”, you “do not feel like doing it”, but you
want to “end your sufferings”? The mind.
The mind
does not have time, does not feel like doing anything, but always wants
something. The mind is upset, always seeking a way “how to go on, how can I
reach this and this, as quickly as possible, as soon as possible, because I do
not want to wait, I do not have time, I do not want to practice anything. I
only want enlightenment, because it could be the remedy to the stress inside
me, to the unbearable depression and burnout, I want happiness right here,
right now.”
The keyword
is: right here, right now!
You can be
enlightened here and now, you can be a calm, peaceful, happy observer of
yourself! There are some “tricks”, “techniques” which make it easier to live
through the ultimate experience of enlightenment, but the events reached this
way will mostly be only temporary, just passing moments: you experience it now
and then sink back into the hell of the mind after a while. You need to put in
a lot of work to stabilize the mindless, pure consciousness (you know: there is
no lunch for free ☺), you need to practice returning to
consciousness. I present methods for this in this book.
Q: Why do I have
to wake up from the thought’s dream?
A: You do
not have to.
Consciousness
can take up the shape of a multitude of forms (including your form as well) in
order to express and experience itself. If it does not take up a shape, it does
not have the “I am” sensation and cannot awaken to its own consciousness.
It is almost
impossible to grasp the meaning of this with the human mind: from the blissful
“existing in itself”, from the nothing, it takes up the shape of countless
forms, gets lost in the role of its form in order to (after surpassing the
forms) recognize itself as formless.
If you feel
like you really want to dive into real depth of yourself because you can no
longer bear the suffering of this worldly existence and the stupor of the
forms, then the “thing”, the consciousness awakens within you.
If you do
not feel this, you just want to begin an exciting ego-debate, then your time
has not come yet: you still need mind-storms, sufferings, games in the realm of
forms.
This is all
fine. If your whole being is longing for consciousness, then the die is cast:
sooner or later you will reach it. If you do not, there is nothing wrong with
that too: you are just getting familiar with it, something begins to awaken in
you – you need more time to realize: you do not need more time.
And there
is something else: in the last few centuries we have possessed such advanced
technology, which boost the abnormal functioning of the mind. We have nuclear
bombs of devastating power, our politicians, with their heads filled with lust
for power, can use them at any time, we create super-resistant viruses with
unintentionally consumed antibiotics, we replace and eliminate basic ecological
pillars which are the pillars of life – not only the fate of the human race is
at stake, with our madness, we are risking the extinction of many other terrestrial
life forms too.
The mind
declared a war on instinct, heart, nature – the social and ecological crises,
which are gradually becoming more and more severe come with no surprise. We are
not far from wiping out not only the human life, but the majority of life on
Earth. Otherwise:
Perhaps this is an evolutionary branch: a
bifurcation. Perhaps
these are the serious crises we need to kick the mind into working and make us
awaken to our own consciousness: recognize ourselves as creative souls, blend
in to nature (like many creatures do it with bio mimicry), live together with
the Whole as conscious, spiritual human beings. Not as the sole ruler of planet
Earth, but as a partner, cooperating with the Whole.
(Excerpt from the book "Mindfulness Meditation - Journey into Consciousness" by Ervin K. Kery)
