| 213.
|
Enlightenment has nothing to do
with 'merging with the Self' or
‘becoming one with God’. In reality, we are already
the Self so that these expressions could have no meaning. Nor
is it a 'feeling of unity'.
|
|
When a pot is broken, the ‘pot space’ does
not merge with the ‘total space’; the ‘total
space’ is entirely unaffected by the presence of
the container and remains the same before, during and
after the temporary appearance of the pot.
|
216.
|
Enlightenment is not about 'experiencing
the Self' - otherwise everyone would be enlightened.
It is not about experience at all, it is about self-knowledge
- the direct knowledge that you are already that which
you seek . (See 25 - 97 .)
|
217.
|
Nor is enlightenment itself an
experience - experiences come and go. Enlightenment is
not temporary - once it happens, that is it. Consequently,
if you had an experience and wonder whether you are now
enlightened, you can be sure that you are not. Also,
there is no need for a seeker to try to recapture a ‘good’ experience,
thinking that it was somehow closer to enlightenment than the
usual ‘bad’ experiences. (See 102 to 104 ) |
219.
|
Enlightenment is not a 'state' – these
also come and go.
|
221.
|
It is pedantically true that there
is no such thing as 'gradual enlightenment'. As noted
in 94 , however, there is another potential misunderstanding
of terms here. It is true that you cannot be
‘partly’ enlightened – you either are or you
are not – but the removal of self-ignorance can certainly
be gradual. |
222.
|
There is much confusion about 'who' it is that gains
enlightenment. Clearly the non-dual Self, brahman, cannot
become enlightened and yet the ultimate truth is that
there is no separate entity, no satyam ‘ego’ or
'person'. |
|
Jean Klein (who was essentially
a direct-path teacher) said: "Liberation does not concern the person, for
liberation is freedom from the person." (Ref. 48)
Tony Parsons (who is a neo-advaitin teacher) says: "There
is no such thing as an 'enlightened person'. No person
has ever been 'enlightened'." (Ref. 47) Jean Klein
is correct to the extent that he uses the word ‘liberation’;
Tony Parsons is wrong since he uses the word ‘enlightened’.
N.B. Remember the definition of person given in 105 to
109. It is the jIva who gains enlightenment, and it takes
place in the mind as is explained in 99.
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