Self-Realization & Enlightenment
In all my reading on spiritual matters I thought I understood what enlightenment meant. I’m not so sure anymore.
I’d assumed that “enlightenment” and “self-realization” were one in the same. The questioning technique of Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj, the “Who am I?” question, seems to tease out the “self-realization” aspect. Having tried this question on for size myself many, many times, I think it would be better to ask “What”, or “Where” am I? ”Who” always results in either the obvious answer of “me”, or, if delved in deeply enough, the scariest answer of all, “I don’t know”. ”I don’t know” screws with you on many levels, and tends to make you shake your head whilst your lips hang loose and slap against opposing cheeks making a sound like whacking a wet turkey with the palm of your hand. Try it if you haven’t already (the question, not whacking a wet turkey). Seriously. Go look for yourself. Ask yourself who you are, then look… really look. It’s so obvious to say that you are your body, but that’s just not true. I’m stuck with being inside my brain somewhere, but I’m working on it. I can’t quite accept the fact that “I” am not in here at all even though I have had that terrifying realization (which I have put under the bed for now). ”What am I?” is a little more forgiving. It allows for there to be a who, but at the same time, gives you an out by allowing the who not to matter. You can be something other than this body with the “what am I?” question.
Either way you go – “who” or “what” – the ultimate answer to the question reveals the “self-realization”. After all the exercises in who or what the hell you are, the ultimate answer is supposed to be that you are this space-like awareness in which all of this happens. Thoughts, sensory inputs, vision, the world, other people, war, coffee, whatever… it’s all happening in and because of that which you truly are. Well, it just so happens that that’s where I’m stuck. I’ll call that point zero, or the starting point. I’ve become very accustomed to the housing I believe myself to be (or be in), and whatever noticing that is supposed to happen that points me to see that I am that space-like awareness is turning out to be an extraordinarily difficult task. And I wonder, if I finally realize my true nature, become self-realized, what then? Is that the end of the road? Is there no further spiritual development? That’s where I begin to wonder if “self-realization” and “enlightenment” are two different things.
Self realization, if I’m right, just means you figure out that you are not what you thought you were all along. I like think there would be an “ah ha” to go along with that realization, but maybe not. Whatever. Now you know that you are not this body, that you are this no-thing that is aware of everything, but can’t be pointed to. Good. What about “enlightenment” then? Is it enough to realize your own true nature? Is that enlightenment, or is enlightenment a further realization that occurs after self-realization?
Alright. Shop’s open. C’mon with the c’mon. Talk to me, Goose!
Hi, I just discovered your blog and read through this post . . very interesting. I’ll say what I have to say and hope that you find it of value.
Self-realization is a process, it is not a beginning or an end. Some people call the beginning of the self-realization process an ‘awakening’ and the end of the process is often referred to as ‘enlightenment’. I would describe the self-realization process as an ‘unfolding’ and a ‘revealing’ of a greater ‘Truth-Reality-Integrity’ of BEING within. And, actually, there is no end; there are landmarks though.
Enlightenment is a pristine state of being.
To reach a point where one becomes enlightened one has to ‘illumine’ the mind/brain. Illumination precedes enlightenment . . . enlightenment is a permanent state, one which is Free and liberated from problematic living and all psychological and emotional pain, misery, suffering and unhappiness.
The self-realization process involves continual self-observation, which eventually leads to self-separation. Self-observation is you, your intelligence, observing yourself/personality as it thinks, becomes emotional and acts in the world.
Self-separation is a point/landmark where your intelligence separates from what it is observing; You ‘realize’ that you are the intelligent observer of all your discursive thoughts and emotions . . . and you therefore separate from them. Over time spend in self-observation and self-separation, you develop a greater and greater distance between your intelligence as the observer and that which you are observing. The observer and the observed eventually separate completely and the ‘false’ conditioned mind dissipates, dissolves and is gone, never to be seen again.
Now you are enlightened.
The mind is Still and yet intelligently ‘Alert’. There is No more discursive thought or emotion, only ‘present moment awareness’ and the natural state of ‘pure and clear perception’ remain. Out of this pristine clarity, the original state, perfection unfolds without interference. Job Done!
The way to enlightenment is within. You go within by turning your attention, which has been primarily focused through the senses outwardly, back within to observe the conditioned mind. You have to work your way back through your conditioned (sub-conscious) mind into the pristine stillness and clarity of the unconscious level of the mind . .
. . at this stage you can now descend into ‘your’ pristine clarity and realize deeper levels of being.
Well, that’s my experience of the subject!
All the best for now,
Doug ‘1Yogi2Many’ McMillan
Thanks for commenting, Doug. Very nice to meet you by the way.
OK, well what all you’ve said here, if true, tells me that they are separate “levels” of awakening. It’s sounds all Jed McKenna-ish… sort of. Interesting. I’ll have to sit on it for a while. I appreciate the input, Doug. Nice to have you here.
Mike, you are absolutely lovely…leave it at that. All that stuff about levels of realisation, states, pristine being…the mind is having a go. It’s fun, nothing more. Just be. Which you are!
Mike,
Thanks, it is lovely to be here. ‘The’ mind is not having a go, honest, although I do understand what Suzanne is implicating here
In fact Suzanne is right . . just ‘be’, if you can . . Ramana Maharshi, J.Krishnamurti and the rest would agree, and so do I, no doubt about it . . .
. . . but they also realized the truth within themselves by going through the ’self-realization process’ before they could simply ‘be’ as did all the ‘realized’ men and women of the earth.
To ‘Be’ means to have a mind that is not disturbed by discursive thought and emotion. So, obviously you can only ‘Be’ if your mind is ‘Still’ and undisturbed in every moment . . . right, that does make sense, yes?
But Suzanne is absolutely right . . just ‘Be’ for ‘Be-ing’ is the original state!
Doug
It’s all a kind of circular logic, isn’t it? Just be, a fact of which I have no choice… I am. I could just sit in a wheelchair against a window and just be, or I could run around a padded room babbling about alien abductions and still be. Do something, do nothing… can’t avoid just being. No matter what I do, I am. Maybe Suzanne is saying I would do just as well to stop this maddening nonsense altogether, and get on with life without worrying about whether or not I’ll be enlightened someday and how to arrive at that state. Suzanne, of all people, you should know by know… I can’t do that… oh that I could. A good auto accident with a good blow to the head might do it, but I won’t be initiating any such accidents on my own.
Synchronity is as meaningless as anything else, but delightful when it seems to happen. My friend Barry at Ox Herding, a Zen blog, just had a brief blog entry about not being bothered by mind:
http://www.oxherding.com/my_weblog/2009/11/dont-be-bothered.html
That seems to fit in well here. It describes as well as anything my “experience”. There is nothing around anymore that is bothered by my mind. It can do what it likes, and does, as you say, Mike. So what? Let it!
Ah… refreshing like an ice-cold Coke.
or the sound of a delicious turkey being slapped?
Sorry i have to live up to your advaita clown name right?
I love watching this minds shenanigans on the big screen, even in meditation things are brought up. Good ol mind just trying to live its life of separation even though its not even separate at all… Its like the shows where two guys are talking about some other guy in the office but the third guy being talked about is standing right next to them and is like, “hey guys… I’m RIGHT HERE!”
Ha! Slapping a wet turkey should be a movie sound effect.
Are you an Advaita Clown, Nick? I’ll have to get a picture of you so I can add you to the comic book lineup.
haha, i don’t really know what I am, at this moment, i do more zen and meditation then advaita. However Zen thought and Advaita thought i don’t think are that different (if we are referring to people like Krishnamurti, Nisargadatta Maharaj).
The Truths the Truth its just illustrated with a different color, but if you consider me to be an advaita clown then i would be honored =P
Yeah, see… Zen is something to do, which is funny to me. Advaita can be that way too, and some take it to that level, but I think Zen and Advaita are saying the same thing. Once realized, you realize there was nothing to do.
OK, well there are very specific criteria for being an Advaita Clown, and I don’t know if you’d actually like it. You want the test?
How good do you think that ice cold coke was for you?
Yes . . I agree, being is the key. That is where ‘I am’; I being the reader of these words. There is nothing else.
I started this whole process when I began Yoga and meditation at just 13 years of age. My whole life has been dedicated to this process. Eventually all that remains is ‘being’.
In the state of being there is nothing but what is, and what is, is already perfect. That is my direct experience . . and it is truly beautiful. But how to get there? I say:
Let go of the mind and simply ‘be’ in this moment here and now.
In this pristine state, which simply means that there is no discursive thought/emotion disturbing the mind, the mind goes perfectly still of its own accord Mike. There is no effort involved; you are simply the observer of the thinking mind as I clearly stated in my first comment . . .
. . this isn’t about being either right or wrong. It is about the realization of your ’self’. That is what your original post was about, right, that and the whole enlightenment subject? Now, the word realization contains within it the words ‘real’ and ‘I’, you can see that very clearly for yourself, yes? Well the self-realization process is all about you having the direct experience of the ‘real I’ . . which is your reality as unadulterated ‘be-ing’.
‘In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, but in the experts mind there are few.’
Shunryu Suzuki, contemporary Zen Master.
Letting go of the last moment, and having your ‘attention’ in this moment, is the key . . .
You’ll notice he said ‘Don’t be bothered by your mind’, not ‘Don’t bother with what is happening within your mind’!
So, be very aware of what is happening within your mind/psyche, but don’t be bothered by it. Don’t let it become a problem. Simply observe it and be aware of it in the same way that a scientist observes an experiment in his lab. Simply ‘be’ the impartial observer of the thinking principle. Nothing more is required.
hmm, realization, there is the real I and in being is the action… the “Be I” interesting…
This thought spurred on this short story from wherever it came, its actually one of my favorites..
The disciple asked the master to share some words with him on being enlightened,
The master got out a piece of paper and wrote down one word, “Awareness”
The disciple then read the paper and asked the master, “could you elaborate on this a little more?”
So the master took the paper and wrote down, “Awareness Awareness.” and gave it back.
Perplexed by this the disciple asked the master, “Master, I don’t understand, could you explain to me what this means?”
So the master took the paper back gladly and wrote down on it, “Awareness Awareness Awareness means Awareness!!”
No doubt sounds like a story that came out of Anthony De Mellos pages, a great Jesuit Mystic.
Good one. Have you read “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones”?
Coke is great! I don’t drink it often ’cause I’m getting FAT and I hate it. Next thing you know I’ll be drinking Diet Coke, which for some reason only Fat people drink. Like Zig Ziglar said about cottage cheese… he didn’t touch the stuff ’cause it makes people fat (only fat people are eating it). Anyway…
Wow! Since 13 you’ve been going at this? When did you realize?
The quote by Suzuki is priceless. I’ve used that line before. It’s fun!
“So, be very aware of what is happening within your mind/psyche, but don’t be bothered by it. Don’t let it become a problem. Simply observe it and be aware of it in the same way that a scientist observes an experiment in his lab. Simply ‘be’ the impartial observer of the thinking principle. Nothing more is required.”
Sounds easy enough, but I’m afraid that I am not yet able to pull the noticing away from the buzz of thought. But I am aware of that happening, so maybe someday.
Easy? No. Simple to describe? Yes!
Sooner or later you have to be willing to spend copious amounts of time as the silent witness, the watcher or observer of the thinking principle. It is a tough mountain to climb, for sure, but the view from the summit is well worth it.
Spiritually speaking, is there an enemy? If so, who do you ‘think’ the enemy is? Have you read the Bhagavad Gita? Arjuna went to war against the enemy and his story describes the trials and tribulations involved beautifully.
I went through many, many years as the observer of all I was not, in order to eventually break free from it, and realize the nothingness out of which everything unfolds. I was in my 40’s when it happened but I had to go through hell along the way.
Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that self-realization is easy. It is not, and you have to be willing to go to war with yourself, the ego, the personality that ‘thinks’ it knows so much, but is in fact the only real problem; the enemy within!
Self-observation leads you by the hand across the stream of the thinking mind and, eventually, into the state Greg Goode demonstrates so well.
In the realization of unity/oneness you never lose your individuality Mike, but you do lose all your false conditioning . . you lose everything you ‘think’ you are, but are NOT!
There are some great comments here; you have some very good contributors to your blog Mike
No, don’t believe there are any “spiritual” enemies. Haven’t read the Gita, but have read many things by Maharshi in which it had been quoted many times.
Certainly, you didn’t spend all that time, I mean every waking minute, as the observer, did you? Doesn’t seem possible. I watch/notice when I remember to, but it’s not a full-time job by any means.
And, oh hell no!, I have no false illusions that it’s easy. If it were, damn it, I would’ve been there long ago.
What you say about being willing to go to war with yourself sounds familiar…
Hi.
Just before falling asleep, for the 2nd time, last night, there was this thought:
“liberation takes you to the place where you can’t go.”
It seemed calming at 3 in the morning, but now it’s just perplexing. And therein lies the rub.. and the story.
Whut up, Viv? I’m gonna have to wake up at 3 am and recite this koan you made. I think I may just awaken if I can time it right. Oh, wait… 3 am for you is like what, 10 pm here? That’s just 35 minutes away. I better hit the hay! Well, that ain’t gonna happen. I’d be too anxious about the impending enlightenment. Nevermind.
Hello there, Mike.
You are probably already suspicious of this talk of levels, stages, and processes. That is good.
We can only see a process either through hindsight of what has already happened, or through our projection of what we think might happen at some point in the future. I can see no use for it.
Don’t get me wrong, all of this talk might be right; in the end, you may have gone through some kind of process. But you can never know any of it – at this moment – without the reference of the past. And once that comes into it, all one is left with is a self-centered game of what I will achieve once this all takes place.
But what use are these ideas of the process?
The word realization means – to make real. It is interesting when you see the words in the original meaning. Is that what we hope to do? Make the self real? To give a continuity to the thing, the final indelible brushstroke that will make the world realize how wonderful we are?
I am not saying it is any of these things. But when you look at it, what do you see?
Suspicious, yes. It’s seems very complicated, and what I “feel” about it, what seems to resonate with me is that it should be very easy and natural, but extremely frustrating and vexing up until that point. That’s where I am btw (anger, frustration). And I can see that it could be useful to talk of levels from a perspective different from mine, so the comments are appreciated all around.
When I look at what? What I think realization is, or what I want from it? Well, if I am this ethereal spacial awareness thingy that everything arises in, I want to know that. Right now, it’s only an idea that I’ve been told, and I can see glimpses of that as being truth, but have no direct experience in it. I see folks trying to explain something that obviously cannot be explained in any helpful manner for those of us who are going WTF!
hi mike
still reading and enjoying your blog
its easy to forget something when using the words you and yours…. i should know, i seem to do it all the time… thats right! there is no you…
i also have varieties of the who am i question, like where is this coming from? and who is receiving it?
i’m sure there is an ‘ah ha’ moment, but i can also see how this feeds the notion of a someone getting something
oh.. got to go to work.. bye for now
Hey Mike! Good to “see” you again!
I use those too sometimes. It’s more of a marveling than a serious question. Like amazement that I’m able to even ponder such things at all.
Hope work was good… mine’s just starting.
“What use are these ideas of the process?”
That’s a great question Takuin, what use are they? Process is not simply an idea of the mind, it is ‘direct experience!’ It is a process of ‘change’ within the person who is realizing who they ‘really’ are.
Mike, what you really are doesn’t change, how can it, it is unchanging. What does change then?
What changes through the self-realization process, yes, I said process
, is an expansion of consciousness; you become less and less unreal and more authentic as ‘presence’.
You can’t make self ‘real’. You can, however, become fully conscious, drop the conditioned self and see what remains.
Look, in my experience, realization means – to ‘be’ real. To be the ‘real I’, not the false conditioned self you presently consider yourself to be.
Hey, I could be wrong, I wouldn’t want you or anyone else to believe me . . far from it; begin with self-observation and see where it takes you. All I can say is that when I eventually managed to drop the ‘mask’ of the personality, that was when I realized my authentic state of presence/being, which in truth is nameless.
By the way, there is nothing wrong in referring to the past. I live in a state of alert stillness of mind, centered in present moment awareness, my mind is in the original state of pure and clear perception and yet I am able to refer to the past; no problem, I have a memory and I can use it for practical matters. I can also look at all events and circumstances from the past without becoming psychologically or emotionally disturbed by them.
I am this moment, this moment is what I am, and in this moment I am free of unhappiness and problematic living. Enlightenment is now, not in the past or future.
. . I hope neither of you object to my making a reply, there are some great questioning minds on here
Great comments!
the only thing you have to go on is intuition, you ‘know’ that there is something out there (that must be in here too) – and you are looking for proof of it – Mulder and Scully style.
It cannot be explained by the thinking mind, but there is this ‘knowing’ or else you wouldn’t still be searching. Something is almost tangible about it, something you can almost grab hold of, but can’t.
When you give up trying to think your way into it and relax into the unknowingness of it, it becomes even more tangible, kind of like a field of something that cannot be felt heard or touched, but pervades everything.
The mind cannot comprehend it.
Intuition is right. Hadn’t thought about that, but it’s so true. All I have is my intuition. There’s no proof to sway me one way or the other right now, so I follow my gut. Good call.
You suggesting I give up trying again?
I lost count… what, 55 times now?
155 more like, its like a broken record. But it is good because every time I write it, there is new meaning, it just gets deeper and deeper.
I write it to ‘you’ but it comes back to ‘me’ a thousand fold -
nice x
I found your blog by searching wordpress.com for “advaita.” I thought maybe you would be interested in reading Michael James’ blog if you haven’t already. He talks about the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and the self-enquiry exercise. I’m in not affiliated in any way with him, I’m just a seeker like you and thought you might like his writings. The address is happinessofbeing.blogspot.com
Thanks Tom! I’ll check it out right now. Glad to have you as a reader… thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Intuition is ‘tuition’ from within: Inner Knowledge. Some people also refer to it as a sixth sense, or an inner sense, which is also your ‘innocence’. The innocent original state of being, the state of presence that resides within you before, during and after form; like now.
The Truth is NOT out there . . .
. . . it IS Within You
True.
“Out there, truth is not. Within, truth is.” Read with Yoda voice.
OOOhhh Doug, I like that – tuition, innocence – great play on words.
Yeah, sixth sense has nothing to do with the mind and cannot be quantified…….it is this all pervading K N O W I N G or “spukhafte Fernwirkung” as Einstein called it.
yoda knows……..
lune. . hmmm, this sounds like spooky Mulder working from a distance!
“Quantified cannot the intuitive knowing be” – 1Yoda2Many
No Doug, its just Mike’s comment threads invading my inbox.
hey, 1yoda2many could be a great twitter name, you got it already ?????? x
Sorry… sheeesh!
Well now lune, um, no.
I am ‘1yogi2many’ on twitter and on my blog. I am NOT 1yoda2many . . so go for it why don’t ya?
I figure that we are all 1something2many! In fact most of us are 1opinion2many
http://1yogi2many.blogspot.com/
I am 2tall4ayoda
so I’ll leave 1yoda2many for you Doug x
Wow, me too, I’m way too tall . . . more Jar Jar Binks than Yoda . . .
. . . but how tall is too tall for a yogi? Don’t answer that! You’re just having a giraffe now; that’s the long and the short of it
Its very pleasing to get that feeling of “what the heck just happened” when intuition takes place and the mind doesn’t know where it came from =P As it will never know, because it takes quantum leaps if you will from question directly to answer without all the rubbish along the way..
mm… intuition being innocence or child like, somewhere along the lines of “growing up” we buried it in a whole to later dig it up, its all coming back, i guess i didn’t quite dig down far enough and thankfully i didn’t.
Nice bit of self-discovery there Nick.
ha, yeah, do you ever wonder why what we are decides to search at a particular age or time like doug for instance started at 13 which is relatively young (although there are cases like osho that said he was born enlightened) and like I seemed to have start in my late teens (although im aware the process has been going on longer than this body) but why who we really are chooses a certain time to begin brushing the dust off the ol mirror.
Dunno, man. Or why some seem to never even give a shit. How old are you anyway?
Innocence + life experience – the conditioned mind = Presence.
But a sense of humour helps
E=MC^2
Mike + BS – Seeking = Easy Street
haha so true mike, I’m 22 in this body, but I haven’t had the birthday yet…
I’m very thankful where i’m at right now, because i’ve met such great people even across the states and country. It wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the way that I drifted. =]
Wise for your years, Nick. You should be a guru by 30, no problem!