14. Understanding An Enlightened Master

An enlightened Master is in ecstasy. He is always in bliss and joy. It takes nothing for the Master to let go of the body. He is merely holding on to his body like we hold handkerchief- with our fingertips.

It is a delicate hold. An enlightened Master has no feeling of his physical body. He is not bound by the physical boundaries we have. He is beyond the body. To remind Himself of the body, to hold on to it for serving people, and to shower His compassion, he often does things contrary to His advice.

Consider these examples. Vivekananda, an enlightened master, did drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. We do not know or understand that the enlightened masters have to create some desire to keep themselves in their body. When they are at the peak of ecstasy, they expand and lose their boundaries. At such times, desires will help them come back to their bodies.

Vivekananda had to smoke or drink to be within the confines of his body. It is very difficult for him otherwise, because of the tremendous ecstasy he experienced. Who would like to fore go that unimaginable ecstasy and come back to the body? It is their sheer compassion, which makes them do so. They have a mission to complete on this planet Earth. Their presence is required for the good of mankind.

Instead of keeping Vivekananda as an inspiration for enlightenment, some people inculcate his habits of smoking and drinking. They do not realize why he was doing it; they take it as a license to do the same things. They pick up smoking and drinking and drop enlightenment. They forget that he did it after enlightenment.

Ramakrishna, another great enlightened master, had a desire for jalebis (a Hindu sweet). When he was in an expansive mood, he used to ask for this particular sweet. People around him used to wonder why he was taking so many jalebis at certain times. They found it very amusing, as it did not go with the conventional image of an enlightened master. Never did they realize that he was doing it not out of greed but out of compassion. He had to be in his body to serve humanity; he had to live to accomplish what he had come for.

That is why THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM says physical activities are in no way related to enlightenment. An enlightened man can never fake his feelings. He can only be natural. But, an ordinary man can fake anything, even his naturalness.