Enlightenment

INTRODUCTION:

This text was machine-transcribed from the printed book and may contain errors. Select the words and choose “Report a mistake”.

In Swamiji’s Own Words:
The four permanent changes happened
permanently in me when I became
enlightened.

The first thing was that all inner chatter disappeared. By inner chatter, I mean the constant chatter of words that goes on inside us normally. In the gap between my words as I talk now, even in those few seconds, there is no chatter inside. It is simply pure space, silence.

The second thing is that the idea that my boundary ends here at this body, and there starts the rest of the world disappeared. Border consciousness dissolved. I don’t feel I am just this six foot form. I see and feel myself in everything.

In Swamiji’s Words:

The third thing is that even though the body is a male body, the inner identity of male or female disappeared. The psychological idea that ‘I am male’ or ‘I am female’ doesn’t exist in me anymore.

The fourth thing is that there is a constant excitement within, everything excites. Even small things give big excitement. Even a simple thing creates intense excitement and joy. The most important thing is that I don’t feel bored with anything.

I can say that these four changes are permanent things that happened in me after enlightenment.

ULTIMATE BUT NOT FINAL

Be very clear, enlightenment is not the end. It is the ultimate experience, but not the final experience.

You need to understand these two words ‘final’ and ‘ultimate’, they are very different. For example, after the first day of discourse in this series, one person came to me and said, ‘You have said everything. Why do we need one more class?’ Yesterday another person said, ‘Swamiji, on the first day, I thought you could not take us any deeper, it is over. Today, suddenly I felt that you have taken us deeper than yesterday, and you cannot take us any deeper than this. Every day I feel that you cannot take us much deeper than this, but we do keep going deeper.’ Everyday the person felt that the experience was the ultimate.

Ultimate means living every moment totally, completely. Ultimate is not final. It can be updated. There is a big difference between these two words, ultimate and final. If it is ultimate, it is happening every moment, it is not final.

NO VERBALIZATION, VISUALIZATION

When you are enlightened, there will not be any movement of letter or word or thought between your navel and throat.

Words will come only from the throat. I can say this is one of the precise descriptions of enlightenment. There will not be any word, thought, syllable, or sound movement between the navel and the throat. Words will be there only when you are talking.

COURAGE TO HANDLE TROUBLES

ENLIGHTENMENT DOES NOT LEAD TO THE ABSENCE OF TROUBLES. IT LEADS TO THE PRESENCE OF COURAGE TO HANDLE TROUBLES.

PEAK OF THE BEING

When the intellect ripens and reaches its peak, it becomes intelligence. When emotion ripens and reaches its peak, it becomes trust. When the being ripens and reaches its peak, it becomes enlightenment.

RELAXING FROM YOUR IDENTITY IN YOUR MIND

When you relax from the identity that you project to the outer world, to show who you are to others, it is called the first experience' or satori. Relaxing from the second identity that you carry in your inner world, to prove who you are to yourself, is what I call enlightenment!

TRANSCENDENCE OF

THE HUMAN STATE

Someone asked me, 'Is enlightenment
the natural human state or is it a
transcendence of the human state?'

Surely, enlightenment is the transcendence of the human state. Whatever you think of as the human state is not complete. You are only a seed, a potential, a possibility. You are not a tree. You are not actuality. Your actuality is enlightenment. You are called a human being in your potential state. In your actual state, realized state, you are called an enlightened being.

Be very clear, you are not a human being
with a spiritual experience, you are a
spiritual being with a human experience!

Beyond yogic powers When you meditate, you can get various yogic powers or siddhis. But enlightenment happens when you go beyond these powers also. Enlightenment is having the capacity to handle the powers, as well as the intelligence to drop them when necessary.

CLEAR, UNDISTURBED

PEACE

Enlightenment is having such a strong and clear sense of peace inside you that even your thoughts cannot disturb you.

ALLOWING THE NATURAL FLOW

OF ENERGY THROUGH YOUR BODY

Enlightenment means simply allowing that natural flow of energy through your body without creating conflicts. The moment you start choosing and prioritizing, you have already created conflict. Enlightenment never happens to a person who chooses enlightenment. It happens to a person who chooses choicelessness. This is an important understanding.

BEYOND BLISS

Always being intense’ is the main mark of an enlightened master. When you see that, you understand it as ‘bliss’ or ‘happiness’. To tell you honestly, I myself do not feel that I am a separate blissful being. All I know is that something extraordinary is constantly happening in me, very intensely. Only an outsider feels it is ‘bliss’. Actually it is not even ‘bliss’. It is the quality that cannot be described, that cannot be conceived by the mind.

GOALS:

To make the children
understand about the meaning
of enlightenment.

ASSESSMENT

➤ What are four permanent changes happen in us when we become enlightened? ➤ Is ultimate and final same? ➤ Which is the ultimate experience but not the final experience? ➤ When there will not be any verbalization or visualization. ➤ Will enlightenment people have trouble? ➤ How will they handle the trouble? ➤ When the intellect ripens what it becomes? ➤ When the being ripens what it becomes? ➤ Which is called the first experience?

➤ Relaxing from which identity is
called as enlightenment.?
➤ Which is the transcendence of
the human state?
➤ Which awareness comes when
we have enlightenment?
➤ Will enlightened people have
yogic powers?
➤ When we have clear,
undisturbed peace?
➤ Will enlightenment happen
when we choose bliss?
➤ Which is an important
understanding?
➤ Which is the main mark of
enlightened master?

CONCLUSION

When you get enlightened, all these

three experiences, experiences the

experienced become one.

ART OF THE DAY

CREATING DESIGNS DRAWING

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Paper

Sketch

Pencil

PROCEDURE:

Encourage the children to create their own designs using different patterns. They can exhibit their creativity by creating more designs.

INFERENCE: Opening without restriction with creativity is happiness. When you relax from the identity that you project to the outer world, to show who you are to others—it is called the first experience. Relaxing from the second identity that you carry in your inner world to prove who you are to yourself is what is called enlightenment.Activity of the day:

ACTIVITY OF THE THE DAY

ACTIVITY OF THE DAY WRITE/DRAW WITH OTHERS HAND

MATERIALS NEEDED:
Paper
Pencil
EXPLANATION:

Children understand unclutching every thought by doing this activity and being responsible for others. PREPARATION: Have enough pencils for everyone and 1 paper for each and tell them to hold their friend's hand and write or draw using their friend's hand.Presentation: Each child has to hold their friend's hand and write or draw using their friend's hand. This activity needs lot of coordination between the child and his friend

INFERENCE

As this activity needs lot of
coordination and
concentration, this enables
them to focus and being in
now and to unclutch the
past previous thoughts and
also helping others and
being responsible for
others achievement.

EGO

ENLIGHTENMENT

INTRODUCTION:

Your ego is not powerful enough to take away your enlightenment! Understand that your ego is not so powerful that it can take away your enlightenment.

You need to stop thinking that you have an ego. Even your ego is not as big as you think. You are not as big as you always think! So even your ego cannot take away your enlightenment. Whether you believe it or not, experience it or not, you are eternal Consciousness.

Your logic is also not as strong as you think. I always tell people, your ignorance is not so strong as to take enlightenment away from you. Even in your ignorance or ego you are not that big a person, and that is the truth!

A cartoon illustration of a mountain, a forest and a river

BEFORE AND AFTER

There is a beautiful Zen saying, ‘Before enlightenment, a mountain was

mountain, a river was river, a forest was forest. When you start seeking,

when you start searching, a mountain is not a mountain, a river is not a

river, a forest is not a forest. Everything is chaos. When you achieve

what you are seeking – enlightenment -again, a mountain is a

mountain, a river is a river, a forest is a forest.

It is very difficult to understand this statement. What they mean is, before you started seeking and after you achieved enlightenment, things are clear. But during the process of seeking itself, things are not clear. Although before seeking and after enlightenment, things appear to be clear, the clarity before seeking is not the same clarity as after enlightenment.

Before seeking, the clarity that you have can be confused very easily by anything! It is not the ultimate clarity. It is just a vague idea. But after enlightenment, the clarity that you get cannot be confused by anything. It is the ultimate truth as it is. That is the difference.

The clarity that cannot be confused by anything is the clarity of enlightenment.

After enlightenment, the very frequency of seeing. things will be totally different. So although a mountain is a mountain, a river is a river, and a forest is a forest, the very frequency of seeing will be completely different. During seeking, since it is a transformational process, things will only be in confusion! Don't bother much about it.

GOALS:

To make the children

understand about the Ego Vs

Enlightenment, ways to achieve

enlightenment.

ASSESSMENT

Is your ego powerful enough to take away your enlightenment?

Can enlightenment be forced on you?

When it is forced can freedom provide happiness?

Do we need any qualification for enlightenment?

When you can have enlightenment?

Which is a gift?

What are the five clear cut-defined path for attaining enlightenment?

Which is the biggest service you can do in your life?

CONCLUSION

Difference between ego and enlightenement

A portrait of a male figure with ash markings on his forehead

ART OF THE DAY

ART OF THE DAY

SELF PORTRAIT

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• Plain sheet
• Pen
• Sketch
• Pencil.

EXPLANATION:

Encourage the children to draw a self portrait of themselves

INFERENCE:

Enlightenment means simply allowing that natural flow of energy through your body without creating conflicts. Enlightenment never happens to a person who chooses choicelessness. This is an important understanding.