In various spiritual and esoteric circles, these two phenomena - enlightenment and spiritual awakening - are often confused, interpreted differently, identified and generally not understood. Because you can understand this only in one case - by truly experiencing it.
Any explanations are only descriptions, concepts, and they do not convey the Truth, but only point to it in one way or another, from one side or another. It's like a road sign with the name of a city written on it and an arrow showing where it is. Or it can be compared to a map, which shows the outline of a city in a two-dimensional plane. Many spiritual seekers equate a pointer with what it points to, or a map with territory. Because of this, disagreements, confusion and pointless disputes arise.
In this article I will try in simple words describe the difference between spiritual awakening and enlightenment, I will list the main signs and symptoms of both, based on my experience. Just keep in mind that this text is just another description, just one pointer, not the Truth. Truth cannot be conveyed in words; no one has ever been able to do this, and never will be able to. Just look in the direction the words point, you should discover the Supreme Reality for yourself.
Source of material - http://pro-svet.at.ua/index/0-146.
What is the difference between enlightenment and spiritual awakening?
I speak solely from my experience. You don't have to believe it, just take it as my point of view and explore for yourself. In my book “Enlightenment in Half an Hour” I insist on exactly this - don't trust anyone or anything, research for yourself. I can only show the direction to the Truth, but you will have to go yourself.
Spiritual Awakening Happens First, this is a much more common phenomenon than enlightenment. Spiritual awakening occurs in various religions, spiritual (and non-spiritual) practices, in various systems of self-improvement and self-knowledge. And sometimes it happens outside of practice, completely unexpectedly and for no apparent reason. There are many descriptions of the signs and symptoms of spiritual awakening, and they are all so different that total mass it looks somehow confusing, contradictory and doubtful. I have highlighted the most general points, the most important, universal ones, which I will share here.
Spiritual awakening is awakening from the illusion of being a body-mind-person. There is a realization that I am not a body, not a mind, not a person. This disidentification can happen instantly, or it can last for years until this understanding becomes absolutely clear and obvious.
In spiritual circles they say that spiritual awakening is the awareness of one's spiritual nature. I would say more simply - this is awareness of one’s non-material nature. The word “spirituality” is associated with a lot of misunderstandings, distortions and downright incorrect interpretations. Therefore, I would suggest going beyond religious terminology and calling it awareness of oneself as Consciousness.
The moment (or period) of spiritual awakening can be accompanied by various vivid and unusual experiences, “special effects” and insights, and their range is very wide. This could be the experience of light, divine sounds, visions of angels or Gods, a feeling of overwhelming love, ecstasy, a sense of unity, etc. In my case, it was an exit from the body in the waking state, when I began to see not through my eyes, but in some other, incomprehensible way. This was accompanied by an indescribable “WOW!”, and confirmed what I was already almost sure of - that I am not a body, but a consciousness. Everyone has their own special effects, but the common denominator of spiritual awakening is only one - awareness of oneself as consciousness, not matter.
After spiritual awakening, you already know from your experience that a person is basically consciousness, and the body-mind-personality is just temporary clothing. Identification with these external things disappears. More precisely, this identification is recognized as an illusion. But this is not enlightenment yet. At this level there is still some duality of “I” and “others”, even if these others are also spiritual beings, albeit in shells.
When enlightenment occurs, the illusion of duality (multiplicity) ceases to be perceived as reality. This is even more difficult to explain in words. Yes, there is the appearance of different people, objects, phenomena and events, but at the same time there is an understanding of advaita, awareness of non-duality. And this can also be accompanied by various special effects.
By the way, about special effects. These are side things. You shouldn't rely on them at all. All these signs and symptoms described on the Internet are widest spectrum experiences, and they are not necessarily associated with spiritual awakening or enlightenment. I periodically come across beautiful stories on the Internet like “Oh, I had such and such an experience, so I am awakening (or awakened, or enlightened).” Most often these are beautiful fairy tales that are so pleasing to the ego. I am giving a simple and reliable criterion for spiritual awakening is awareness of oneself as consciousness, and not as something material. All other criteria can be misleading, and for a long time.
Let's return to enlightenment.
What are the main signs of enlightenment?
After enlightenment, habitual thoughts may still arise that divide the Indivisible into separate parts, but there is an awareness that this division is conditional, artificial, and unreal. The mind is no longer deceived.
Enlightenment is the realization of the Truth, after which all questions dissolve and disappear. And all the answers, concepts, understandings accumulated on the spiritual path cease to matter. Enlightenment is the end of the search. The end of personality. End of illusions. This is sat-chit-ananda - eternity-consciousness-bliss. But life goes on.
Life after enlightenment is like watching a movie in which you are no longer identified with the main character, although you feel him; rather, you are the very space in which this entire film of life unfolds. And this film, in some incomprehensible way, “consists” of the same material as “you.” I call this material the word “consciousness”.
Everything is Consciousness. And just because consciousness takes one form or another, it does not cease to be consciousness. This is the same consciousness.
It's incomprehensible. This cannot be understood with the mind. And this cannot be explained in words.
And only when the mind calms down and stops creating false divisions into “I” and “not me” can sudden enlightenment occur - the realization of Advaita, non-duality.
I wish everyone a quick and joyful spiritual awakening!
Gautama Siddhartha is considered the main spiritual mentor - a man who exchanged a carefree life in a luxurious palace for beggarly wanderings in search of truth.
The thirty-year-old monk chose the pseudonym Buddha, the enlightened and awakened one. He sought to achieve a state of enlightenment of consciousness because he could not come to terms with the difficulties and trials that befall the common man. Buddha could not accept the fact that every person encounters illnesses in his life, grows old over time, and the most important thing is that he has to.
After he left his wealthy and comfortable life, the Buddha consciously for a long time practiced ascetic practices, exhausting himself with hunger and cold. However, he could not achieve humility and peace of mind. When Gautama almost died of exhaustion (he was miraculously saved by local residents), he realized the first truth. It lies in the fact that you should not rush to extremes: in everything you must adhere to the principle of the golden mean.
The name Siddhartha, which his parents gave him, means “one who achieves the goal.” Indeed, Gautama once decided that he would not move until he achieved enlightenment.
He settled down under a huge tree, and after several days of quiet contemplation surrounding nature a state of enlightenment came to him. Before his eyes the creation and structure of the Universe took place, the secrets and laws of human existence were revealed. After Buddha became a wise man, he began to preach a new religion and gained many followers.
Principles of an Enlightened Person
The Buddha encouraged his disciples to individually search for the path to enlightenment and awareness of the truth. However, he described a “righteous path” that will help you quickly achieve a state of peace, dispassion and bliss.
To do this, a person must give up criticism and bad thoughts, do good deeds and come to terms with the idea that suffering is inevitable in everyone’s life. An enlightened person can end suffering by entering a state of dispassion and detachment.
Meditation helps a religious person to clear the mind of unnecessary thoughts. When passions fade away and attachments to people, values and comfort disappear, a person becomes calm and serene. In this state, he achieves spiritual enlightenment - a lifetime state of peace and grace, and truths are also revealed to him.
Enlightenment is the main goal in most spiritual and esoteric teachings.
Enlightenment is the highest insight, awareness of the essence of life as such. Enlightenment eliminates ignorance, illusions of the mind, expands consciousness, and frees one from psychological suffering. More detailed description further discussed with examples of direct and indirect methods of achieving enlightenment.
Direct Methods for Achieving Enlightenment
These are the best, simple, instant methods. Direct methods eliminate the buffer of mental understanding, thinking and theorizing. Direct methods of enlightenment are not associated with training in schools, sects, seminars, gurus, teachers and mentors. These are all mind games. Direct methods are for those who are one hundred percent honest with themselves. Next, in order, is a description of direct methods of enlightenment.
Awareness of the present implies a direct perception of life here and now. When an ordinary person becomes familiar with this method of enlightenment, he begins to imagine what he is doing, or has just done. This is a deviation from the method.
Present awareness is the continuous, natural perception of what is right now. This is not a search for something, but if one is present, it is an awareness of the search as one of the lines of the drawing of the present moment. Ideally, the object of perception really becomes the present moment itself between the past and the future.
We can conditionally say that being in the present moment, being real is a property of our Higher Self. If you are aware of the present, the focus of identification shifts to.
If awareness of the present moment occurs continuously, life “collapses” into itself, and you see that now there is an endless presence in weightless eternity, where something happens beyond the limits of the future and the past. Now there is existence itself, the boundless space of consciousness. This is the primary basis of everything. This being is awareness itself and life as such. All perceived objects and forms occur in it as something deeply secondary and equivalent.
Acceptance of the present- essentially the same as awareness of the present, but with the help of a fine line of “letting” into your consciousness what is right now. The psyche closes the mind from most sensations, which ultimately form the subconscious.
Acceptance of the present is a full disclosure of everything that is here and now. At the same time, one’s own consciousness is felt as a pure vessel and conductor of all phenomena. Ideally, you realize everything as a single inseparable phenomenon. And if resistance remains somewhere, it dissolves. Everything just happens.
Enlightenment is total acceptance. Even if something feels like an obstacle, it is just another step on the path.
Relaxation in natural presence- essentially the same as awareness and acceptance of the present. On the other hand, this is another fine line in understanding life. Rejection of the present closes one from awareness of the present. This rejection arises due to tension at all levels of the psyche. Tension is eliminated by relaxation. And this is not a dream, but a cessation of resistance to the present.
In this case, all bodily sensations are perceived as compactions in the emptiness of the space of consciousness. Important . Acceptance and relaxation are two facets of the same process of enlightenment.
Defocusing consciousness– another facet of enlightenment. Everyday attention is focused by the mind in intense illusions of the past and future. The most subtle focusing of the mind creates a habitual self-identity - ours. It is experienced in the back of the head, throat and at a deep level in the chest area. Defocusing leads to the dissolution of these tense clots of psychic energy. And then painful tensions and “malicious fidgetiness of the mind” pass.
First, you feel how, in the presence of the familiar “I,” a sense of space appears, against the background of which tensions flounder. Then, as you defocus, the habitual “I”, which seemed like something impenetrably dense and solid, begins to create a gap through which the refined energy of consciousness leaks. Total defocus is identical to complete relaxation, acceptance, disidentification and enlightenment.
Viewer's awareness of life– the subtlest “movement” with which you shift the focus of attention from the world of forms and sensations to the viewer himself, who perceives life. Being, awareness, observation, presence - all this is a description of his essence, his only property, which is expressed in limited words in many aspects.
Smell, touch, taste, sight and hearing are instruments of perception. Who uses these tools? Where do these five threads of perception of life fit together? The one who looks at life right now is the eternal viewer of life. He is always there. Forms change. Enlightenment is the awareness of one's essence as a continuous free presence.
Exposing choice– another facet of enlightenment. Personality is a set of choices passing through consciousness in the present. Choice is born from rejection of the present. The personality is tense in the present, so it avoids it, choosing an illusory future.
Dedication– another one facet of enlightenment. You give everything you have. Not in a material sense, but in an essential sense. Self-giving occurs inactively, without effort or effort, in relaxation. We can say that this method of enlightenment is the edge of relaxation, in which you let go of your grip on what is happening here and now.
Contemplation of the present. As a rule, it begins with concentrating attention on any object. The method differs from the “spectator's awareness of life” in its emphasis on contemplation as such. The essence of this method of enlightenment is to make the process of contemplation basic and continuous. Then the focus of self-awareness shifts to the Higher Self. Perception as such is a property of the Higher Self. When you contemplate what is, the higher “I” is, as it were, “activated.” Enlightenment is a manifestation of the contemplative principle of life. This is the true one. Ideally, contemplation of an object occurs without, as something extremely natural.
Awareness of who you are- Ramana Maharshi's method of enlightenment. The method is based on the question: “Who am I?” You ask a question once, with a clear understanding of the meaning of this question. Then you shift your attention to the feeling “I am.” If “I” exists, then it can somehow be felt. What is "I"? Who am I"? A verbal answer means nothing. You need to experience who you really are. Comprehension of the “I” is comprehension of reality.
All these methods are different facets of the same process. Due to the unique experience different people various passages to enlightenment open up.
Indirect methods of achieving enlightenment
These methods are usually associated with changes in energy, cleansing the mind, preparing the body and psyche for clear consciousness. The division into direct and indirect methods is conditional. Sometimes direct methods become indirect, and indirect methods become direct, depending on the readiness of consciousness.
Energy boost is the experience of awakening stagnant energy. It can be caused by energy exercises, and in particularly successful cases it removes mental blocks, clears the mind and enlightens consciousness. This includes the practices of Kriya Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, working with energy and other esoteric practices.
Shaktipat, or diksha- spiritual dedication. Typically given by a mentor, guru, or master. In especially successful cases, it gives an instant expansion of consciousness and enlightenment. More often it gives the experience of insight, which sows the “seed” of enlightenment. If the initiate conserves energy, the seed sprouts and over time the lotus of consciousness opens and blossoms.
Middle way. Buddha preached. In my understanding, this path to enlightenment is an intuitive, relaxed finding of balance in every new moment of life. Castaneda's Don Juan figuratively spoke of how a man of knowledge goes through life “lightly touching everything.” This path helps life. Don't stress, don't sleep, let reality happen. At the same time, paradoxically, you gain the ability to make efforts that a vain and tense mind is simply not capable of.
Not doing- Carlos Castaneda's method of enlightenment. Perception of the world is a subtle effort in consciousness. You make the world in your mind habitual. - this is the cessation of the “effort” to. Then familiar phenomena reveal their essence. You begin to feel what is happening as a play of energy. And on a more subtle level - as pure consciousness.
Super Effort– method of enlightenment by George Gurdjieff. This is one of the most difficult methods on the edge of life and death. Gurdjieff said that in the human body there is something like household batteries. When their energy is spent, the person collapses. But if at this time you make a jerk, a super effort, then your consciousness switches to a deep, almost inexhaustible source of energy, and you continue to move.
When mortal fatigue sets in, you make another jerk and from the deep source of energy, switch to the causal source. At the same time, the hyper-subtle consciousness is activated. The method is extremely dangerous for independent practice.
Suffering. They temper and develop the soul. Everyone knows this. Suffering is one of the main incentives for true detachment. Detachment from temporary phenomena leads to truth and enlightenment. Many saints underwent conscious suffering in order to cultivate spiritual qualities.
In no case do I encourage you to suffer. We can limit ourselves to the understanding that what we have already experienced was not useless.
Humiliation. One of the powerful incentives for the surrender of the ego and... Humiliation and pride go hand in hand. Neurotic self-identification is based on this pendulum. Again, I don’t urge you to humiliate yourself - it’s enough to treat your own person more simply: and not get ahead of yourself, embellishing reality.
Confession, recapitulation, journaling, psychotherapy – effective methods purification of the mind. Secular memoirs don’t count. To work for enlightenment, you need to sincerely speak out all your own fears, highlight everything that has been suppressed, and.
Reflections on the beyond: about God, about eternity and infinity, about love, about the true “I” - it is also considered one of the methods of clarifying consciousness and enlightenment. If a reflector tries to feel the topic of his thoughts, his attention is torn away from theories and touches these deep layers of life in practice.
Karma yoga– this is work without expecting a result. The mind is calculating, and doing something for others without personal gain loosens the ego's grip. Ideally, karma yoga is performed with complete immersion of consciousness in the present moment, without goals in the future. Contemplation of the present is one of the direct methods of enlightenment. Contemplation in motion is the highest aerobatics in the practice of enlightenment. True karma yoga is, as Swami Vivekananda said, bringing the goal and the means together.
Unconditional love counts the best method spiritual transformation and enlightenment. This method opens, . Unconditional love knows no insincerity or deception. This is the love of life itself. Ideally, on this path you are immersed in bliss, and leaving all divisions, you surrender to this experience without a trace.
Doubts
There is an opinion that enlightenment is impossible to achieve. Some say that enlightenment must be earned, or “received” from a master. But then it comes to what methods exist for this “receipt”. As a rule, it all comes down to donating your resources and time to schools, where the sufferers find themselves dependent on, after serving for many years, they seem to have a chance to become enlightened.
Another option is to pay a lot of money for initiation, and then, if the mind does not go beyond the mind, again, there is a chance to become enlightened “for free.”
Some say that enlightenment simply “happens” beyond methods and practices. Of course it is. But before this, a person goes through some kind of path. And most often this is the path that is called spiritual. It doesn’t matter how, it doesn’t matter in a past or present life. The path includes everything that happens.
Someone says that everyone is already enlightened: there is nothing to strive for, nothing to achieve. But what are these words worth? Why not? A righteous life, or a practical life, is no worse than an ordinary life, filled with contradictions and vanity.
Others say that enlightenment is available only to Buddhas, who come once every millennium, or even less often, and mere mortals cannot see the truth. This is how the voice of doubt in oneself and one’s strengths sounds, the voice of a mind that is in the shackles of concepts.
People tend to believe that the more seriously they take life, the closer this perception is to reality. However, this seriousness also consists of emotions that project subjective pictures of the mind onto a reality that has nothing in common with these projections.
In this article, expressing a subjective opinion, I argue that enlightenment is achieved, and for this there are suitable methods. Let everything be relative and achievement illusory. But there is nothing else to talk about.
I understand that in order to cover the stated topic, it is still necessary to be a member of the world association of enlightened masters, which I am not. Therefore, here, as elsewhere, I act cunningly, and in no case do I insist on the final truth of words and the effectiveness of “methods.”
Let everyone believe their own experience and make sure that there is truth. Let everyone personally verify that he/she IS. Some will need schools and teachers, some will need personal hard practice, some will need a simple introduction to the topic and a direct look at what is here and now.
Different religious movements and philosophical schools have different understandings of this difficult issue. They contain people’s attempts to understand what a person is and why he exists on this planet.
What is enlightenment?
In everyday life, enlightenment is understood as revelations that a person has received, a different view or a new understanding of familiar things. In philosophical schools and spiritual practices this phenomenon has a different meaning. In them, enlightenment is directly linked to the meaning of life, so it receives a primary role in the life of every person. From this point of view, enlightenment is going beyond the ordinary, realizing oneself as part of the universe, higher wisdom, higher existence.
Enlightenment in Christianity
The concept of enlightenment in Christianity differs significantly from the interpretation of this concept in Eastern practices. Enlightenment in Orthodoxy is an attempt to understand the Divine essence, to get as close to God as possible and to fulfill His will. Enlightened men of faith include the following saints: John Chrysostom, Simeon the New Theologian, Sergius of Radonezh, etc. Thanks to a deep understanding of the will of God and humility, these saints were able to achieve enlightenment, which manifested itself in the form of healing the sick, resurrecting the dead and other miracles.
Enlightenment in Christianity is inseparable from baptism and is associated with the cleansing of a person from all sinful things and the filling of his essence with Divine love. According to Orthodox spiritual fathers, only the Almighty knows when a person is ready to become enlightened. In this matter, one must completely rely on God and not try to achieve this on one’s own. The fact that a person has become enlightened can be recognized by his actions: they will be humble and aimed at benefiting people.
Enlightenment in Buddhism
Unlike the understanding of enlightenment in Christianity, enlightenment in Buddhism is associated with the individual. According to the Buddhist tradition, this state is accompanied by a feeling of unimaginable happiness, next to which ordinary earthly happiness is felt as suffering. The state of enlightenment is difficult to describe in human language, so it is spoken of only through parables or metaphors.
Buddha Shakyamuni's enlightenment was the first in the history of Buddhism. Shakyamuni was able to achieve liberation and go beyond the usual world. The Buddha's main strength on the path of enlightenment was meditation. It helps to translate spiritual thoughts from logical understanding into personal experience. In addition to meditation, Shakyamuni pointed out the importance of such methods as knowledge and behavior for enlightenment.
Enlightenment in Islam
As in other religions, at the center of Islam is enlightenment - fana. Allah himself chooses the person on whom he will bring enlightenment. The criterion for readiness for fana is a person’s desire to reach a new stage of his development and readiness for this. A person’s heart, open to the influence of Allah, allows a new world into itself. An enlightened person with whom he is ready to serve people, and super-love for all living things.
Enlightenment myth or reality?
Enlightenment from a scientific point of view is the discovery of something new or a different perspective on familiar things. From this position, enlightenment has nothing supernatural in itself and is a normal work of our mind. In spiritual practices, enlightenment has a different meaning and content. It is associated with higher powers and helps people find and realize their purpose on this planet.
Enlightenment is a reality for many religious people who devote themselves to serving God and people. Using the example of enlightened spiritual teachers, you can learn to expand the scope of your consciousness and open your heart to the influence of higher powers. For people who are not interested in the spiritual side of life, enlightenment may seem like a myth. This view may be due to conservative thinking and lack of knowledge regarding this issue.
Psychology of Enlightenment
The path to enlightenment often begins with dissatisfaction with life and one's place in it. Reading smart books, psychological lectures and seminars on self-development, conversations with wise people can help a person get closer to answering questions, but all this is just the beginning of the journey. A personal constant search for one’s life vector one day leads a person’s brain to a new understanding. The road to enlightenment often takes a long time, and sometimes a lifetime. The reward of this path is a renewed mind and harmony with the world.
Enlightenment or schizophrenia?
No matter how strange it may seem, spiritual enlightenment and schizophrenia have three similar features:
- Depersonalization- getting rid of one's own self.
- Derealization– perception of the surrounding world as unreal, blurry.
- Mental anesthesia– reduction in the strength of emotional experiences.
To differentiate between these two phenomena, the following components should be analyzed:
- Cause. The cause of schizophrenia is often negative. The reason for enlightenment is the desire to make the world a better place, to become a more spiritual person.
- Vote. In schizophrenia, a person hears voices calling for aggressive or inappropriate actions. An enlightened person hears a voice from above calling for good or improvement.
- Mission. In schizophrenia, a person's interests revolve around his own self, even if the patient sees himself as someone else. An enlightened person strives to help others.
Signs of enlightenment
Buddhists say that it is impossible to describe in words what happens at the moment of enlightenment. This is due to the fact that the emotions and feelings experienced during the process of enlightenment are incomparable to the emotions we are used to. Among the signs of enlightenment are the following:
- spiritual priorities begin to dominate over material ones;
- periodically altered consciousnesses appear, in which new truths or their depth are revealed to a person;
- unusual abilities for creation, creation, and healing appear;
- character changes, bad habits appear, go away;
- an enlightened person sees divine wisdom in everything.
How to achieve enlightenment?
A person who wants to achieve enlightenment must go through the following steps:
- Wishing for enlightenment with all my heart. To do this, enlightenment of consciousness should be made a top priority.
- Trust in the matter of enlightenment higher powers . Only God knows when a person is close to enlightenment.
- Try to give your life under the control of divine forces. Draw closer to God through humility and deepening contact through prayer or meditation.
- Engage in self-development, work on your character. A pure heart helps one to be more receptive to the influence of the Spirit.
Paths to human enlightenment
Spiritual teachers of various religious movements believe that enlightenment techniques are only a tool that does not provide any guarantee of success. Enlightenment is individual, it comes unexpectedly and has no exact reason. The following techniques can help you find a direct path to enlightenment:
- prayer;
- fast;
- relaxation;
- meditation;
- self-knowledge techniques;
- purification of consciousness;
- yoga nidra technique;
- getting rid of the negativity of the past;
- repetition of the names of God.
How to live after enlightenment?
Enlightened people are not transferred from this sinful planet to another. They have to continue to live among the same environment in the same area. Only a few spiritual teachers who have achieved enlightenment go to desert areas, but often this is done only for a while. The mission of enlightened people is to bring new knowledge and a new understanding of life to the world. After enlightenment, new abilities may open up that need to be used to help other people.
Enlightened people note that after their spiritual experience, it becomes much easier for them to live in this world. Their Ego and desires cease to control all actions. All necessary things are done without laziness and apathy. Life becomes more harmonious and understandable. A person stops worrying and being nervous, as he begins to realize the essence of his life and his mission.
Books about enlightenment
Many books have been written about enlightenment and how to achieve it. They all help you find your personal path in this matter and rise to a new level of your development. In the top 5 best books about enlightenment include:
- Hawkins D. “From despair to enlightenment. Evolution of Consciousness". The book describes practical methods on how to come to an awareness of the meaning of your existence.
- Eckhart Tolle "The Power of Now". In this book, a person who has gone through the path of enlightenment talks in simple and interesting language about the path to enlightenment he followed and what awareness of life includes.
- Jed McKenna "Spiritual Enlightenment: A Nasty Thing". The book debunks many of the myths that have grown up around enlightenment. The author tries to help people seeking awareness find the right path and start moving along it.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj "I Am That". The author pushes a person to think about his true purpose. It makes you look deep into yourself and realize the need to study your inner world.
- Valery Prosvet “Enlightenment in half an hour”. The author invites readers to pay attention inward and engage in self-development. To do this, the book describes various techniques, methods of self-knowledge and work on oneself.
Every person who is engaged in spiritual self-development dreams of enlightenment. This is a very difficult path that everyone needs to go through in order to change their worldview, free themselves from prejudices and frameworks that prevent them from living a free, fulfilling life and loving this world with all their hearts.
If you decide to start down this path, here are some guidelines on what to do.
Get rid of habits that interfere with spiritual development
- Resistance
It's worth starting with this one bad habit. When we plan something important, and it doesn’t work out, we get upset, angry, and destroy everything around us – including our dreams. We resist the fact that now may not be the right time. Thus, we send negative impulses to the Universe and program ourselves in advance for failures in the future. Here we need to remember that sometimes certain life circumstances happen that we cannot change. this moment. They are given to us so that we gain experience, realize something and rethink our lives. By breaking this habit, we learn to let go, learn to wait for the right moment, and become stronger.
- Envy
This is a very common habit. Not everyone can admit that they have been jealous of a friend or colleague at least once. This is a very nasty feeling that eats us from the inside and greatly slows us down on the path to spiritual enlightenment. Learn to be happy for those around you and compare yourself only with your previous self, and not with someone else. Each person has his own life path, both success and failure await him. Stop thinking that “Vasya already has a mansion at 35, and I live in a rented apartment” or “Ira got married at 25, and I’m still alone.” Cultivate a feeling of sincere joy for other people.
— Criticism
An unpleasant habit. Remember how often you criticized other people without really understanding the situation? You need to learn to look at any situation from all angles and put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Why did he act this way and not otherwise? So there were reasons for that. Be tolerant and understanding. This is an important step on the path to spiritual enlightenment
Think about it, analyze yourself. Watch your words and actions. And then you will reach the first stage of enlightenment - this awareness or smriti.
Track states of mind
It is necessary to practice yoga and meditation in order to free your mind from restless thoughts in time, to cleanse it, to make it more sensitive and sensual. It is not enough to simply allow different states of mind to exist. One must analyze and observe, weed out unnecessary states and develop useful skillful states. You yourself choose what to think about and what qualities to develop in yourself in order to make yourself and the world around you better. This is the second stage of spiritual enlightenment - Dharma-vicaya.
Channel your energy in the right direction
If you have a lot of energy, both physically and emotionally, and you use it for unworthy purposes, it can hinder your enlightenment. Don't put your energy into getting material goods for yourself, don’t let that be your life goal. Direct your energy towards positive emotions and helping people. This is the third stage of enlightenment - Virya
Finding fulfillment
This is already the fourth stage of enlightenment - Preeti, which means joy and enthusiasm. There is nothing specific you need to do here. This state will overtake you on its own. You feel light in your soul, you love the whole world and the people around you, you feel that you have finally gotten rid of prejudices and bad habits. Feels like you are floating in the air like a balloon. This feeling occurs very often during meditation.
Finding Peace
Prashrabdhi. Fifth stage. A calm, stable feeling of pure happiness. Your mind is carefree, your soul is calm, you are happy.
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Mind training: learning to hear silence
Here, again, meditation and special practices will help us. Silence also has a sound - beautiful and filled with happiness and tranquility. You are no longer disturbed and irritated by extraneous sounds, and you are always in a good mood. You know how to concentrate and collect thoughts together - this is called one-pointedness of mind. One practice: Focus on one task at a time, such as when you wash the dishes. Let go of all thoughts, think only about this action. Listen to the water gurgling, concentrate on the movements and the sound of the dishes.
The last step is gaining impartiality
It is called upeksha. Safety, inexhaustible strength of body and spirit. You are like a rock against which waves and wind beat. Whatever period of life comes to you, you do not allow it to affect you. You become unshakable.
In fact, no matter how simple these steps may seem, each of these factors can take years to achieve. But the process itself is also important here: we make ourselves better, we develop, become strong, wise and happy.
We wish you success on this difficult but exciting path!
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