Enlightenment - Life's Highest Goal

Enlightenment Made Simple

Chapter 3 – Life’s Highest Goal

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Introduction
Chapter 1: When Life Doesn’t Work
Chapter 2: The Curse of the Inadequate Self

We’ve now ascertained that the core human problem is the suffering caused by self-ignorance.

In short, we have assumed ourselves to be nothing but a body/mind/ego subject to the ravages of time and fate. Consumed by a fundamental sense of lack and want, we’ve tried to break free by focusing upon the world of objects and pursuing various desires, attachments and addictions.

This, of course, comes with many downsides; not least the fact that all objects are ultimately impermanent, changeable and rarely under our direct control. What’s worse, when our desire eclipses our commitment to dharma, we may even find ourselves inclined to harm others and the environment around us in our desperation to get what we want. Needless to say, this does nothing but generate more suffering, both for others and ourselves.

Fortunately, there is a way out of this quandary. For Vedanta reveals a fourth and final human pursuit; the highest of all goals and the ultimate purpose of life. It’s called moksha, which translates as liberation, freedom or enlightenment.

The Fourth Human Pursuit: Enlightenment

For the average person, life generally revolves around the first two human pursuits: security and pleasure. The mature, refined human being also makes the third goal, dharma, a priority, as it should be. Indeed, dharma, which entails doing the right thing in every situation, should always form the basis and foundation for our entire life.

Precious few, however, will ever truly commit to life’s final and highest goal. Many people aren’t even aware that it legitimately exists. Even those who know of enlightenment, and may be actively pursuing it, are often hampered by the many misconceptions and contradictory ideas that exist around it.

When we lack clarity with regard to a topic, the mind will tend to fill in the blanks itself. Because the unenlightened mind is driven by ignorance, our thoughts, beliefs and assumptions will, therefore, be conditioned by ignorance. We automatically create our own meanings and definitions; and we cling to them, even if they have little basis in empirical fact.

In order to understand something, we must first reach a consensus about what it actually is. That’s why it’s essential to clearly define what enlightenment is; and, just as importantly, what it isn’t.

What Enlightenment Isn’t

As noted in the introduction, the modern spiritual scene is swamped with enlightenment myths. Some are plainly wacky whereas others might seem to make perfect sense until you apply a little logic and they begin crumbling apart.

Although by no means an exhaustive list, here’s a brief rundown on what enlightenment is not.

1. Superhuman States and Cosmic Bliss

Many seekers have the appealing yet erroneous notion that enlightenment means attaining some kind of superhuman state; a kind of endless cosmic orgasm in which you experience permanent bliss and various omniscient powers.

Such people are in for a tremendous disappointment, not because states of heightened spiritual consciousness aren’t possible, for they are, but because no experience lasts. All states are finite and subject to a beginning and end.

What’s more, the need to chase these exalted spiritual states is actually an impediment to liberation. The reason is simple. If your freedom is dependant upon achieving and maintaining a certain experience, however subtle and sublime, then it’s not freedom at all, because the moment the experiences changes, as it most certainly will, your freedom goes out the window along with it.

Although there’s certainly nothing wrong with seeking spiritual highs, it potentially comes at a cost: namely, attachment, addiction and dependence; the very essence of bondage. Being a spiritual junkie can distract you from the nuts and bolts of what enlightenment actually is.

True liberation must be independent of whatever experience you happen to be having, or it’s not liberation at all. Enlightenment is unconditional, permanent and not dependent upon any extraneous factor, or it isn’t enlightenment at all.

2. Cessation of Thought

Some teachings paint enlightenment as the attainment of no-mind, or a thought-free state. However, enlightenment isn’t about emptying the mind of all thoughts.

It’s true that, upon liberation, your relationship to mind and thought will change. You become more detached toward the content of your mind, no longer identifying with the various thoughts, beliefs and ideas you hold about yourself and others. You’ll likely also experience a quieter, more tranquil mind and periods where mental activity slows right down or even suspends altogether.

That isn’t enlightenment in itself, however. It’s simply the mind at rest; purified, refined and undisturbed by the relentless barrage of desire and fear that characterise the mind of a samsari.

Thought itself isn’t the enemy. After all, it’s the nature of the mind to think. That’s fine; let the mind think! The secret is the quality of your thinking. In order to be free, all that’s necessary is to weed out thoughts conditioned by ignorance and replace them with thoughts of truth. That’s what Vedanta will teach you to do.

3. Destruction of the Ego

The idea that enlightenment means the destruction of the ego is another misconception. The ego doesn’t need to be destroyed. Which is just as well, because without it you wouldn’t be able to function in the world. Whenever somebody called your name you’d be unable to respond because you’d have no way of associating that name with you.

So, it’s neither necessary nor possible to destroy the ego. All that’s necessary is to disidentify from it. The ego is part of you, but is not you. It’s a component of the subtle body (which, as we will see in later chapters, is comprised of the mind, intellect and ego). The ego is not the enemy as long as you see it for what it is; a tool enabling Consciousness to function in matter. The only destruction involved in enlightenment is the destruction of self-ignorance.

4. Mindfulness and Present Moment Awareness

Mindfulness, the ability to be fully present in the here and now, is an important quality to develop in life.

As long as we are fully in touch with the present moment we are unlikely to be swept away by the mind’s various storms, stories and fantasies. This relates to mastery of the mind and is one of the important qualifications for attaining liberation, as we shall see.

It doesn’t equate to enlightenment in itself, however. Simply putting your attention on the present moment is a wonderful practice and a rewarding way to live, but it won’t resolve the fundamental problem of samsara.

Only Self-Knowledge can do that by eradicating the ignorance that causes us to feel empty, lacking and addictively attached to the world of objects.

5. Kundalini, Energy Bodies and Ascension

Some traditions, such as Taoism and certain forms of yoga, purport enlightenment to be some kind of energy shift.

Taoists often focus on the cultivation of spiritual energy, Qi or Prana, which they believe is then used to construct a kind of immortal energy body. Yoga practitioners may dedicate themselves to the raising of the kundalini and various mystic experiences that come with it. Similarly, New Age teachings talk of ascension, whereby you supposedly merge your “lower self” into a “higher self”.

These ideas are based on the presupposition that enlightenment is a process of becoming; becoming something different, something better, something more exalted and holy. Such concepts are subtly, or not so subtly, rooted in the dualistic notion that what you are is some kind of lower self, or ego-self, which must then be transformed into a greater spiritual Self.

Vedanta negates this idea. There’s nothing you have to do or become in order to be free. The scriptures are very clear on this. There is only one Self—and you are already That! What else could you be? Only ignorance of your nature has prevented you from apprehending what you truly are.

So, fortunately, you don’t have to do, achieve or transform anything in order to “become” your Self.

Which is just as well, because any action is subject to the laws of duality and will, therefore, be inherently limited and finite. It’s impossible to create a limitless result from a limited action. Not only that, but anything that has a beginning will necessarily have an end.

The solution, then, does not involve adding something to yourself in any way. Enlightenment is a process of removal—specifically, the removal of ignorance. As the great sage Ramana Maharshi said:

Is there any moment when the Self is not? It is not new. Be as you are. What is new cannot be permanent. What is Real must always exist.

What Enlightenment Is

Enlightenment means freedom; freedom from limitation, lack and the innermost sense of self-dissatisfaction that universally blights human beings.

The radical contention of Vedanta is that you don’t need to go anywhere or do anything in order to gain that freedom.

It’s not something that you can acquire and add to yourself.

Which is just as well, because anything that can be gained can be lost.

Fortunately, although this may not seem to be the case, the freedom you seek is already within you. For freedom is the nature of the Self, and, whether you realise it or not, it’s this very Self that you’ve been looking for your entire life.

Well, look no further.

The Self is already present, attained and always available. Although it might seem to be hidden, that’s simply the effect of ignorance.

You’ve known all along that you exist; that you are. You just haven’t known what you are.

The problem all along was ignorance. Your entire life, ignorance has covered the mind like an impenetrable cloud, obscuring your perception of reality and distorting your vision of who you are.

Through ignorance, you superimposed your innermost sense of Self, of “I am-ness” onto the instruments of the body, mind and ego.

This naturally generates a tremendous sense of lack and limitation. Why? Because the body, mind and ego are subject to suffering, mortality and the ravages of time and fate.

This misapprehension compelled you to seek wholeness by manipulating the things of the world; by acquiring various objects, attainments and experiences. Of course, the joy of acquisition is temporary at best and everything in duality is subject to an inevitable downside.

Perhaps you can now see that if ignorance is the problem, and it is, the only solution can be knowledge.

That’s why we have Vedanta, the ancient science of Self-Knowledge.

Fortunately, Vedanta isn’t telling you anything you don’t want to hear. In fact, the news is pretty darn wonderful.

Whereas before enlightenment, your experience of life was one of unsatisfactoriness and inadequacy, Self-Knowledge liberates the mind, intellect and heart, as you come to realise that all these limitations were false. They were caused by self-misidentification. You were never the body, mind or ego, nor some conglomeration of thoughts, beliefs, emotions, desires and fears.

You were always and only the Awareness in which these objects are experienced.

If you think about it, the essence of a room is not the objects it contains, but the space in which the objects are arranged. You can remove each and every object and the room will still remain the room. The objects are incidental; the space inside the room is the pervading essence.

In the same way, you are not your body, mind, nor your thoughts and feelings. You are the Awareness, the Consciousness; the very light in which these things are experienced and known.

Self-Knowledge, when firmly established in the mind, yields freedom.

It’s worth repeating: this freedom isn’t something that you have to add to yourself. Anything that can be added can be removed.

Instead, you realise that you were always free.

Freedom is your very nature; your very essence.

Only the mind, under the spell of ignorance, makes it seem otherwise.

By committing to this teaching and allowing Self-Knowledge to take root in the mind, your sense of identity will gradually shift from the body, mind and ego to the Awareness in which they appear.

As a result, you finally experience freedom from the lack and incompleteness that has ravaged your mind and heart for years, decades and, yes, even lifetimes.

This fundamental cognitive shift changes both nothing and everything.

Outwardly you will still appear to be the same person. Inwardly, however, you know that you are far more. You realise that, in spite of the limitations inherent in matter, you are free of suffering, sorrow and any sense of limitation. These pertain to the body and mind, but not the Awareness in which they are contained.

Awareness is free—and you are Awareness!

Objects and experiences still arise and subside in the substratum of your Awareness. You are free to enjoy them, but you’re no longer compelled to desperately seek, grasp and attach yourself to them.

You have nothing to prove to anybody, because you know, with the entirety of your being, that you are already whole and complete. Nothing can be added the totality of what you are and nothing can be taken from you either. Because you are other than the body and mind you are no longer subject to their defects and dysfunctions. They are but instruments through which you, Awareness, express yourself.

Once again, although this might be hard to grasp, enlightenment isn’t a process of attainment as such. This Self, pure Awareness, is not something you have to attain or become. It’s already present, fully existent—and, as the ancient Vedantic proclamation Tat Twam Asi states, I Am That (or, literally, “That, You Are”)!

Unenlightenment is merely ignorance; the failure to apprehend the true nature of your Self and Reality.

Your old concept of yourself was distorted by ignorance and this ignorance generated tremendous suffering. It’s as though you’ve been living with a blindfold over your eyes your entire life, forcing you to grope your way through the dark when, in actuality, it’s daylight all around.

Enlightenment is the application of Self-Knowledge to the mind and intellect. It’s a radical revision of who you think you are. We will explore this in much greater detail as we progress, so don’t worry if it’s not clicking at this early juncture.

Knowledge, of course, can only be gained with the appropriate means of knowledge. In order to see objects in the visual field, you require eyes and the capacity for sight. To register sound, you require ears and the capacity for hearing, and so on with taste, touch and smell.

When it comes to the Self, our means of knowledge is Vedanta.

An ancient body of Knowledge, not attributable to any particular person or group of people, Vedanta is a tool to eradicate ignorance and reorient you to a full and lasting appreciation of your own essential nature.

The next chapter explores the origin of Vedanta, how it works and how it can be used to remove self-ignorance and open the door to enlightenment.

Summary

According to the scriptures, enlightenment, or liberation, is life’s highest goal.
Very few will ever realise, understand and commit to this goal. They either aren’t aware that it exists or they are hampered by the many misconceptions and contradictory ideas that exist around the topic.
In order to understand what enlightenment is, it’s helpful to be aware of what it isn’t.
Enlightenment isn’t some kind of superhuman state complete with cosmic powers and heightened states of consciousness. Liberation isn’t about experience; it’s about being free regardless of your experience.
Enlightenment is not about the cessation of thought or the destruction of the ego. Thought and ego are not the problem; identifying with them is the true problem.
Mindfulness does not equate to enlightenment, although it is a highly beneficial and recommended practice. Enlightenment is also not about kundalini, energy bodies, states of cosmic bliss.
Many enlightenment myths are based on the notion that you have to do some action in order to “become” the Self. Vedanta reveals you already are the Self.
Enlightenment is freedom through Self-Knowledge.
Self-Knowledge destroys our misidentification with the body, mind and ego and all of their problems and suffering.
Enlightenment shifts our sense of identity from the body/mind/ego to the boundless Awareness or Consciousness pervading them.
Freedom comes from knowing our true nature as the Self, which is always free of lack, limitation and defect. This freedom comes through the application of Self-Knowledge to the mind.
Vedanta is our means of Self-Knowledge.