No One Knows what Enlightenment Is

[2000]

I found an excerpt from a yoga website on "Samadhi" (or spiritual enlightenment). 

"Samadhi is where the knower, knowledge and object of knowledge unite. The knower (i.e. the person practicing), knowledge (i.e. what is God) and the object of knowledge (i.e. God) become one. This means that one unites with the Divine consciousness. Those who attain Samadhi see a heavenly, radiant light, hear a heavenly sound and feel within themselves an infinite expanse. When Samadhi is attained, we are like a river that finally flows into the sea after a long and difficult journey. All obstacles are overcome and the river is, for all of time, united with the ocean. In the same way, a Yogi arrives at the end of the path and becomes one with the Supreme Consciousness. The Yogi's consciousness finds eternal quiet, peace and bliss - the Yogi is liberated. This experience cannot be conveyed in words, because:

only one who has tasted milk, knows how milk tastes;

only one who has felt pain, knows what is pain;

only one who has loved, knows what is love;

and so only one who has experienced Samadhi, knows what is Samadhi.

In this state all duality is dissolved. There is neither day or night, neither darkness or light, no qualities or colour. Everything is one in the Supreme Self. This union of the individual soul with the Cosmic soul is the goal of Yoga."

[cetus]

39 minutes ago, 2000 said:

and so only one who has experienced Samadhi, knows what is Samadhi.

@2000 I agree but the wording is a little misleading as only Samadhi remains. So the statement "No one knows what enlightenment is" is true in that sense. 

The "experience" of Samadhi (as beautiful as it is) can be transcended. At that point the know-er completely vanishes. It is no longer an experience within conscious awareness. There are no descriptions to convey as in heavenly light or sounds or experiencing union. It is a complete absorption.

[Nahm]

@2000 nonduality

[SOUL]

I've chosen to seek not knowledge, not understanding and not truth, rather I seek peace, fulfillment and freedom from self created suffering which can be attained and known by anyone and everyone if they so choose it.

[Rinne]

@2000 My only question how do i get there? Its impossible? Im already t"here"? 

[Lauritz]

Yes you are already there. But you cannot see it because of the illusions you believe in. They are so strong they completely distort what actually is. And at the same time they are so subtle they seem to be part of reality. 

And that is where the work is required. Seeing through all of your (yet unconscious) illusory beliefs. 

Self-Inquiry, Meditation and Contemplation.

Edited December 28, 2017 by Lauritz

[Lauritz]

2 minutes ago, Mighty Mouse said:

They ARE "reality", without them there is nothing.

The dualistic sensory experiences can of course be called illusory from the nondual perspective. But why should they fall away without illusory beliefs? At least in my experience they do not fall away after the illusion of separation has been been dropped.

My direct experience has changed remarkably little. Only the backdrop and the worldview under which experience is interpreted has changed radically. My sense of self has changed, but not the experiences. They are only seen more clearly now. 

At least that is my limited experience

[WaveInTheOcean]

21 hours ago, SOUL said:

I've chosen to seek not knowledge, not understanding and not truth, rather I seek peace, fulfillment and freedom from self created suffering which can be attained and known by anyone and everyone if they so choose it.

you already have peace, fulfillment and freedom from it all.

it's your seeking that creates the suffering. cos the one who seeks is the self - it's you. stop. just stop. and you will be fine.

you've always seeked peace and fullfillment. earlier in life maybe through social interactions and/or materialism. now you seek elsewhere... spiritually, meditation, conceptual ideas about reality/life ... and it's all good and all, but all the meditation and teachings all try to show you that you just have to stop and give up to be fullfilled. It seems counterintuitive, too obvious, too simple. Yet the truth is that when your mind is at rest - no activity, no desires, no restlessness, no seeking - then you'll be fullfilled. Everything you 'get' in this life will be lost again, you will die. If you stop clinging to anything, including goals like "being at peace in the future', then paradoxically that 'stopping' will be what's needed for you to be at peace and okay with everything.

stop.

but when I think about it, you can't stop before you've realized your true self is nothing (and thus everything, consciousness). as long as you think you are 'something', then fullystopping would be imply death, and that's not so nice.

realize what's necessary to realize. then stop.

[SOUL]

2 hours ago, WaveInTheOcean said:

you already have peace, fulfillment and freedom from it all.

it's your seeking that creates the suffering. cos the one who seeks is the self - it's you. stop. just stop. and you will be fine.

you've always seeked peace and fullfillment. earlier in life maybe through social interactions and/or materialism. now you seek elsewhere... spiritually, meditation, conceptual ideas about reality/life ... and it's all good and all, but all the meditation and teachings all try to show you that you just have to stop and give up to be fullfilled. It seems counterintuitive, too obvious, too simple. Yet the truth is that when your mind is at rest - no activity, no desires, no restlessness, no seeking - then you'll be fullfilled. Everything you 'get' in this life will be lost again, you will die. If you stop clinging to anything, including goals like "being at peace in the future', then paradoxically that 'stopping' will be what's needed for you to be at peace and okay with everything.

stop.

but when I think about it, you can't stop before you've realized your true self is nothing (and thus everything, consciousness). as long as you think you are 'something', then fullystopping would be imply death, and that's not so nice.

realize what's necessary to realize. then stop.

When I didn't have peace I sought it, now I am at peace with life, so "seek" is just a word I chose to describe the inner process of letting go of the self created suffering caused by chasing knowledge and instead just be at peace. Awareness is an inner observer so when I use 'seek' it is in the spirit of awareness observing this change in my being.

You shouldn't let one word distract you as much as it did, I could pick apart your words but they are just words and I understand how words often fall short of expressing the experience of awareness. You chose "realize", maybe I should tell you that you don't have to realize anything, that your realizing is keeping you from it so stop it, you should just "be" it.

Then you will find another word to tell me I shouldn't "be" it, that my "being" it is keeping me from it so I should stop "being" it..... then another word....and another word...... and another word completely missing the point of the experience in awareness we are referring instead getting distracted by words.

Or how about stop stopping it and start starting it... or stop starting it and just be it! We can read anything we want into words even if it's more of a reflection of our own perception than it is the other's experience.

Is that enough words for you? Did I choose the 'right' ones?

Edited December 28, 2017 by SOUL

[Joseph Maynor]

In part, yes.  Your description resonates well with me.  I have my own pet words and metaphors that I loosely cling to to talk about Enlightenment.  It’s nice to see that Enlightenment can be explained in many different words and metaphors — which are all culturally-charged.  

Edited December 29, 2017 by Joseph Maynor