Enlightenment
( In Spiritualism)
Revised on
A. .C.
Sekhar 27 July 2003
Ordinarily ‘Enlightenment’ means to be free from
ignorance, false beliefs and prejudices
But speaking in spiritual terms it has a different meaning. Lord Buddha,
a prince of a royal family , having had many worldly pleasures is reported to have
attained ‘Enlightenment’ after a quest
of many years., wandering amongst a variety of people including some ascetics.
But Buddhism is perhaps only religion in the world which does not lay any
emphasis on God for such ‘Enlightenment’., Similarly Christ, Mohammad , and great founders of many religions are
reported to have had ‘Enlightenment’ but none of them had ever explained to
their followers what the so called ‘Enlightenment’ was and how to attain the same .They only spoke to them as dictates of ‘God’ or ‘Revelations’ etc. Their followers had such implicit faith in
their leaders not only because of their convincing teachings but also because
of some acts and miracles in the lives
0f their leaders. Such miracles may have been the off shoot of their
state of ‘Enlightenment’ and consequent power of thinking processes, like
telepathy. The great sages of Hindu legends like Sankaracharya and other
Acharyas, also did not or could not explain to their followers what exactly was
the ‘Enlightenment’ they had but advised them to find out for themselves the
Truth and Reality of Creation, the Universe, and in fact their own existence.
They also indicated some paths to reach
the goal like, Bhakti, Gnyan, Karma etc.
In Bhagawad Gita also, an indirect mention is made of a person as ‘Sthitha Pragnya’ who may become’ enlightened’. The Hindu way
of life and thinking has emanated only through interpretations and commentaries
of Vedas and religious scriptures by whatever one understood and got convinced
from them as “Truth” .
In the context of
the above, it seems necessary to analyze how and why “Enlightenment’ as conceived in
the context of ‘Spiritualism’ could not be explained in clear terms for
ordinary people to understand the same. Certainly it could not be for lack of
any language or communication skills as existed in the days of the great sages
of the past There seemed to be certain pre-orientation of mind towards what one
experienced in practical life on the
basis of which ordinary people
interpreted any new learning. Even today, ordinary people make a clear
distinction between worldly life and spiritual life, and try to understand any
new learning with the background of
their individual experiences in the respective fields. Many think that
spiritual life is something beyond their reach and understanding. The meaning
of ‘Enlightenment’ was being sought by several people only through such
experiences. However all people, particularly the common people, may not have
the requisite opportunities or adequate experiences to understand what they
hear or read about ‘Enlightenment’ in spiritualism.
If one can visualize the art
of the great ‘Creator’ and in fact the Creator himself, in all that
we see and experience, and even in what we may not be able to physically see
and experience, then surely we enter into a state of ‘Enlightenment’ in which
the great Seers may have entered . In the Advita
philosophy of Sankaracharya there is supposed to be one state of mind when you
do not experience any difference between Creator and Creation, and they are
inter-convertible, between light and darkness when your energies remain
constantly active unaltered, between day and night when your state of
Conscience does not alter, between joy and sorrow when your emotions remain
constant unaffected by situations around you. This is a state of highest BLISS
and since there cannot be any higher state, you are said to have merged
completely with GOD-the Goal of Divinity .