Imet a Master who, when asked how he recognized an enlightened being, smirked to himself and with a rather pronounced dignity told me – “You can see it in their eyes. Look for a peculiar burn in their eyes. Something so subtle, it can only be perceived by another enlightened one.”

“Look – I died as a stone, and I have risen up again as a shrub -I died as a shrub – and I began to run around in a circle like a lion – I died as a lion – and my singing rings through the world – (…) And its content has passed as the breath of God! ” Rumi.

The fullness of experience

This, in my opinion, is how you can describe Enlightenment, or rather its momentary attainment.

Isn’t it so that each of us, without exception, bears within himself the memory of losing himself completely  in the NOW? When we see a dancer, a painter, an ascetic, a child, all of them completely absorbed in their frenetic action,, full of utter presence,  isn’t that a glimpse of enlightenment?

Or when we glimpse a moment of utter beauty of nature, a man, a quote from a book, when we experience the pleasure of the most blissful moment, in a way that everything else vanishes, don’t we feel connected to the whole of Existence?

“Enlightenment – the egoless state. It is a state that can not be attained in the future nor in the past. It is a state to which we have access only through full presence, NOW.  Enlightenment is not what I want to become or who I want to be. You can not do that to. If you look at it as a condition which you will reach in the future, then you will miss it altogether. This is not a mental phenomenon. Enlightenment IS already. ” – Echarte Tolle

One of my favorite spiritual mentors, Robert Theiss  describes rather beautifully what, according to him, is Enlightenment. He calls it the awakening of your “God Self”. It is a statement of sovereign connection with life. To experience the freedom of life, a path from inside (your heart) – to the outside. A discovery which will rekindle in you a renewed passion and joy of life.

Recognizing the Divine in yourself

“These teachings say that the divine nature is also a part of you. This divine part is available to you at any time, any moment. This part of you is free from judgment, history, life drama. It’s also already realized, full, united with the whole of existence. It is a way that is free of control, manipulation, domination. It is a way of trust, forgiveness and peace. ” – excerpt from the book “Awakening to Your God Self” – Robert Theiss

Robert clearly emphasizes the power of choice. Asks where we want to be, is it in the heart, which opens up access to the beauty of life, to the “here and now” or do we choose to be in the head – a mess, fears, neurosis, anxieties and countless stories that suck us of the passion and joy of life.

“World history is the story of those very few people who had faith in themselves. Only this kind of faith allows the true manifestation of the hidden Divine. When it is nurtured, alive and breathing, there is nothing impossible for us. We stumble and fall only then, when the effort to manifest the boundless spirit in ourselves, is not insufficient.” – Swami Vivekananda

Enlightenment is shrouded and misinterpreted in many myths and irregularities. Buddhists talk about the many degrees of Enlightenment, because for everyone, at their individual stage of consciousness, Enlightenment will mean something entirely different. Personally I think it is only partly accurate. I would rather look at the Truth as being only one.  And the connection with the Absolute is also only one and the same for all of us.  

So what does truth ultimately hold?

I think it comes down to the recognition of God in yourself. The silent whisper which we all bear within us. The same one which our ego to attempts to crush and silence, each and every day. Instead of allowing that part of us, to come to life and blossom for every moment of our existence.

And what does this mean in practice? Nothing else other than choice.

How do we want to live? How do we want to feel from moment to the next? How do we stay attentive to our unwieldy mind? How do we handle the dramas playing out constanly in our heads? Hw do we handle the heavy cleansing processes? And the pain and suffering which comes along with them.

In regard to the above, one should ask oneself the question, what specific attitude is required to go that way? In my opinion, it means to be a daredevil, often downright insolent and relentless – but only when it comes to trusting one’s own heart.

 I wish for every one of us that our minds will give in, subordinate themselves, and find the courage and willpower to listen to the heart’s soft and blossoming whistle. 

And at the end, a few words, which for me hold the true essence of what that whistle carries.

“You are already perfect! The only problem is that you are not ready to admit that you could be perfect from the start. Because you think you can be perfect only at the very end … ” – Mooji

For the first part of Kaja’s personal thoughts and views, please go here: Enamourment in Life (part 1)