vijay kumar
 

What is Enlightenment

Query: What is Enlightenment... What is the Hindu term for the State of Enlightenment!


Vijay Kumar:
What is enlightenment... what did people mean when they talked of enlightenment? Is enlightenment connected to spirituality or religion? How does enlightenment relate to doctrine of karma and theory of evolution! For a human being... what is the significance of gaining enlightenment (kaivalya jnana)! Is there a shortcut path to gaining enlightenment in present life?

The Hindu term for the state of enlightenment is gaining self realization... God realization! In spiritual parlance gaining enlightenment... self realization, God realization all meant the same! Human beings reached stage of enlightenment when our karma negated to zero. Karma can only be negated to zero by indulgence in good karma... positive karma all the time!

Enlightenment announced our soul atman... the spirit within reaching stage of absolute purity forever! Ever since a soul atman started its cosmic journey... the effort of every soul atman remained... removal of dross impurities within! It is only by indulgence in good karma human beings gradually reduced impurities contained within!

As human beings reached higher brackets of spiritual pursuit... our soul atman gained more purity step-by-step! The purification of a soul atman was a long drawn process... prime reason why God Almighty ordained a long journey of 8.4 million manifestations... an earthly life cycle of 96.4 million years before human beings gained enlightenment (kaivalya jnana)!

When nothing remains except jnana (wisdom)... that stage is termed kaivalya jnana in Hinduism and Jainism! Travelling path of spirituality demands establishing absolute control over five senses and mind! It is only by establishing absolute control over five senses and mind human beings finally reached stage of enlightenment... kaivalya jnana!


Furthermore practice of Brahmacharya Vrata (absolute celibacy) was necessitated for a period of 12 years in continuation! Practice of absolute celibacy for 12 years in continuation finally resulted in full awakening of Kundalini Shakti... the coiled serpentine energy lying dormant in base of spine! Full awakening of kundalini further resulted in opening of Sahasra Pushpa (thousand petaled Lotus) existing in our brain behind forehead... one finally became an enlightened one... a bodhi!

Opening of Sahasra Pushpa meant... the dormant lying portions of our brain becoming active forever! Normal human beings used their brain one percent... an enlightened one used his brain hundred percent! Albert Einstein the famous physicist was the only person in world who used his brain 4%. Above average activation of brain directly resulted from study of Bhagavad Gita by Albert Einstein! Albert Einstein was a firm believer of the doctrine of Bhagavad Gita!

The definition of enlightenment as understood in West is flawed! Why? Except Jesus Christ none gained enlightenment in the West ever! Comparatively not hundreds but many thousands gained enlightenment in India in the entire history of mankind! Path of spirituality... gaining enlightenment is the forte of serious seekers of spirituality.


Only those exhibiting willpower demonstrated by Swami Vivekananda are fit enough to travel spiritual path... gain enlightenment in their lifetime! Practice of Brahmacharya Vrata... absolute celibacy demanded establishing absolute control over sexual inhibitions. Rather sexual energy needs to be transmuted towards the only goal of life... stage of enlightenment!

In the present world full of sensual environment... practising absolute celibacy seems difficult but for an ardent seeker of spirituality... nothing is impossible! Establishing absolute control over five senses and mind is another major hurdle! Prompted by a bloated ego most human beings pursued material goals of life!

Can such people ever be expected to reach stage of enlightenment in their lifetime?


Practice of absolute celibacy demanded practising patience, persistence and perseverance of the highest order that could ever be practiced by human beings! Practising celibacy mantra human beings finally succeeded in transmuting sexual energy towards more creative uses! For gaining enlightenment... one needs establishing absolute control over sexual inhibitions!

The importance of sexual energy... the role played by sexual energy in gaining enlightenment never reduced with time! We have to keep trying... no matter how many failures we meet on way! I have met many people who finally succumbed to pressures of daily life and left midway! Such people finally become patients of depression!

Spiritual path must always be tread with caution! Enlightenment is not that easily gained... prime reason why in the last about 150 years amongst 7 billion people existing world over only two persons succeeded in reaching stage of enlightenment (kaivalya jnana)... spiritual stalwarts Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana!


Both Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana in search of God started spiritual journey via path of bhakti yoga... path of religion... path of rituals! Understanding abstract truth of life that enlightenment could not be gained via path of bhakti yoga alone... both switched to path of jnana yoga... path of absolute wisdom in the later stages of life!

In the present scientific age none could reach God via path of bhakti yoga alone! In present times path of contemplation... path of self enquiry... path of Neti (not this, not this) was necessitated for human beings to reach stage of enlightenment... kaivalya jnana! Path of self enquiry... Neti (not this, not this) is a sure shot method of reaching God in present life time!

When six years of age I had no inkling what enlightenment... self realization... God realization was all about! I was simply fascinated by God Almighty! Anything related to God Almighty attracted me. I was addicted to path of absolute truthfulness... I wanted to remain truthful every second of life! Even if death bared me head-on, I would have never got scared!


I always felt nearer to God Almighty all the time. Perhaps my soul atman was in the habit of synchronization with God Almighty all the time. By remaining truthful always and ever... I could hear the sweet small inner voice of my soul atman that seemed to come from within my heart! Practising pranayama... the breathing process I finally reached source of breathing!

As I travelled ahead in life... my resolve to find God in this very life became absolute! By 13 years of age I decided to go in search of God... come whatever may! I was even prepared to leave my family if circumstances demanded so!

I distinctly remember the day when I told my mother that in search of God I would leave the family forever if it was so dictated by God Almighty! Hearing this... my mother only said... you shall leave this house over my dead body! If you leave the house, I shall go to nearby canal and jump! That was the day I would regret ever in my life!


I promised my mother... I shall never leave the confines of my house without her permission! I prayed to God Almighty to show me the right path so that I could search him even while remaining within confines of my house! At that time I thought going to deep dense jungles for yoga meditation was a routine. I was altogether wrong.

25 years of yoga meditation... I finally succeeded in reaching stage of enlightenment... kaivalya jnana! I followed path of jnana yoga from the very beginning! Even at six years of age I was skeptical about going to temples. Something inherently told me that God was not to be found in clay idols kept in temples! I was proved right in my surmise.

The path of enlightenment in Hinduism as detailed in sacred Bhagavad Gita forms summum bonum of spirituality! Any human being exhibiting willpower demonstrated by Swami Vivekananda... following teachings contained in Bhagavad Gita can easily reach stage of enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) and finally salvation (moksha)!


If we have the will, God is always ready to show the way! But how many people world over truly wanted to follow path of pure spirituality! In my 54 years of spiritual travail I have yet to find a person who could detail to me the correct definition of God Almighty... meaning of Dharma, meaning of karma... definition of enlightenment... purport of yoga meditation!

Prompted by a bloated ego... those who pursued material riches of life all the time... how could such people ever think of reaching God in their lifetime! Not in hundreds but thousands people flocked to river Ganges daily at Haridwar, India with the hope that their kundalini would awaken of its own... or they might be blessed with gaining enlightenment by God Almighty!

Such ignorants are a true parasite on society! Always thinking of self... remaining immersed in their vested interests... can such people ever think of community service ever! Travelers of religious path never reached anywhere in their lifetime... prime reason why hundreds of thousands of mendicants roamed different religious centres of India all the time.


Spiritual awakening is a gradual process. As we scaled higher brackets of spiritual pursuit... veil of Maya (veil of ignorance) removed step-by-step! The moment we realized we are a soul atman on its cosmic journey of 8.4 million manifestations... an earthly life cycle of 96.4 million years... one finally reached stage of enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) forever!

But this realization of cosmic truth did not come in a single day. Realization that we are a soul atman required establishing absolute control over five senses and mind. Furthermore practice of absolute celibacy for 12 years in continuation was necessitated!

Requirement of a spiritual preceptor... a spiritual master is also a fallacy! Throughout my life I never got a spiritual master to guide me in the unknown journey of life! In exasperation I finally asked God to become my guide in the journey of life... and lo... he willingly agreed! That was the day after which I never had to look back!


If God Almighty was my guide in the journey of life... searching for God became easy! My absolute faith in God Almighty finally paid dividends. I now had a spiritual preceptor to guide me in the journey of life... God Almighty himself... wow!

Always there to clarify your queries (send your query),

Essay by: Vijay Kumar "Atma Jnani" ... The Man who Realized God in 1993!

A to Z of What is Enlightenment explained in words everyone can easily understand and fathom. More on enlightenment hinduism - enlightenment hinduism can be found at Essays Articles Enlightenment Hinduism ... Vijay Kumar - 30 Jan 2011.


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