How To Get Enlightened

Category Best of Ariel Bravy, Ego, Enlightenment, Exercises, Presence, Surrender

The Sun’s Fortress by Marc Adamus

Alright, let’s get straight to the point. How do you actually do this? How do you get enlightened?

There’s so many gurus we can follow, all of whom give similar instructions, but they’re all variations on a theme. What’s the best path? The fastest path? The path that’s most appropriate for me? Is there even a best/fastest/right path at all?

How do you get enlightened? Let’s strip away the fluff and look at the core instructions on exactly HOW to do it as instructed from a variety of teachers:

Ramana Maharshi

Repeatedly perform self-inquiry by asking the question “Who am I?” over and over until the ‘I’ falls away. The thought “Who am I?” is not meant to come up with an ultimate answer the mind can accept. Rather, it will destroy all other thoughts, and like the stick used for stirring the burning pyre, it will itself in the end get destroyed. Then, there will arise Self-realization.

Nisargadatta Maharaj

Hold on to the sense ‘I am’ tenaciously and do not swerve from it even for a moment.

Michael Langford

Turn awareness back upon itself so that awareness is watching awareness. Add nothing else to the process. Expect nothing. Just be aware of awareness.

Adyashanti

Allow everything to be as it is and then perform meditative self-inquiry, asking the question “Who am I?”

David Hawkins

Surrender the ego’s desires, proclivities, and positionalities to God. Surrender your very life, all fears, and sense of self to God. Allow God to do with you what he will.

Buddha

Meditate. Know and practice the four noble truths. Follow the noble eightfold path.

Gangaji

Stop everything. Just be. Drop all activities, all attempts to get something or achieve something that’s not already here. See what’s always here. Just stop.

Eckhart Tolle

Be in the Now. Listen to the silence.

It’s interesting to note that he didn’t awaken by constantly being present. His ego just kinda collapsed overnight spontaneously.

Neale Donald Walsch

The reason people are enlightened is because they say they are.

(Note: Neale isn’t actually enlightened. He’s simply sharing his understandings as received from God while writing his books, Conversations with God.)

T. Harv Eker

If you want instant enlightenment, don’t believe a thought you think.

(Note: Harv isn’t enlightened either, but his suggestion nevertheless ties in well.)

Bashar

If you want to be enlightened, just lighten up! Follow your highest excitement to continue finding more and more of yourself. Know that you are the One and the All.

Neo-Advaita

There’s nothing to do and no one to do anything. Just be still and allow the Self to realize itSelf.

Jesus Christ

You reach Salvation by reaching for the Christ Consciousness and Unconditional Love, following the path modeled by Jesus. Like Bhakti Yoga, it involves devotion to God.

Karma Yoga

You can reach moksha by doing God’s work instead of your own, by performing good deeds and tasks.

Jnana Yoga

Explore the sacred Hindu scriptures, typically with the aid of a guru.

Raja Yoga

Contemplation and meditation.

Paramahansa Yogananda

Meditate with a straight posture while looking up at the third eye, the center of Christ Consciousness, without straining your eyes. Be still and know.

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As you can see, there are a multitude of paths, yet even this is not by any means an all-inclusive list. There are many more recommended ways such as by receiving the grace of a guru as a form of energy transmission, by repeatedly chanting mantras, by performing various physical activities to activate certain energies within the body, by overcoming the enemy (ego) through a holy war (jihad), and more.

Spiritual Practices

What is the value of spiritual practices?

Freedom can only be realized when you don’t do anything to realize it. It must happen on its own.

Practices to help you hone your mind, to learn how to better focus or surrender are of value in that they can help you focus on the Self and withdraw attention from the pull of egoic thoughts.

If a practice serves the purpose of quieting the mind, it is of great help.

The Truth of who we are is Here and Now. All our practices are ways of searching for what is already here. They are designed to help us come back home to who we truly are.

Any practice which is based on the idea that you are someone in particular who does something in particular to achieve something in particular, any such practice is an obstruction because it is based upon the false belief that you are not already there. It’s an ego game. Don’t strive to achieve enlightenment. Just be. The ego achieves. The Self is.

Rather than trying to make yourself enlightened, look to how you are unenlightening yourself and stop doing that.

Enlightenment is like revealing the light of the sun. It’s not something to search for. Rather, you dissolve the clouds (egoic identification) preventing you from seeing the light that’s already present and has been the whole time.

Look for what does not need to be practiced to exist. Look for what is always here, eternally present. Focus attention there. Allow beingness to be. Let go of the “me” and all the stories involving it.

Boiling It Down

In a nutshell, what’s ultimately necessary is to quiet the mind and let go of identification with anything. Instead, we look at what’s always here, underneath mental chatter, prior to and during all thought. Enlightenment is found in the stillness. You can’t take Heaven (aka Enlightenment/Nirvana) by force. You must surrender into the silence and allow it to happen on its own.

“Be still and know that I am” points directly to it. Simply be still, drop all egoic movement, and be who you truly are, without anything else added.

Be Still and Know That I Am.

Continued Discussion | 12 Forum Comments

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16 Responses to “How To Get Enlightened”

Travis said:

Nice summations.

Here’s another:
Face reality. Give up the dream of Enlightenment.

Ariel Bravy Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 12:42 am
In what sense, Travis?
Anirudh said:

Yoga (Application) which was based on the control of the body physically and implied that a perfect control over the body and the senses led to knowledge of the ultimate reality. A detailed anatomical knowledge of the human body was necessary to the advancement of yoga and therefore those practising yoga had to keep in touch with medical knowledge. (Romila Thapar, A History of India, volume one).

I suggest : Mind and brain are two distinct things. Brain is anatomical entity whereas mind is functional entity. Mind can be defined as the function of autonomic nervous system (ANS). It is claimed that mind can be brought under conscious control through the practice of meditation. But how? ANS is largely under hypothalamic control which is situated very close to optic chiasma (sixth chakra or ajna chakra). Protracted practice of concentration to meditate at this region brings functions of ANS say mind under one’s conscious control.

ANS is further divided into parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS). On the basis of these facts I have discovered a mathematical relationship for spiritual quotient (S.Q.). Spiritual Quotient can be expressed mathematically as the ratio of Parasympathetic dominance to Sympathetic dominance. PSNS dominates during meditative calm and SNS dominates during stress. In this formula we assign numerical values to the physiological parameters activated or suppressed during autonomic mobilization and put in the formula to describe the state of mind of an individual and also infer his/her level of consciousness.

Meditation is the art of looking within and science of doing nothing. We don’t use anything in meditation. We just try to concentrate to meditate at some point in human anatomy known as ‘chakra’ in Indian System of Yoga. The current of mind is flowing outward through the senses and unconsciously. The mind comes at rest gradually through regular practice of meditation. Then comes self realization and enlightenment. Protracted practice of meditation under qualified guidance will help to manage all sort of psychological problems.

Emotional Quotient can also be expressed mathematically as the product of I.Q. and Wisdom Factor. E.Q. stands for Emotional Quotient. An intelligent person may not be wise. But a wise man will always be intelligent. An intelligent person having certain level of positive emotions can be said as wise. An intelligent person lacking wisdom will turn autocrat. A wise man will always be a democrat who respects others existence.

Some may raise doubt that how could be the Wisdom quantified? The answer is simple -if Mental Age of I.Q. can be quantified then Wisdom can also be quantified, of course, comparatively with more efforts. Wilhelm Stern had given the formula of I.Q.. It is, Mental Age/ Chronological Age x 100. Spiritual Quotient (S.Q.) leverages both E.Q. and I.Q.
Radha Soami Faith is a branch of Religion of Saints like Kabir, Nanak, Paltu, Soamiji Maharaj and others. You may call It a New Wine in Old Bottle. We should not expect any miracle overnight.

In this discussion, it appears, that experts from various disciplines are participating someone of course from psychology. He /she can understand my views more clearly.

Maslow has given Hierarchy of Needs. At the top of it is need for self-actualization or self-realization.

In our society we should learn To Live and Let Live and help to satisfy others need. When the lower order needs, physiological and sociological both, are satisfied then only a person think to satisfy need for self-realization in true sense. Else he/she may spend all his/her life to satisfy at the most the for self-expression instead of self-realization.

It is, therefore, the duty of every responsible person, at the least, of our society to give serious thought over it.

For the satisfaction of need for self-realization i.e. establishment of harmony of individual consciousness with that of universal consciousness we need following three things:

1. Mater or Guru (A Self-Realized Soul)
2. Secret of Levels of Universal Consciousness
3. Method for traversing the path.

Anirudh Kumar Satsangi

Ariel Bravy Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 12:41 am
Hey Anirudh, thanks for sharing your insights about Yoga, the mind and various methods of measuring it, as well as the path to self-realization as you understand it. It’s good having you here, as I know virtually nothing about yoga itself.

In all that you have shared with us thus far, what is the main message you’re trying to get across to us?
Wendy Mewhort said:

Well Ariel, you know how much I love and appreciate you… and I just gotta say what I gotta say :-)
It is not up to you my dear, to say who is enlightened and who isn’t. One person can not be the judge of another, for the knowing of conscious enlightenment can only be found within the one who has surrendered their will, and aligned it with the will of God, so that they may be a conscious channel of the divine, giving others what they need for their own growth and development. All paths are different, although in truth we are one. Because of this, all enlightened people are ‘called’ to be channels in their own unique way… most people have no idea that they’ve been in contact with an enlightened person… they just simply feel different, uplifted, ‘good’. Do not, Ariel, place yourself into a certain box, thinking that there’s a certain way to get into the box :-) The truth of enlightenment is the most beautiful thing there is, and we are surrounded in it’s beauty… far more than many, many people imagine. The children, Ariel… they are right in front of us!!
Many blessings,
Wendy

Ariel Bravy Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Hey Wendy, you’re right. It’s not up to me to decide who is and who isn’t, nor am I trying to be the definitive answer to this. Enlightenment seems to be a personal experience, not something bestowed upon you by any outside source. heh, “personal,” even though there’s no individual personal to experience it, paradoxically enough.

Being a conscious channel of the divine can happen whether a person directly realizes their true nature or not. It can and often does happen naturally and spontaneously. You can be in a state of flow painting, writing, singing, or playing, the way many children naturally are, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you consciously realize that you are the One and the All and that the limited mind and body is not who you are.
Wendy Mewhort said:

Yes, absolutely, it is about *knowing* that you are a conscious channel of the divine… and loving, respecting, and honoring the beauty of the system. You’re right, many people are channels for the betterment of others- be it in writing, speaking, a beautiful painting, an idea that facilitates peaceful resolution of conflict, what have you- but they may not know that it is not coming from them… they own it as their own creation, rather than the ultimate truth of from where whence it came. There is nothing ‘wrong’ with this, it is just to point out the different levels of understanding. Or, they regret what they say/did, not *knowing* the purpose behind it :-) So yes, one must be self-aware that they are ‘being’ enlightenment-in-action. There are many unconscious channels of the divine walking around, absolutely… that’s beautiful… we are all divine. We must stop thinking that enlightenment looks a certain way, or there is a certain way to get there. Although you may feel uplifted around the ‘energy’ (vibration) of an enlightened person, you may also find yourself extremely agitated, angry… like your most tender buttons were just pushed. That is because enlightened people are willing to say/do what you need to hear/receive for your growth and development. They *know* that they are here to be of service to you :-) When this happens, go within… the answer to the belief system that you are hanging on to- that they have helped ‘rise to the surface’, so that it may be transmuted into a new one- can be found when you ‘go into the stillness that is the truth of who you are’. Bless them. Thank them. Those that irritate us are helping us the most :-) A beautiful system, indeed! We are all here in service to one another, for in truth we all love another… so we are all giving each other what we ‘need’… it’s just that we don’t PERCEIVE it this way :-) And yes, some people do this consciously, and some unconsciously… but the children, Ariel, they know full well what they’re doing… they’re just ‘not allowed’ to tell you ;-)
In love and gratitude,
Wendy

Ariel Bravy Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Awesome. You go girl!
brianohio said:

Thank you for this menu of enlightenment. There are indeed many paths leading to the same place. Oh, and Travis may want to read up on the karma of sarcasm…

brianohios last blog post..The ugly face of sarcasm…
TJones said:

Releasing via The Sedona Method, continually letting go, opening up and surrendering all things can also lead to Self-Realization.
Plus, being more open helps maintain self-realization, and you’re less likely to get fooled into limitation again.

Ariel Bravy Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Yes yes yes, a great way to let go of the egoic fears/restrictions/limitations that prevent you from experiencing your true nature. I’m glad you suggested it.
buddhalite said:

also wanted to add this, because this is how it came to me, but many teachers have said this too – follow your heart’s deepest desire, let go of everything but your heart’s deepest calling….the rest will happen by itself.

thanks for clearing that up about neale too…i used to wonder about that…so i guess you can be a messenger, or receive communication from God without actually being awakened (yet)to your own true nature…that’s really interesting. do you think it’s the same with esther hicks and abraham?

Jasper Reply:
January 20th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Yeah, great summary!
I´d add:

Taoism (e.g.Laozi): living with integrity, observing nature.
Understanding the dualities of yin and yang, to finally realize the Tao/Oneness

The Zen teaching of Huang Po:
(in a nutshell)
-Giving up conceptual thought
-The real dharma(~path) is the wordless dharma, the dharma of no dharma

I love ^this guy! he spills alot of paradox…
Wendy Mewhort said:

In regards to Neale :-)
Might I point out that he is continually, consistently, constantly, working, working, working, to raise people’s consciousness… he is always bringing out the issues in people that make them search within, if they so choose. He is tirelessly bringing the issues out of the dark, exposing them to the light. Do you know if he has surrendered? Do you know if he is consciously or unconsciously helping people move forward in this personal and planetary ascension process we are experiencing? Hmmmm…. ;-)
Now, that’s HIS little secret, isn’t it?
Many blessings,
Wendy
Sumiran said:

Get introduce with Omkar or sound-of-silence from a realized master and surrender yourself into it while in meditation, and do your daily activities in its remembering. Most importantly intensify your thirst

Sumirans last blog post..Way of Sufi: wine, beloved and intoxication
Trey said:

I just love how simple it is (once we forget ourselves) to find that tingly feeling of bliss which can only be covered up when we remember ourselves again.

Reading what Maharshi advises, I think of the words “Who am?” while kind of avoiding the thought of “I”. Every time, these words cease my thoughts as if my mind were waiting for the sentence to end but all it can hear is stillness and from it I find peace.

Thank you Ariel.