Don’t be in a hurry to find an answer to the question; the question is a tool by which you can go deeper within yourself. You can’t go deeper by reading books. They may help to some extent, give you some understanding, but will not serve the purpose.
Deep inside, we are all smiling, but we are not in touch with that smile. Getting in touch with that smile, being natural, is enlightenment.
What is enlightenment? How does a regular person find out if someone is enlightened? It cannot be said in words, it has to be felt. You cannot describe love. You can’t say that love is endorphins or oxytocin getting produced in your body, it is something that only the heart can know; your existence can feel something different..
The funniest thing is that it is in everybody, it is in the original nature of our being and everybody has it, but it has not been uncovered.Each of you can be get enlightened. The seed is there. It can sprout anytime. It can become a big tree anytime.
Enlightenment is all about living from a depth of life, not getting stressed in any circumstance. Enlightenment is not an achievement, rather getting rid of ignorance is an achievement because enlightenment is our very nature.
Seekers on the spiritual path always remain curious to know about Enlightenment.
What is Enlightenment? I say "Enlightenment is like a joke!” It is like a fish in the ocean searching for the ocean."
We all came into this world gifted with innocence,with silence but as we grew up, as we became more intelligent, we lost our innocence,our silence. We lived in our hearts and as time passed, we moved into our heads.Now the reversal of this journey is enlightenment.
Enlightenment is the very core of our being; going to the core of our self and living our life from there.It is the journey from the head back to the heart, from words back to silence; getting back to our innocence in spite of our intelligence. Although very simple, this is a great achievement.
Knowledge should lead you to that beautiful point of “I don’t know.” The purpose of knowledge is ignorance!
The completion of knowledge will lead you to amazement and wonder. It makes you aware of this existence. Mysteries are to be lived, not understood. One can live life as fully in its completeness, in its totality.It is unconditional. You can’t put any condition on that freedom. Just to tell you, there is no conditioning
Unenlightenment is easy to define. It is limiting yourself by saying, “I belong to this particular place”, “I am from that culture” or “I belong to this religion”.
The purpose of religion is to bring enlightenment to the individual, and happiness in society, and to move from limited individual identity, to universality and communion with the Divine. When at a time these ideals are far from reality, congregations such as these where people of all faiths gather together, have great responsibility to ponder on the pressing issues. It is a necessity for survival of our planet.
If one could take credit for all that exists throughout the ages and feel as though “It belongs to me,” then, that is maturity. “This is my wealth because I belong to the divine.”
The Divine, according to time and space, gave different knowledge in different places. One becomes the knower of the whole universe and can say “All the beautiful flowers are from my garden.”
The whole evolution of man is from being somebody to being nobody, and from being nobody to being everybody.
Have you observed that young children have that sense of belonging that oneness, that innocence? As we grew up we lost that innocence and became more cunning. The innocence of an ignorant man has no value, and the cunningness of an intelligent man also has no value.
To be happy, you seek something. But despite getting it, you are not happy
All of one's life is spent in preparing to be happy someday in the future. It's like making your bed all night, but having no time to sleep in it.
How many minutes, hours and days of your life have you spent being happy from within? Those are the only moments you have really lived life. Those were perhaps the days when you were a small kid, completely blissful and happy or a few moments when you were surfing, swimming or sailing or on a mountain top, living in the present and enjoying it.
There are two ways of looking at life. One is thinking: "I'll be happy after achieving a certain objective." The second is saying: "I am happy come what may!" Which one do you want to live by? Life is 80% joy and 20% misery. But you hold on to the 20% and make it 200%!
It is not a conscious act, it just happens. Living in the moment with joy, alertness, awareness and compassion is enlightenment. Being like a child is enlightenment. It is being free from within, feeling at home with everybody, without barriers.
Enlightenment is a rare combination of innocence and intelligence, having words for expression and, at the same time, being very silent. In that state, the mind is fully in the present moment. Whatever is necessary is revealed to you in such a natural and spontaneous way, you just sit and the song of the nature flows through you.
Enlightenment is that state of being so mature and unshakable by any circumstance. Come what may, nothing can rob the smile from your heart. Not identifying with limited boundaries and feeling "all that exists in this universe belongs to me," this is enlightenment.'
Usually people exist, they don’t live. Existing without life is ignorance. Living as if you don’t exist is enlightenment.
One who is inert has no needs and no responsibilities. Also one who is completely enlightened has no needs and responsibilities. In between these two, everyone has some needs and some responsibilities.
How do you fulfill your needs and how do you fulfill your responsibilities is the question. If you focus on what your responsibility is, your needs will be taken care of.But when your needs are many and you focus only on your needs and not on responsibility then that is the path to inertness, sadness. When you don’t take responsibility, you remain unhappy, keep grumbling and complaining.
If you take responsibility and your needs are less everything comes to you - enthusiasm, happiness, creativity. A time comes in our lives when we let go of all our needs and responsibilities. But to get to that state we have to go step by step.
Now the question arises: what about if one is hungry? Then, one has to eat. If one is thirsty, one has to drink. These are all physical needs.
Your body belongs to this society/ this world and the world/society will take care of it. You belong to the Divine and the Divine will take care of you.
In fact the Divine is taking care of you. Make this distinction that you are separate from your body. As soon as you do this you will see that you are separate from your body, you belong to the Divine. Your smile becomes a permanent feature.
Q: What is enlightenment? When is one said to be enlightened?
Sri Sri : When you say a word, you have already heard a definition for it. I would say enlightenment is a connection with the universal spirit, realizing that you are part of it, you are that. Living unconditional love without any effort, you don’t have to put any effort for that. Being like an open book, being natural and all these qualities are there in every individual. It only needs a little nurturing and then it starts blossoming. So when you walk, walk like you are enlightened, you are open, you are like a child, and you are free - emotionally, mentally and intellectually.
Enjoy the freedom. When you don’t have any cravings and aversions of your own, then you can give yourself a certificate that you are enlightened. But you should be over all your cravings and aversions. Clear heart, clear mind and clarity in action are all part of enlightenment. If you look at a child of two-three years, or a baby of six months - there is unconditional love in his eyes. Every baby has all these qualities but minus wisdom. When you grow old keep all these qualities in you like innocence, and have the depth of wisdom along with it. That is what it is.
Q: Does one need to have a Guru or spiritual leader to seek enlightenment?
Sri Sri You are asking a question and you want an answer. You want medicine and anyone who gives you medicine becomes a doctor. The seeker wants an answer, wants someone to tell him, to guide him. If someone says, “I’m not a patient but I need medicine,” and someone says “I’m not a doctor but I’ll give you medicine,” what do you call both? Anyone can tell you what you want to hear but a little guidance does help. Someone should be there to give you assurance. When you learn swimming and the trainer says “Go ahead”, you get that confidence to go. Someone who has such confidence can become your guide.
Q: If we have to choose between happiness or enlightenment, what should we choose?
Sri Sri : Enlightenment is the biggest happiness. Why to go after small happiness when the biggest is there?
It is not easy to believe in God. God is there: if you experience this then the mind calms down. Then you find only God is there and I don’t exist.
Inn ankhon mein ankh mila ke dekho to sahi, pyar dikhta hai ki nahi,
Ek kadam bada ke dekho to sahi, rasta milta hai ki nahi,
Hath batake dekho to sahi, kaam hota hai ki nahi,
Ek baar muskarake dekho to sahi, duniya apnati hai ke nahin,
Ek baar naam le ke dekho to sahi, jeevan safal hota hai ke nahi.
Q: Guruji, masters have declared that enlightenment is here and now, this very moment. Then what is the role of techniques, yoga and meditation?
Sri Sri: So that it becomes here and now really. Just reading a menu card your stomach does not get full. If fire is written on a paper it does not burn your hands. The difference between fire written on paper and fire in reality, this is the difference here, okay? You have intellectually understood that enlightenment is here and now but to experience it, it happens only in meditation. The techniques take the mind away from the cravings, aversions and all the obstructions that has come to be in the here and now.
Q. Can we aspire for something higher like enlightenment at the age of twenty one?
Sri Sri : Definitely. You should aspire for enlightenment and enlightenment is unconditional happiness, unconditional love and a life in which you are in the driver’s seat. You must aspire for enlightenment. Right from when you recognize to aspire anything in life. Go to the highest first and all the good things will come along, you don’t have to make an effort for it.
When I say you don’t have to make an effort, I mean you don’t have to sit and worry about it. When you aspire for the highest, your action will be spontaneous and in the spontaneity you will see things have started falling into place.
Q: Is it possible to attain enlightenment while having physical blocks in the spine?
Sri Sri Why not? Ashtavakra had eight deformities in his body, and he was enlightened.
Q: Guruji, who is dearest to you: a sadhak, devotee or an enlightened person?
Sri Sri Just you!
Q. How do we gear up for enlightenment?
Sri Sri : Wanting it, itself is half done. The rest is a little discipline and you should know that you will get it. It will be given to you. That’s why you have the path, the guru. You will just get it
". Shama jali hai tere liye, tujhko kuch nahi karna hai "
(The candle is lit for you, you don’t have to do anything).
You don’t have to do anything just be hollow and empty from inside.
