People throw this word around alot- but what does it really mean to be truly "enlightened"? Remember that these are just words to describe something that is ineffable. Here is what I have learned about the topic:
Enlightenment is a state of being. It comes from within, through realization. If you desire it, you will not get it, because enlightenment comes when you give up all desire, all hope for the future, all concern with the past, and become fully saturated in the present moment. It requires total acceptance, and total surrender. One who is enlightened no longer identifies with their ego. They see the world through direct perception, without the false beliefs that are rooted in the illusion of separation. They see truth. One who is in an enlightened state has reached total detachment, and mastery of mind. They experience unbreakable peace within. Although they show different emotions, perhaps even negative ones, they do not let their emotions control them, nor do they suffer because of them.
Once someone moves into an “enlightened” state, they will not necessarily stay that way permanently. Instead, it is a state of consciousness that must be maintained through spiritual discipline and focus. One may slip into enlightenment for only a brief moment. Then they might continue to evolve their consciousness, oscillating up and down until that state becomes the norm for them. However, some people reach a state of “enlightenment” and stay that way the rest of their lives.
Through direct perception, we are able to see who and what we truly are. We become fully self-aware. We see the divine and infinite nature of ourselves, and attain a great understanding of the universe. Although an enlightened state is very beneficial to our growth and wholeness, it is not the “ultimate” achievement, so to speak.
I have come to find that an enlightened state is marked by feelings of unity with the cosmos, a loss of individualization, and a state of bliss or inner peace. Tests have been done on Buddhist monks that were in deep states of meditation. The studies show that while the monks are in such a trance, the right side of their brains are highly active, while the left side of their brains show almost no activity. Our right brains are random, intuitive, subjective, and looks more at the whole. Our left brains are logical, rational, sequential, and analytical, while focused more on the individual parts.
It is safe to say that an ‘enlightened’ person has a highly active right brain. They see and understand the oneness of the universe. They have found total detachment and therefore deep peace/bliss within themselves. However, some enlightened men and women seem to do some seemingly ignorant things. There are many stories of enlightened masters and gurus involved in crimes such as fraud and rape. Osho is a well known author from India who attained enlightenment at a young age and moved to the United States. He published many books and started a large following. He was known for riding around with his disciples in a large group of pink Rolls Royces. Also, many enlightened gurus have been known to simply keep to themselves, perhaps in isolation. Why not help their fellow man attain and teach what they know? It seems another challenge of this lifetime would be to purify our personalities; To synchronize the left and right brain; To balance and integrate the enlightened perspective with the perspective of the individual.
As long as we are human, we will always possess an ego. Some people deny their ego, and shun it. They are ashamed of it. However, it is my belief that we must embrace our egos-groom them and appease them. If we repress them, we may end up feeling depressed and unfulfilled. If we let them take over, we may end up hurting others in the selfish pursuit of our desires.
