misconceptions about enlightenment

This episode should perhaps be called What it’s not all about, for today, I am going to expose some of the myths about enlightenment. Before enlightenment, inevitably, we have some ideas about it. And actually becoming enlightened is about going beyond ideas, any ideas – nice ideas, horrible ideas, beautiful ideas, ugly ideas – going beyond them and living directly in reality. But whilst we are still living in the world of ideas, thoughts, we will inevitably have some ideas about enlightenment and in this episode I am going to discuss some of the more common ideas, mistaken ideas but nevertheless common.

Once such idea is that when I become enlightened everybody will like me. It is not so. In fact, when we become enlightened, we become a challenge to other people who are not yet ready to set foot on the path. So, if anything, many ordinary people are likely to become antagonistic towards us. They are being challenged. Maybe they don’t realise they are being challenged but one’s energy is enough, one’s way of being is enough. What is more, when human beings are interacting with one another, it is mostly through the personality and this does not necessarily change much with enlightenment. The personality is seen as superficial and largely irrelevant but it is still there in its uniqueness. Some people will like the personality and some others will not. This does not change much with enlightenment.

Another great myth is that, with enlightenment, I will become a great master with lots of disciples, followers, people bowing down to me and touching my feet. Well, this may happen for a few people, but not many. Most people, when they realise their enlightenment, have a good laugh at how foolish they have been and then simply forget about the whole thing. They can live their days contentedly, at peace with the world, at ease in the world, but there is no need to talk about it. In fact, everyone who becomes enlightened has this experience: that there is nothing that can be said about it, and that all words are ultimately misleading. So, most people after enlightenment never speak of it. You may have a feel that they are somehow in a special space, a certain look in their eyes, a certain way the body moves but by and large they will be indistinguishable from other people. They will not become a master, a teacher, and they will not have followers. Only a few of the lucky ones, the ones who have realised their enlightenment, go on to teach. And these are the foolish ones. For, as I mentioned, words cannot capture the essence of enlightenment and so teaching spiritually is a foolish affair.

Another common enlightenment myth is that I will come to have superpowers. Perhaps I will be able to walk on water or live without eating. Any number of strange superpowers have been reported, but this is nothing to do with enlightenment. It is just an ego trip, trying to be special, trying to achieve some uniqueness over and above that which we have been given by existence. Ordinarily we want to be special, but enlightenment is not about becoming special. It is about accepting our ordinariness, being at home, at ease with who we really are. So, whilst it maybe possible in some esoteric schools to learn miraculous powers, I have no interest in them and they are nothing to do with spirituality. They are just another ego game.

Another myth, with regard to enlightenment, is that I will become just like Gautam Buddha, or just like Jesus, or any of the other enlightened ones that have gone before. It is not so. Yes, at our essence we are one, undifferentiated, not separate. But everything else about us is unique and that is the beauty of life. The spiritual path is not about becoming the same as someone else, that would be an ugly, atrocious violation of life. No, the spiritual path is about becoming who we really are, throwing off the conditioning that has forced us to be something that we are not, to be like some normal person, whatever that may be. The spiritual path is about us rejoicing in who we are, in our uniqueness. So we will not become the same as any who have gone before. You can see it – all the great masters of the past have been unique, their expression of the truth differs, each one expressing their truth uniquely. They have not all been identical. You also are unique. When that fortunate day comes and you find yourself to be enlightened, your expression of it will also be unique.

These are just a few of the common myths about enlightenment. There are others, but the important point to remember is that any idea about enlightenment will eventually become a barrier to enlightenment. So, forget the ideas, dwell with the feeling of not knowing what enlightenment is, and what is coming to you.