Enlightenment is our ultimate goal. It is the purpose of human life. Enlightenment is about the realization of the truth. We all live in the darkness of ignorance. We think that this world is real when in reality, it is an illusion. We do not know who we are, who God is. We think that we are this body, mind and ego and that God is a person who lives somewhere in heaven. This is not true. God is a Power. God is SIP, the Supreme Immortal Power. So, what is the truth that we must realize? We must realize: I am the Soul. The Soul is SIP, the Supreme Immortal Power. I am SIP, Everyone is SIP. In fact, everything is SIP. God is everywhere, in everything.
Enlightenment is about lighting the light within. It is overcoming the superstitions and the lies we live with. There are certain steps that we must follow to be enlightened:
1) Go on a quest — a quest for the truth; for the Divine.
2) Ask relevant and pertinent questions on life, on God — Who am I? Why was I born? Who is God? Where is God? What is God? What is Karma? Is rebirth a reality? What happens after we die?
3) Investigate our findings, our answers. We must not blindly follow what we hear or see. We must contemplate our learnings. We must use the faculty of the intellect to discriminate the truth from the myth, right from wrong.
4) Along with the guidance of a Guru and the Grace of God, and our sincere efforts, we can evolve in our journey and realize the truth.
Of course, the prerequisite to our quest is that we must truly yearn for Enlightenment, for God. This passionate intensity and love for the Divine is called Mumukshutva.
Once we are enlightened, we can never lose it. But we still have to be alert and vigil because we can slip back into the material world again. We must live in the state of Consciousness, thoughtlessness. We must live with discipline, detachment, discrimination, always desiring the Supreme Immortal Power we call God. We must live ever-connected with God, in Yoga. We can be in Yoga through Dhyana Yoga or silence; Bhakti Yoga or devotion; Karma Yoga or action; Gyana Yoga or education; or Prema Yoga or the Yoga of Divine Love.
Attaining Enlightenment is not easy. Only a few people embark on a quest to be enlightened. And even from this minority, only a few people are able to be enlightened. Human life is a gift because as humans, we have been given the gift of the intellect. In the state of Consciousness, the intellect shines. The intellect is the faculty that helps us discriminate and can lead us to the realization of the truth. It is important that we don’t waste this blessing of being a human. If we do not realize the truth, we will be caught in the cycle of death and rebirth. We will be born again and again. On the other hand, Enlightenment, Self-realization leads to God-realization and finally Moksha, freedom from all suffering and misery on earth and rebirth.
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