What is Enlightenment?

Explanation of enlightenment or self actualisation

by David West

The movement of a soul's centre from the personal view to the world view.

"All who have experienced this illumination, even in a faint degree, recognize the like experience in the tale, song, or preaching of another, though centuries may roll between them. It is the song of the Soul,which when once heard is never forgotten.

Though it be sounded by the crude instrument of the semi-barbarous races or the finished instrument of the talented musician of to-day, its strains are plainly recognized. From Old Egypt comes the song - from India in all ages - from Ancient Greece and Rome - from the early Christian saint - from the Quaker Friend - from the Catholic monasteries - from the Mohammedan mosque - from the Chinese philosopher - from the legends of the American Indian hero-prophet - it is always the same strain, and it is swelling louder and louder, as many more are taking it up and adding their voices or the sounds of their instruments to the grand chorus." (Yogi Ramacharaka - William Walker Atkinson (1862-1932))

The above words were written over 100 years ago, during an earlier age of enlightenment, when eastern philosophy was being discovered by western philosophers, and much new thought was being created in both hemispheres.

As communication was beginning to open up through ships and roads, canals and rail, it became possible for thinkers to discover other like-minded people - who appeared to be adhering to some unwritten and unuttered new concept upon which they all agreed. They had known this concept all along, but had never consciously examined it due to other ideas which got in the way. Like many things, we know ABOUT them, but the true meaning never really sinks in on all levels until we experience the concept personally. Once that has occurred, we wonder at the futility of everyone's daily activity, like a beehive organised by a psychotic queen bee, with each bee thinking he's only the bees' knees.

We have been fed much trivia, and many untruths since the day of our current incarnation, and our task is to find our way through the untruths. Once we do, we may feel disappointed at the way that we and our associates had been hoaxed so often, and we remaindisappointed that our colleagues are still hoaxed. But then we realise that is the way it has to be, because that is the way it is.

Twas Meant To Be.

Enlightenment requires no learning as it is within all of us - what is required is that we utterly dispose of all dogma, stigma and belief in unproven ideas. Man's mind is incapable of reaching total truth, but is capable of disposing of non-truth.

“Enlightenment is not about becoming divine. Instead it's about becoming more fully human. . . . It is the end of ignorance.”

― Lama Surya Das, Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment