Enlightened Beings

Enlightened Beings  

Recently, I was asked to participate in a study called "What Is An Enlightened Being?" As I reviewed the questions in the study I realized how much my opinions  on the topic have changed. Thirty years ago, without hesitation, I would have answered that an enlightened being is a Bodhisattva, one who has reached the ultimate state of purity yet delays that passage in order to alleviate the suffering of humanity. But now, many years and many miles on the journey, I answered the questions quite differently.

Everyone on the spiritual journey aspires to become "enlightened" some day. It seems to always be "the goal." For surely, if we achieve enlightenment it will change everything about ourselves and about the world we live in. Once we start walking the path of a spiritually attuned life, we attend classes and seminars that satisfy our need to become "enlightened." We read books devoted to mysticism; we learn about the value of meditation; and we practice diligently. The esoteric teachings support us by saying that if we do those things and apply ourselves to the noble path, we too can become a Bodhisattva - or at the very least an Arhat. Teachers say it could happen instantly (rare) or it could happen after several thousand incarnations (much more likely.)

As I explored the questions posed in the study I focused on my personal journey. I'd followed a spiritual path for more than 40 years. In that time I studied with some very well-known and some not so well-known mystical teachers. The not so well-known teachers had as much influence (sometimes more so) in my development as some of the very well-known ones. A not so well-known teacher told me what I'd be doing with my life at ages 40, 50, 60 and 70. She was right for the first three decades. (I haven't reached the last one yet.)  So, I wondered, was she enlightened? Or, did she plant a seed that caused me to do what she said in the time-frame she'd indicated. This much I know!  She kindled a blaze a long time ago that allowed me seek the answers that I was now trying to decipher about enlightened beings.

Some self-realized masters said they were enlightened. There's probably little disagreement that Buddha, Paramahansa Yogananda, and Jesus were enlightened beings. But what if I toss in a few others that might alter your belief systems. Does Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Einstein, Darwin, Saladin, DaVinci, Gandhi, Akbar the Great, Nikola Tesla, Mao Zedong, and King Darius of Persia to name a few, qualify? They were warriors and conquerors, scientists and peacemakers, but should they be considered enlightened beings? I now think so because they had purpose, conviction, and a focus on their life's goal. And, they had a global impact on their fellow humans.

But what about normal people who don't have a global impact? I realized my current beliefs had changed and those changes caused these questions to rise to the top. Is anyone I know enlightened? Or, is everyone I know enlightened? I shelved the first one after a few hours of review. But the second question stayed, creating even more questions. Why wouldn't everyone be enlightened? After all, each person is a spark of the pure 'ultimate reality' we refer to as "God." If "It" is the ultimate in enlightenment then each of us must also be enlightened. Except in the vastness of consciousness, each of us is in differing states of realizing it. Therefore, I concluded, everyone is enlightened to varying degrees.  And that enlightenment affects the whole.

So, "What is an enlightened being?" When I got to the summary question on the survey I answered it this way. Today, I believe an "enlightened being" is one who lives a conscious life daily. These individuals have great awareness of their fellow humans. They are conscious of their words and actions and how it affects those fellow humans.  They are conscious of the food they eat and how it affects their spirit and their bodies. They are conscious of the individuals they associate with and wisely choose to be among those who uplift their spirits.  They make daily time for meditation and reflection.  They are more in tune with silence and nature.  And they choose to walk their path with ethical dignity and perseverance.

These individuals, no matter how great or small their circle of influence, travel their chosen path with focused consciousness and full awareness. They are "beings of enlightenment" who live a conscious, purpose-driven life. They hold a brilliant beacon of light that illumines the way for all of us who are also walking up to the top of mountain. To them we are indebted.    

Jo Mooy - June 2014

Chasing Fireflies

Chasing Fireflies   

   

Every new year we engage in 'the resolution ritual.'  As this window of

time opens, we re-imagine what we want the year to be and how we plan to change.  It doesn't matter that we did the same thing a year ago. Eagerly the stuff we no longer care about is wiped away, replaced by the annual dreams of new beginnings.  Much like chasing fireflies we rocket to the new, next, best thing, convinced that this year things will be so much different.  And we'll follow through.  By the end of January, whatever we said we were going to do is placed on the shelf and forgotten until the next new year.

With such vast amounts of information and technology literally available at our fingertips, it's easy to turn to others for answers.  And because access to information, technology and sophistry is now in the hands of individuals it's very easy to be unduly influenced by someone else.  This transfer of information from institutions to individuals has created false prophets along with people who are addicted to instant gratification.  Today, anyone with "internet knowledge" can wrap a storyline into a nice package, use buzzwords or phrases that evoke a simpatico connection, and become compelling to spiritual seekers.

When a new, bright firefly appears on the horizon, there's a headlong rush to seek out and get answers that can otherwise be obtained through quiet self-reflection. But that's usually too hard. Seldom do individuals investigate the storyline, the prophet, or even what's published on the internet.  Why?  Because chasing fireflies is so much easier!  Instead, they let someone else lead them, confirm their beliefs and fantasies, or tell them what they want to hear.  There's no discernment or investigation used.  They surrender themselves and ignore their innate guidance system, convinced someone else has the answers to what they seek.   The wisdom achieved by investing time on a topic and the experiences learned while pursuing the topic are seldom valued.  And sadly, as individuals chase the latest and brightest firefly they reinforce the conviction that the answers are outside of themselves instead of within.

When he was a boy, Paramahansa Yogananda ran away from home to find God in the Himalayas.  He and two companions walked miles to find Guru Ram Gopal known as the "sleepless saint" who was always in an ecstatic state of God Consciousness.  When Ram Gopal heard what Yogananda wanted he told him, "What one does not trouble to find within will not be discovered by transporting the body hither and yon.  Go home, go within, and meditate."

As 2014 of the 21st Century unfolds, we might be able to reshape the landscape of our wishes if we intentionally resolve to be vigilant and discerning about what we're wanting.  But more importantly, consider strongly the outside influences that are shaping us.  During the annual ritual when wishes, desires, and resolutions are contemplated and put into action, perhaps we can stop chasing other fireflies and commit to using our own inner guidance. 

If that simple suggestion to Yogananda to "

go home, go within and meditate" were put into practice, would we need some new person with rehashed or same old ideas to tell us what to do?  Or more importantly, what we already know?

How about a commitment to chase the firefly within US?  What if that firefly was allowed to take shape?  Imagine a species believing in ideals that benefit all other sentient beings!  Imagine healings being done by the individual, for the individual without a "middle-man!"  Imagine a system where the inner light from one firefly reflects outward igniting all others!  The personal, uplifting stories that would come from that dazzle the imagination!

Remember: the Inner Firefly is the one, true, and ultimate guide that unfailingly gives us the best answers to everything that we seek.  It alone reveres the soul and illuminates the imagination.  What a concept during this month of love, Fireflies!

   

 

Jo Mooy - February 2014