How you know if someone is enlightened-What are signs of enlightenment
Today about how can you know if someone is enlightened, or put differently, what are signs of enlightenment.
This video is an attempt to answer these questions from the viewer. Thank you. There are many people out there who claim to be enlightened, and offer to instruct others, but not all of them are genuine. How do you know if someone is enlightened, and can actually offer some constructive guidance or advice? What are signs of enlightenment to look for?
Enlightenment is a gradual process of moving deeper into the mind, away from the surface fluctuations of ordinary thoughts. Enlightened people rest deep in the still, unmoving part of the mind all the time, while those who are not, move around with surface thoughts, stay caught inside fluctuations. You can actually spot when someone is talking, whether they’re juggling mental concepts on the surface level, engaging with words all the time, or resting permanently inside the still mind. The most telling is their demeanour when they’re not talking, their silence. It’s the most comfortable place for an enlightened person, and just a gap to take a breath in between the words, for a non enlightened ones. Pay attention. Are they communicating with you when silent, or have they just fallen into a hole, looking for more words to fill the space.
Enlightened people reside in silence and emptiness, while unenlightened ones are caught inside the surface thoughts. Always moving around with them.
Even a look at the person tells a story. Are they at peace and ease with themselves, not stretching or pushing themselves to achieve or prove anything, or are they straining themselves to give it a best shot at gaining something?
Are they actively doing spiritual practice? If not, what sort of enlightenment are they talking about? One time strike out of the blue? It comes and goes, without a deeper understanding or place to stay.
If you are serious about getting on the path to enlightenment, listen to someone who can give you very detailed instructions about the spiritual practice, that gets you there. More detailed the better. And if following those steps advances your spiritual journey, deepens your understanding and experience of the mind, and moves you deeper and deeper into the still part, you are on the right track. Don’t waste time listening to people who indulge in mental concepts, and reel them out automatically, putting special emphasis on all the right words, like enlightenment, transformation, and such. Pay attention to people who talk about the mind, observing and studying the mind itself, and moving from the surface level deeper in. Don’t fall for the words with the ring, like certain concepts that become glorified and people fall for them. Be interested in the process. In practice. In details. Details are the most important part. No one can teach enlightenment itself. But they can guide you to the start of the path to enlightenment, if they’re already on it.
When I first started looking for a good way to practice, I used to listen for hours to different spiritual readings. They were quite nice to listen to, but after they finished, they left me somewhat empty. They were very scarce on detail about how to get closer to experiencing what is. After, I was only targeting texts and readings that were specifically offering practice details, till I found some different bits and pieces that made it work for me. I never listened to people who didn’t practice. Anyone can read spiritual texts, and then put together some adequate words, as if they were doing the practice and experiencing all this themselves. It’s not difficult to do.
There are also people who have different one time revelations, as result of some extreme circumstances, and believe to be enlightened. But after this unique event, they usually move back to the surface level, and do not keep dwelling deep inside the mind. This so called enlightenment has come and gone.
In short, trust your intuition. Look at the person who says they’re enlightened, and ask yourself whether you want them to guide you on your spiritual journey. Trust the answer.
No one can teach you enlightenment, but they can guide you to the start of the path to enlightenment. From there, if you decide to enter and keep practicing, the streams inside the path will take you along.
Hope this helps a bit in your spiritual quest. Also be practical. If looking for someone to guide you along the way, at least at the start, look into their background. How they live. What they do for living. What is their spiritual practice. For how long have they been practicing. And the likes. Don’t take these things too lightly. You might be wasting time and effort on the wrong track.
Take care.
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