The way to spiritual awakening

To attain the ultimate goal of Nirvana or Moksha , which is Liberation from the cycle of death, and Unification with the Divine, we first need Spiritual Awakening . This is known as Enlightenment. This is not attained by one and all. It is a rare feat. Most of us live and die without even attempting this Journey of Spirituality.

Less than 1% of humanity develops that deep yearning for the Divine and for Liberation, referred to in ancient scriptures as Mumukshutva . The Mumukshu then becomes a Jigyasu, one who goes on a quest to realize the truth. Of this 1% who start a sincere spiritual journey , less than 1% reach that state of Spiritual Awakening known as Enlightenment.

Enlightenment is grossly misunderstood. It is not knowledge that you can get in a college. It is Realization that doesn’t need any education or qualification. It needs Purification and Illumination. This is our greatest challenge. The human body is just a garb, a vehicle that we are born in. We are the only species who is blessed with an intellect for discrimination and Realization. But unfortunately, we are enveloped in the darkness of ignorance, and we become slaves of the mind that makes us blind. Because we don’t realize that we are the Divine Soul, not this body, mind and ego, that we appear to be, we suffer. When we go on a quest, when we yearn for the truth, and for the Divine, only then is there Spiritual Awakening. Only then can we become a Buddha , an Enlightened One.
Does every Mumukshu and Jigyasu become a Buddha? No! Only about one in hundred does. After we start seeking the truth, and yearning for the Divine, we become a Gyani, or learned one. Wisdom of the truth is not Realization. Wisdom is knowing. Realization is doing. Unless the Gyani becomes a Yogi , one who lives in union with God, he can never become a Buddha. This state of Buddha or Spiritual Awakening wipes away all ignorance and transports us to the next level of Spirituality. Thereafter, if we do not fall prey to the Mind and Ego, ME, then we become free to attain the ultimate goal of Moksha or Nirvana.

Unfortunately, although we have all the wisdom and knowledge, the mind will still throw garbage in the form of toxic thoughts. Unless we are in that state of Consciousness, it is likely that we will slip and fall. We will not become a Buddha. A Buddha becomes a witness, an observer of this Leela, this life drama unfolding on earth. Then the Buddha, who lives as a Sthitpragya with a steady intellect and as a Jivanmukta, free from this world, attains Nirvana or Moksha when the body dies.

Authored by: AiR- Atman in Ravi