Introduction to Enlightenment
NO guru or spiritual teacher is omniscient being enlightened as a substitute for formal
education and all knowing wisdom.
As a very highly developed and highly enlightened being, doesn't mean
that one can walk on water, although even walking on water isn't necessarily
a characteristic of an enlightened being.
There's a well-known story of a yogi who practiced for decades trying
to walk on water. When he finally succeeded, who should come along
at that time but Buddha. The yogi was so proud of his accomplishment
that he wanted to show off, and he demonstrated for Buddha that he
could walk across the river.
Buddha asked him how long it had taken him to attain that, and the
yogi said something like thirty years. Buddha said, "What a waste
of time. You could have paid the ferryman 10 rupees, and taken the
boat across the river."
Buddha and Jesus could demonstrate paranormal abilities and psychic powers, but they didn't make a big show of it. The purpose in demonstrating that at all was a selfless one, to direct people to things that would help to elevate their consciousness, rather than for some self-serving or self-glorifying reason.
There are skillful teachers, facilitators, counselors and spiritual
directors around. They are those
- Who are experienced in the process of helping a person unfold
his spiritual potential.
- Who know a lot about unhappiness
- Who can help you and guide you to know yourself with the impulse
to grow from within.
After you will learn:
To have such knowledge, does not mean using your effort to get a
formal or academic education. The mind doesn't work that way; human
beings aren't built that way.You have to go through training by
practicing experiences based on the four Nobels of truth in your
daily living. You have to cultivate those faculties of mind with
a deeper level of conciousness as an invitation to a great Experiment
in order to see the religion of your nature and the philosophy of
your being developed and integrated through the brilliant power
of the truth and the wisdom of light and love.
The appropriate thing for everyone and anyone to do is to set their
heart on realizing God and on attaining enlightenment. But
recognize that the attainment of enlightenment doesn't confer
any magical ability. It doesn't remove the problematic circumstances
from your life at the lower levels of consciousness if they haven't
been recognized and dealt with. It only means that those circumstances
will be more easily dealt with through appropriate psychotherapeutic
means, or counseling.
Enlightened beings can work effectively helping others at any level along the spectrum of
consciousness, whether individuals or groups. They are wise enough and experienced
enough to create the means and methods to work at any level they choose to work on. With
regard to psychotherapy, there are very few therapies around that have been developed by
enlightened beings. Most of the therapies come out of psychoanalytic and behaviorial
psychology, although humanistic and transpersonal psychology are developing therapies that
have primarily been adapted them from sacred traditions and religious practices.
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