What is enlightenment?Enlightenment does not mean “a perfect human”. That is a complete misnomer. Incorrect usage of this word is rampant.
The word is also not meaningless.
Classical enlightenment/awakening/samhaddi is referring only to the consciousness and not to the human.
A human cannot be enlightened.
Complete enlightenment is when consciousness is liberated into the present moment beyond the “I thought”, abidingly.
Consciousness can then see beyond all human suffering. It is not the same thing as spiritual bypassing, though it can certainly lead to that if not handled properly. It is best when not used as an excuse to ignore buried emotions.
Enlightenment does not mean you are “healed”. The human can experience healing, consciousness is beyond experience and does not need healing. Mostly this is not related to healing, it is a totally different issue. Though it can certainly support that ongoing process.
There are 5 primary stages / depths of enlightenment. The first stage is quite common and fairly easy to attain. It involves the most suffering also.
The final stage gets completely beyond the “I thought”. This is just about impossible to attain without the help of someone who has done it.
It is a very subtle and well-studied issue. It is known as the stateless state or the choiceless choice.
It does not mean reasonable, wise, aware, great, smart, honest, or any other human adjective. Those can potentially be side effects.
When it is misused and misunderstood, these classical terms lose their meanings.
Please don’t get confused by novel opinions on an issue that has been established and in use for millennia.
Additionally, enlightenment is not the highest spiritual attainment. It is a potential precursor to other realms entirely.
It can of course be a very useful starting place.
