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How to Attain Enlightenment
Spiritual Enlightenment
Meditation For Enlightenment
Can enlightenment be attained? Is there something that can be done to bring it about or are you altogether at the mercy of chance and luck? Do you simply set the stage and wait, or can you be more proactive? In fact, can you be proactive to the point of actually bringing it about? I think the answer is probably going to surprise some of you. The answer is both.
I know I have myself mentioned that mostly enlightenment experiences are not in your hands and that they are a gift for living a particular way, with certain energy, awareness and intelligence, but, in this article I want to speak of what you can actually do to bring about enlightenment, first hand, consciously.
This type of enlightenment I refer to as "Direct Enlightenment", versus the enlightenment that takes place unannounced and mostly on it’s own, which I refer to as "Indirect Enlightenment". Examples of indirect enlightenment are the openings that take place when you are deep in meditation, silently watching your breath, or are practicing some pranayama, koan, mindfulness or other such technique.
Direct enlightenment though is when you consciously bring about the explosion of insight and the ensuing state of enlightenment follows. Let me explain by giving you an example of my own experience with this approach.
An Enlightened Day - Spontaneous Living
This event took place at my parents home many years back, but the enormity of the experience makes it an unforgettable part of my life. Here is how it transpired.
I was alone upstairs in the guest room (which has since become the computer room after the internet took over our lives :-), contemplating what J. Krishnamurti spoke of with regard to ideals and that our actions are based on these "shoulds". In other words, we act based on what we feel we should do, in the hopes of achieving something by such action. For example, "I should watch my thoughts", that will help me attain enlightenment, or "I should let go", "I should be aware", etc. etc. If you examine your thoughts carefully, you will see that you are constantly operating under the authority of "shoulds", chasing goals. Here is more about what that means.
To be operating under the authority of "shoulds", means to always be caught in psychological time and caught in the process of becoming. It is really important to understand this very clearly. When we act according to what we "should" be doing, we are acting with a goal state in mind. Like the example above, when we say "I should watch my thoughts," I have the future state of being enlightened in mind and am hoping to achieve that. So I am currently not enlightened, but by "watching my thoughts", I will become enlightened. This process of "becoming" is infused into every aspect of your life. I am violent, I will become non-violent, I am selfish, I will become unselfish, etc. The battle between "what is" and "what should be" rages incessantly.
As I was contemplating this topic, it occurred to me that this process was actually underway at this very moment in my mind and I could observe it "live" right then and see it action. So I closed my eyes, put my head down and decided that I would like to see this in actuality, instead of just intellectually. I was absolutely determined to make this happen right then and there. The demand was urgent, uncompromising and intense.
I focused all my energy on watching the fact that shoulds mean I am caught in the process of becoming. I looked very very carefully at this happening in real time. The mind, in pursuit of a goal, determining what should be done next, repeatedly. I examined and perceived this fact in every movement of the mind. This is when the explosion took place. The mind realized that any movement on its part was just the continuation of more of the same. That all it could do was present another goal and thus perpetuate the endless cycle of becoming. The clear and complete perception of this fact obliterated the entire process. Becoming ceased.
I felt a tremendous release take place in the stomach, as all tension evaporated and the actuality of happiness took it’s place. It is then that I realized that the tension was always there and that we have taken it to be the "normal" state, when in fact it is actually constant stress and suffering. The mind completely stopped presenting any "shoulds", and all action became spontaneous responses to the moment. It was unbelievable.
I recall heading downstairs, pure happiness in my belly, mind free of any trace of becoming, but nonetheless fully functional and outwardly completely normal. I interacted with my parents and even worked on problem solving with my father who was working on fixing some electronic device. The mind functioned perfectly fine, it’s just there was no inward attempt to pursue any future state whatsoever. This state of pure spontaneous living, free of all ideals and the actuality of happiness continued throughout the day.
Direct Enlightenment:
This is an example of direct enlightenment and what sets it apart from indirect enlightenment are the following three aspects…
1. You apply yourself intensely with the aim of enlightenment.
2. You bring about the explosion of insight via the application of acute intelligence and swift awareness.
3. The enlightenment state descends directly as a result of the insight which shatters the time bound, desire driven thinking process.
The process I described above eventually matured into what I call now the Silent Mind Meditation Technique and I describe the technique in the following article, Silent Mind Meditations. In that article you will also find a more through analysis on what I was explaining above with regard to "shoulds" and the process of becoming as well.
Frankly I have not met many people who can do this type of meditation and bring about this cessation of the mind or dissolution of the ordinary time bound, goal oriented thinking process, but, from all the meditation techniques on this website, if there was one I would want you to grasp this would be it. This technique is not easy, but it is the one that puts enlightenment in your hands.
Tools for Greatness & Enlightenment: 
on October 1st, 2008 at 7:13 am
Beautiful post!
As a novice, I meditated for hours on end. I was after deep concentration and tried so hard until the shoulders started to ache.
The beauty of relaxed attention, or shall I call it relaxed awareness, must be experienced. It’s very soothing and it’s as easy as it’s natural.
A still mind is a beautiful thing but enlightenment is a big word. Perhaps presence sums up what I’m trying to point to…
on October 3rd, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your knowledge and experience with us. A still mind is really the name of the game :-D.
Cheers,
Anmol
on October 13th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
I believe the process of becoming is what it is all about.
Just imagine you are planning a holiday for next year. You read the brochures and all of a sudden you long for it so much it hurts. You want instant gratification but know you can’t and this is painful. You plan what you will do on your holiday and think about what you “should” be doing to make it more pleasurable and perhaps bring the date forward. You know that if you did this or that - well maybe.
Then you stop and realize that the best part of the experience is the waiting and the planning. You then are able to enjoy the little insights you have of enjoyment and know that it will be all you hoped it will be. Instead of simply longing for the time to come you are able to stay in the moment and enjoy, for the process of it happening is what it is all about. You know longer have to stress and plan each moment for you know all will happen in good time. You are at peace with where you are and where you are going.
Ann
on October 14th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I think you just described how to move from the process of becoming, to the process of just being in the moment. Perhaps our difference was just in how we looked to define the “being at peace with where you are are”, and leaving the rest to work itself out “in good time”.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Best,
Anmol
on October 25th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Anmol,
Once again I find myself spending lots of time reading post after post on your site. Thank you for making this one of the best sites out there.
Lisa
on October 27th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
That’s music to my ears :-D. Thanks for such positive feedback.
Cheers,
Anmol
on February 15th, 2009 at 11:11 am
hi anmol
can i obtain enlightenemnt in this life?
what are your comments on Merkaba?
on February 18th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Hi Dan,
The moment you drop all seeking, you will realize you were always enlightened.
I am not too familiar with Merkaba techniques.
Best,
Anmol
on March 6th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
hi,
my mother passed away couple of days back quite unexpectedly. I am not still able to come to the terms that she is no more. i spoke to her at 9 am and she left this world around 12. I really dont know how i am going to live now… i feel totally deserted and lonely….any one can help me???
sukhas
on March 9th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
I am very very sorry to hear of your loss. I do not if my words will help you in such difficult times but I would like to offer you another way of looking at the situation.
In reality, there is just Oneness and where it now appears that your mother has left you is just in the how we see things with our ordinary minds. So remind yourself that although the body is no more, she could not have left you as this sense of separate existence is not the true nature of things.
We are all there with you and all there for you during this time, so please don’t feel alone.
Love & Light,
Anmol
on April 15th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Dear all,
I got read some books regarding enlightment. Now I feel same like Anmol. I did not do even a continous meditation. I got kundaline presure in my spine too. I got only love, all other are same like before. Happiness but no reason. I have told to my wife.
you know, I feel more happy and i never felt before. Nothing thats it.
on April 21st, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. Great to hear your inner world opening up.
Best,
Anmol
on April 29th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
[…] The Silent Mind Meditation Technique is part of the overall Silent Mind Meditation Program, which has received stellar feedback by those of you with the passion and persistence to complete it. This meditation though can certainly be practiced independently and can be integrated into any personal meditation program. This is the meditation technique I practice till today. It is the only direct approach to Enlightenment, explained in How to Attain Enlightenment. When I wish for an indirect technique, the other mind meditation technique I practice is the Zen Meditation Technique or Zazen. […]