How Do I Know if I am Enlightened

Sadhguru answers a confused seeker's question on how one can recognize whether one is enlightened or not. Sadhguru explains that enlightenment is not something that you do, it is something that blossoms when one's mind, body, emotion and energy are cultivated to their peak potential.

Transcript

So if enlightenment happens,

How do we know it has happened?

Suppose we are hallucinating to be enlightened.

If such a thing happens,

It will be clearer than daylight.

It's not something that you can miss.

It is not that kind of an event that you could miss it.

You will not miss it.

But when I say this,

There is a problem attached to this because these days it is going on in many places.

For a certain fee,

Within a weekend's time you can get enlightened.

You'll be declared enlightened by somebody.

Really.

It's happening everywhere.

If you just pay a certain amount of money,

One weekend you can get enlightened.

I remember in the 60s,

In the 1960s,

In California people set up certain businesses,

Enlightenment services.

The advertisement I remember very well,

If you go to India it will take twelve years of hardship.

Okay.

Fifty dollars,

Thirty minutes,

You can get enlightened.

They were just using psychedelic machines.

You put up certain visuals and certain sounds,

It'll just blow your mind apart.

Because of the sounds and the visuals,

When you come out you come in a daze.

You feel like you have really gotten somewhere.

This used to be the advertisement.

Fifty dollars,

Thirty minutes,

If you go to India,

Twelve years of hardship.

Here,

It's California,

Quick,

New technology.

These 1960 machines,

This old technology has now infiltrated into India.

Some people have installed these machines and they are claiming within a weekend they can enlighten you.

You cannot hallucinate about it.

If you're sincere,

You would know that it is not so.

But if it's a part of the race that you want to get enlightened before somebody,

Of course you can declare an enlightened.

It is just that these kind of deceptions are not new on the planet.

They have been happening for a long time.

But now modern technology has come to aid them better,

To give them an expanded sense of many things.

Much experimentation was done during the 60s and 70s about these things.

One is with the psychedelic machines,

Another is with psychedelic drugs.

You take an LSD and people claim they are enlightened because they had an expanded sense.

Just for a while and then they came back.

If they overdid it,

Then they lost everything,

They cracked up in so many ways or even died.

Many many people mentally cracked up because of excessive use of psychedelic drugs.

But for those few moments they really felt enlightened or at least they thought so.

This is not something that you do.

This is not something that you can do.

It is just that if you cultivate the system,

Your body,

Mind,

Emotion and energy to its peak possibility,

Then an absolutely wonderful flower blossoms within you.

Not something that you did.

You just waited with the right kind of conditions and it happened.

There's a very beautiful story in the yogic lore.

On a certain day,

Four men were walking in the forest.

These four men were walking in the forest.

One is a Gnani yogi,

Another is a Bhakti yogi,

Another is a Karma yogi and the last one is a Kriya yogi.

These four people can never stay together.

They cannot be together because a Gnani yogi means yoga of intelligence.

He is a man of intellect,

Great intellect.

He has complete disdain for everybody.

He thinks everybody is a fool.

Especially these Bhakti yogis who are doing Ram Ram or whatever,

In his mind they look like utter idiots.

He can't stand them.

Isn't it?

Could that man stand Bhakti yogis?

No,

He wouldn't stand.

He just can't tolerate them.

Bhakti yogis,

People of devotion,

They have pity for everybody because when God himself is here,

You're doing all this mental circus and physical circus.

It's just stupid,

Isn't it?

Just hold God's hand and walk into heaven.

So Bhakti yogis have pity for everybody for all the foolishness that they're doing.

Some yogis think all these other people are just lazy people because if you want something to happen,

You have to do it.

Because they're lazy and unwilling to do what they need to do,

They have invented all these other yogas because in the world if anything has to happen,

You must do it,

Right?

Action.

Yoga yogis are yoga of action,

Karma.

Kriya yogis have utter disdain for everybody because after all the whole existence is energy.

Unless you transform the energy,

How will anything change?

Where is the possibility?

So these four people can never be together but today they were walking together.

Suddenly a thunderstorm broke loose,

A rainstorm,

Rain started lashing from every side.

They started running looking for shelter.

The Bhakti yogi said,

There is an ancient temple in this direction,

Let's go there for shelter.

He always knows the geography of temples.

You won't miss a single temple.

So they all trusted him and ran in the direction.

Then they found an ancient temple where the walls had collapsed long ago.

Just a few columns and a roof was there and in the center there was a deity,

God's image.

They ran into this place not because they were seeking God,

Not in any kind of love for God,

Just to escape the rain.

They ran in and then they stood there for a while.

Then they found the rain started lashing from every direction.

Wherever they stood or sat,

The rain was getting at them.

So the only place where they could sit was around the deity.

So all four of them just hugged the deity and sat.

Not because they have fallen in love with God,

Simply to escape the rain.

Suddenly God appeared.

In all their four minds the same question,

Why now?

We did so much yoga,

We did so much puja,

Worship and so many things,

You didn't come then.

Now when we are just escaping the rain,

Why now?

And God said,

At last you four idiots got together.

Now these four things getting together within you,

Your head,

Your heart,

Your hands and your energy,

Unless it all falls into place,

Unless all of it reaches its peak,

It will not happen.

And if it happens,

Is there any chance that I may not notice it?

There is no such thing.

Even if you are blind,

You know the sun has come up,

Isn't it?

Yes?

Even if you are blind,

You still know the sun has come up because nobody can miss it.

It is not a small event that anybody can miss.

You may not know whether you are born or not born,

But if you get enlightened,

You will know.

It's much bigger than that.

Birth will happen many times.

This will happen only once.

Reviews

Perfect, really. Thank you.

Thank you Sadhguru

That was great! Thank you!🙏😊

When it all comes together...

That was great! Such a great way to explain it!! Thank you!

Tremendous, thank you.

I love the way it is explained. Nothing to question. It is so. Namaste 🙏🏼

Wise words as always

Always enjoy these. Wise and cheeky.

Thank you 😊🕉🙌🏼🙏🏼

Nice with humor while being serious - beautiful! Thank you! 🙏🏼

Love this carries a very powerful message about everything being in sync! Thank you Sadhguru! 🙌🏻