Enlightenment is realizing what we already are, not creating something new or fixing what we are. We are the Self. The goal of spiritual practices is knowledge of the Self.
The Self is not our personality. The personality is the expression of a unique incarnation. Even in enlightenment our personality remains. The Self is neither the image we portray nor the persona we create to be loved, wanted and approved of. Those are expressions of our ego. This ego says I am the body and thoughts, a man or women, high or low, worthy or unworthy. The ego hides the Self.
The Self is the Atman; the unchanging form of the manifestation of God. This means the Self is the same as God. The Self is Brahman; absolute, bliss consciousness.
Who is God?
God is the witness of our mind, our awareness who watches our thoughts, witnesses our dreams and observes our deep sleep. It is this absolute pure consciousness that activates the mind and sets the mind in motion.
This Self is the intelligence and power of the universe. It is God. It is pure existence and understanding. It is That which illuminates all knowledge. It is this consciousness that becomes the entire relative world. There is only one consciousness, and God’s consciousness and our consciousness are one.
The Self transcends all attributes yet is the cause of all attributes. It is Presence that is unborn, without beginning or end, unchangeable, eternal, self-luminous, pure, immovable, formless, blissful and permeating all time, space and matter.
Because the Self is beyond relative manifestation is becomes necessary to transcend the relative in order to experience the Self. This is the importance of silence, peace and meditation. They quiet the mind. When the mind is silent, what is left is the Self. It is stillness that reveals the Self.
Spiritual practices for illumination
