26. You too can become Enlightened!
We all live at three levels.
At the first level, we live in our head. We live using our intellect and logic. The second level is our heart, and at the third level we live at the core of our very being. We live in our true identity.
When our intellect is heightened, when it ripens, it shines forth as common sense or intelligence. Although called common sense, it is really a rare treasure, an uncommon thing, on this planet Earth! When our deep emotions ripen, they turn into faith. And when our being ripens it leads to enlightenment!
What is enlightenment? People have several strange notions about this concept. Enlightenment is simply the experience of our inner energy. It is not based on any outward activities, as we might presume.
This concept, although simple, is not easy for people to understand or follow. Be very clear: enlightenment is simply our individual experience of the inner energy.
There is no-one who is barred for any reason from reaching enlightenment. An alcoholic, a woman, an untouchable, a criminal: each one is equally as eligible for enlightenment as anyone else is. A man has no edge over a woman. In fact, a woman lives in a higher energy plane than a man. A man who claims to have led a pure and chaste life may not become enlightened at all. Enlightenment is within the reach of one and all, regardless of our social behaviour.
Many people may take this as a license to do whatever they want to do. This can lead to anti-social elements in our society and this in turn can create even bigger problems in the world. Masters realize the potential problems this assertion can cause with the uninitiated public. That is why they do not speak about it, freely and generally, in public. If people mistake this basic truth, it can lead to unwanted complications.
Let us all work towards enlightenment. Everyone can reach it. Everyone is eligible, and everyone is entitled to it. Let nothing stand in your way of reaching that state.
Man thinks he is intelligent, but the problem is that he cannot express his intelligence without conflict. When an intelligent person speaks, there should only be harmony. An idea offered by that person should not create any conflict. Can we always speak thus about ourselves?
When intellect heightens through awareness, it ripens into intelligence or common sense - a rare commodity on earth. Anyone can heighten their intelligence by using one of many meditation techniques.
Intellect, however, has its limits. Intellect, as a concept of the mind, serves to keep us from learning to live ecstatically, blissfully, and fully. Human life has one goal: to learn to live in ecstasy. That is our ultimate goal. Most human beings, however, do not realize this.
Some people confuse intelligence and free will. Intelligence is the expression of our Being, operating through our aware mind. Human beings also have free will: the ability to choose to operate in the flow of universal intelligence or to operate from our mind or ego.
By nature, human beings are intelligent. But, through our free will, we can choose to be intelligent or remain as fools. We can and do make this conscious choice. We can decide whether to live with our inborn intelligence or not. That's all.
Animals and non-living things do not have this choice. They are intelligent by birth and remain intelligent throughout their lives. Humans have the choice to become fools. That's the only difference.
Except for this single difference, there is no other difference between a man and an animal. The nature of animals and non-living things is to remain in their own intelligence at all times. They eat when they eat; they sleep when they sleep; they have no fantasies as humans do. They truly live in awareness and reality.
Humans, on the other hand, live completely in a fantasy world. We would like the world to be in line with our perceptions, rather than changing our perceptions to match life as it is.
This universe has created itself out of its own intelligence and, in fact, creation, created, and creator are one and the same. The universe has its own intelligence, energy, and power to replicate, grow, and evolve without limits.
Let us ask ourselves again: are we intelligent? Are we moving in tune with cosmic intelligence? Are we ready to be guided by cosmic intelligence?