You will find that a lot of teachers of enlightenment insist on it encompassing more than the basic experience. There are plenty who insist that unless one has a huge, immediate awakening to the oneness of everything then one is not enlightened. Fortunately, that is an opinion.
Opinions are the realm of the ego. It could also be considered to be a belief and once again that is the realm of the ego. So, if these highly enlightened teachers are holding opinions and beliefs about what constitutes full enlightenment, should we care?
As far as I can see, the origins of the ideas of enlightenment date back thousands of years and the one with which most people are familiar is that of the Buddha (who Did Not Want to start a religion!).
Buddha gave a teaching called The Four Noble Truths which, when taken on their own, teach us that suffering is caused by attachment to (desire for) things of the world and that freedom from suffering is achieved by no longer being attached to those things. (Yes, I am deliberately simplifying it.)
So, if someone becomes free from egoic suffering, they must be Enlightened.
I don't see any mention in there of coming to realise that everything in the universe is just one thing, or "not two" as the main adherents of these views name it (Advaita).
(Eventually, every Enlightened Being will come to realise that everything is just one thing because everything is arising within Aware, therefore everything is Aware, but don't worry about that if it means nothing to you right now. Really. Don't! Let it come on it's own.)
In order to be enlightened you simply have to cease suffering.
(Eventually, every Enlightened Being will come to realise that everything is just one thing because everything is arising within Aware, therefore everything is Aware, but don't worry about that if it means nothing to you right now. Really. Don't! Let it come on it's own.)
In order to be enlightened you simply have to cease suffering.
Suffering is caused by attachment to external things by the ego ("little me"). By coming to the realisation that the ego does not exist and is simply a series of thought patterns that arise and fall within the mind, one breaks free of its desires.
Once one realises that one is actually not the ego, not the body, not the mind, not the personality and so forth, then all that is left is the Awakeness, the Aware. It doesn't matter if you are experiencing this as 'The Witness', 'The Vastness' or 'The One-ness'.
At that moment, suffering through attachments and desires ceases. One is 'Enlightened'.
The part of the mind that worries about understanding One-ness, Advaita, Non-Duality is the ego. The ego will latch onto those ideas and try to make you suffer by questioning whether you really are enlightened. This is just another way for the ego to try to regain control.
You do not need to understand it, because only the "little me", the ego, needs to understand things.
At that moment, suffering through attachments and desires ceases. One is 'Enlightened'.
The part of the mind that worries about understanding One-ness, Advaita, Non-Duality is the ego. The ego will latch onto those ideas and try to make you suffer by questioning whether you really are enlightened. This is just another way for the ego to try to regain control.
You do not need to understand it, because only the "little me", the ego, needs to understand things.
You Are Awakeness.
Awakeness knows its own true nature and does not think about it, because it exists before thought.
If you know who you are, Awakeness, but you don't know what you are – everything is fine, just relax and enjoy the Freedom from Suffering.
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