Enlightenment Made Simple: INTRODUCTION

Here’s the introduction to my new book, Enlightenment Made Simple: An Introduction to Advaita Vedanta, now available to purchase. For more details on the book, click here.

Introduction

To manifest one’s Divinity is the goal of life.
Swami Chandarashekarendra

Enlightenment! The coveted goal of spiritual seekers the whole world over; heralded by sages and mystics across the ages as the pinnacle of human attainment.

But what exactly is enlightenment?

You’ll find surprisingly little consensus in spiritual circles. Definitions differ wildly between the various teachings and traditions; invariably resulting in a lot of confusion and misdirection.

While there are certainly places you can engage in spiritual discussion, from Facebook groups to various sub-Reddits, it’s difficult to hold a meaningful and informed dialogue when just about everyone has their own idea of what enlightenment is.

Some see enlightenment as a kind of superhuman state, replete with quasi-magical powers. New Agers take it to mean “ascension”, in which the very atoms of the body are somehow transformed into light.

Yoga philosophy suggests enlightenment is the merging of a lower self into a Higher Self. Buddhists talk about nirvana; a state in which all thought and desire is extinguished. Taoists aim for physical immortality through the creation of a “light body”.

Some people take enlightenment to be the destruction of the ego or a state of fully inhabiting the Now. A New Age lady once, rather unhelpfully, told me that enlightenment is “different for everyone” and it can be “whatever you want it to be.”

Indeed, in the absence of a coherent and logical definition, many people cobble together their own ideas which, sadly, rarely hold up to scrutiny.

It’s perhaps little wonder that, of all the many people ardently seeking enlightenment, so few ever find it.

In order to reach any destination you need two things. Firstly, you need to know exactly where you’re going and, secondly, you need to know how to get there. That’s where Advaita Vedanta comes in!

A Map to Freedom

Rooted in India’s ancient Vedas, possibly the world’s oldest scriptures (and the basis of what we call Hinduism), Vedanta can justifiably be called the grandfather of enlightenment traditions.

If you want a clear understanding of something it’s usually best to go to the source rather than rely upon second hand knowledge subject to bias and distortion. Unlike many traditions, Vedanta has been closely guarded over the millennia in order to prevent distortion and alteration of its teaching. In fact, the complex and sophisticated way the Vedas are composed and recited ensures their incorruptibility.

Spiritual seekers, rebellious by nature, often have a certain disdain for tradition and structure when it comes to teachings. Many like to believe they can find their own way to enlightenment; flitting between different teachings like a spiritual butterfly, piecing together their understanding based on what “resonates” (which is to say, what fits with their existing beliefs).

It’s an appealing notion, which unfortunately doesn’t work in practice.

The reason is simple. According to the Vedas, the problem of “unenlightenment” is ignorance, specifically, self-ignorance. We don’t know who and what we truly are. We make assumptions about our identity based on the limited knowledge we have.

Ignorance is an intractable foe; particularly self-ignorance, to which we not only yield, but often wilfully cling to as though our lives depended on it.

Without some way of neutralising this ignorance and discriminating the true from the false, our cognitive biases will forever blindside us, distorting our perception of reality and, most crucially, of our own self.

The fact of the matter is this: if you were capable of figuring it out all on your own, you’d likely have done so; years, or even decades ago.

In the absence of a clear destination and a legitimate map of the territory, you’ll likely remain lost. Worst case scenario is you end up wasting decades of your precious life on teachings that lack clarity, cohesion and perhaps even basic logic and still be no closer to enlightenment.

Vedanta provides the necessary map.

Neither a religion nor a philosophy as such, Vedanta is a means of knowledge. It’s a tool for removing self-ignorance and bringing your understanding of yourself into alignment with who and what you truly are.

It provides not only a clear and logical definition of what enlightenment is but also the means of attaining it. Arguably, Vedanta is the closest the world has to an actual science of consciousness and enlightenment.

The proof, as always, is in the pudding.

Vedanta has been around for thousands of years. It’s lasted all this time for a simple reason. It works; and, like any science, its results are replicable.

With breathtaking scope, cohesion and logic, this ancient body of knowledge has been setting minds free for millennia, providing nothing less than a roadmap to freedom.

The Definition of Enlightenment

Freedom, incidentally, is the name of the game.

The term enlightenment is a loaded one and, like the word God, comes with a great deal of baggage and misunderstanding.

The Vedic term for enlightenment is moksha, which means “liberation.”

Bingo! That’s what enlightenment actually is—liberation from suffering.

The suffering we’re referring to doesn’t relate to politics, family matters or concern over the stock index. It’s not about the state of the world, your body, or the various trials and tribulations of worldly life.

We’re talking about the pervasive sense of insufficiency, lack and limitation common to virtually all human beings. It’s the deeply ingrained sense that who and what you are is never enough; and that, in order to be happy, you have to be, become or acquire something more, different and better.

Peoples’ goals in life are many and varied. One person may want a promotion at work, a relationship, or a new car, while another might simply be struggling to put food on the table.

No matter how diverse our goals, however, we’re all united by a singular imperative: the desire to be free. Whether it’s freedom from sorrow, poverty, illness, or even boredom, freedom is the innermost yearning of the human soul.

Why do we seek freedom?

Only a fool seeks what they already have.

We crave freedom because, in spite of whatever tangible or intangible blessings we may have in life, at the core of our being, we feel desperately unfree. We’re driven by a deep and gnawing sense of lack and insecurity; a relentless and insatiable hunger we can never fully satisfy.

Such is the predicament of the human being.

Misplaced Seeking

What sets humankind apart from our animal friends is our ability to self-reflect; our capacity to be aware of and to form concepts and judgements about that self.

The downside of this capacity is clear. The self that we become aware of, and with which we identify, may not be a whole, happy and complete self. It may, in fact, be a limited, lacking and incomplete self—and such a self is simply not acceptable to us.

Driven by this diminished sense of self, we frantically seek scraps of joy and happiness outside of ourselves. Because the senses are naturally hooked to the external world of objects and experience, that’s where we seek our happiness. We see the world as both the source of our misery and the doorway to our liberation.

Desperately seeking freedom by manipulating our environment and fulfilling our various desires and goals, we become embroiled in the seesaw of duality; life with all its ups and downs, pleasures and pains, gains and losses, victories and defeats.

Alas, trying to bend the world into alignment with our personal will is perhaps the least effective way of attaining freedom. As the saying goes, “you win some, you lose some.” Because all things phenomenal are subject to duality, it doesn’t matter how much you “win” at the game of life; how popular you are, how large your bank balance and how flash your Lamborghini.

There’s no freedom to be found in an ephemeral, time-bound world forever subject to the law of duality. To put it another way, there’s no way to beat the system within the system.

The wise, mature person will eventually acknowledge this fact and, with luck, take a different approach to happiness. If lasting happiness cannot be found outside of ourselves, then surely it must be found within?

That’s when you hopefully turn to what the Vedas proclaim life’s highest goal: enlightenment.

You open yourself to the teachings of the scriptures and the seers and sages across the ages. Their message is radical yet clear. The happiness and wholeness you seek is not to be found in the world outside of you, but within you; as the very core and essence of what you are.

That may seem a revolutionary idea. It may fly in the face of everything you’ve ever been taught, not to mention contradict your current experience.

But what if it’s true?

What if the freedom you crave is already present and available to you, right this very second?

Removing Self-Ignorance

Vedanta establishes that the true problem isn’t that you’re not getting what you want from life. The secret to happiness lies not in getting what you want but in understanding why you want in the first place.

You want because you feel a sense of lack. Burdened by a diminished, lacking sense of self, you’ve been driven by a deeply rooted need to be more, to have more, and to become more than you are. Again, the source of this misery is ignorance of your true nature. You’ve been victim to a crippling identity crisis shared by virtually all human beings.

Vedanta resolves this error by removing self-ignorance, enabling you to appreciate yourself as you are in actuality. You come to realise that, far from lacking and limited, your nature is pure Awareness or Consciousness; always whole, always complete, always present.

Freedom comes from Self-Knowledge; from knowing who and what you truly are. Believe it or not, you’ve actually always been free, for freedom is the very essence of your being. It’s simply been hidden from you by ignorance and the mind’s inability to see reality as it actually is.

When properly understood and integrated, Self-Knowledge brings lasting liberation from suffering; the goal of all beings.

That’s enlightenment in a nutshell.

How To Use This Book

Vedanta can potentially seem intimidating to the newcomer. It’s a comprehensive body of knowledge with its own specific terminology; a great deal of which is in Sanskrit with no direct English equivalent.

This book is written as an accessible introduction, using as little Sanskrit as possible. The aim is to help both those new to the spiritual path and those who may have spent considerable time with other teachings yet still haven’t made the breakthroughs they’re looking for.

Like the teaching itself, this book has been structured in a precise and methodical way. Rather than dipping in and out, it’s important to start at the beginning and work your way through in a sequential fashion.

Don’t feel compelled to rush. Instead of simply reading the words, allow yourself to reflect deeply upon what is being said until you have a clear enough understanding to move onto the next section.

More than simply a book, this serves as a foundational course in Vedanta. You’ll find a number of guided exercises and meditations which I encourage you to do. They form the basis of a solid spiritual practise and will help you to grasp the teaching at a deeper level; allowing this timeless wisdom to come alive in your own immediate and direct experience. Audio recordings of these meditations can be purchased online from the author.

The book is divided into three sections.

The first section explores the nature of human suffering and its solution. Delving into the Vedas’ ancient and timeless psychology, you’ll learn about the four human goals: security, pleasure, virtue and liberation. We’ll then go on to examine what enlightenment is and isn’t and the necessity of preparing the mind for Self-Knowledge.

The middle section unfolds the core principles of Vedanta. It includes topics such as self-enquiry, Consciousness, the individual, the nature of God and the creation, devotion, the qualities of matter, karma, and the essential oneness of existence.

The final section draws everything together, providing the necessary tools and methods for actualising this Knowledge. It lays out the benefits of enlightenment and includes a section on troubleshooting and avoiding the pitfalls inherent in the spiritual path.

By the end of the book, you’ll not only have a clear understanding of this ancient teaching but will also know how to convert this Knowledge into true and lasting liberation.

That’s no idle promise.

Vedanta’s time-tested method has been working for sincere and devoted seekers across the millennia—and, with the appropriate time, dedication and perseverance, it can work for you too.