The Light which Banishes Darkness

Enlightenment is connected with the word ‘light’, which is the opposite of ‘dark’. It is seen as the light which banishes darkness. If a man thinks he is in spiritual darkness, he strives for the light that will banish that darkness. He meditates, he chants the name of God and does tapas until finally this state of enlightenment is revealed to him. Before he was in darkness; now, through his efforts, he has found the light that banished the darkness. 

Before he attained the state of enlightenment, he was in a state of ignorance. This means that enlightenment came some later time, and was not there before. If it was not present before and only appeared later, it is in time, and whatever exists in time is not permanent. At some later time it will disappear. This state which is won by effort will sooner or later disappear.  It is not natural, or sahaja state, which is there all the time, which needs no effort to reveal itself. This is the difference between them. One is attained in time by effort, and is not permanent; the other is there all the time, naturally and effortlessly.

Everyone is in this natural state whether one is aware of it or not. It is always there. It is only arrogance that prevents one from being aware of it. Everyone thinks, ‘I have done this.’ ‘I must do that.’ ‘This is mine; that is his.’ Claiming ownership of things that are not yours is arrogance; taking responsibility for things that you have not done is arrogance. The man who lives in sahara stithi does not live and behave like this. He knows that everything is going on naturally by itself. He claims nothing as his own, not even his thoughts.

When I speak or read, the eyes help me to read and the tongue helps me to speak. The words I speak come out of the mouth, but the tongue itself is not speaking, Where do these words ultimately come from? Nobody thinks about the answer to this question. If the eyes of a dead body are open, that body can’t read, and it can’t speak. So who or what ends up as talking?  Go back and see the source from which everything comes. If you know that source, you will know what this sahara stithi is. Everything else is ego. When there is the feeling, ‘I am looking,’ or ‘I am feeling,’ or ‘I am behaving,’ there is mind, there is ego, and the natural state is covered up. Everything, including this whole world, arises from that source. When you know that source by being that source, then and only then can you say that you are in sahara stithi.