What Do Enlightened Guys Look Like?
Written on July 15, 2008 by Tom Stine / 27 Comments »
The other day I wrote a little article commenting on Eckhart Tolle and Oprah. A reader left some comments concerning Eckhart and the general issue of enlightenment, and rather than reply in the comments, I thought I would do a short article in response.
I think it is safe to say that my reader and I may not see eye to eye on the subject of enlightenment. I won’t try to summarize his point of view, but I encourage you to read the comments on that post.
Let me being by saying that I’m not really into the term enlightenment, so I will use the word awake or awakening. Just a matter of preference. Less baggage for me associated with the term awakening.
The only “criteria” I have for awakening is seeing, truly seeing, beyond the self, the “I”, the “me” that everyone thinks they are. When that is seen through, completely through, it is as if one has awakened from a dream, a dream of self. One then knows oneself as the Unborn as the Buddha would have said. Or we can say Emptiness, Spirit, the Formless.
However, as one great Zen master pointed out, “to encounter the Absolute is not yet enlightenment.” This awakening has to penetrate the entire being. When it does, the person knows through and through the truth: there is only One. Wherever they look, they see One. And this One has the appearance of form but is in fact Formless, Empty. When they look inside themselves, they see Nothing, Emptiness, the Absolute. All is Emptiness, all is One.
This whole awakening, then, is about identity. In my experience, it has nothing to do with experiences. One can have profound experiences of bliss, and even experiences of awakening, but that in and of itself is not it. When the sense of self has gone, that is it. No Self. Over and over, that message comes at us in spiritual literature (well, at least in “the good stuff”).
As for those who have awakened, in my experience, there are plenty. Eckhart for certain. They come in all shapes and sizes. I personally know a few that don’t look anything like the popular image of “an enlightened one.” The outer form means nothing. Absolutely nothing. Life expresses itself in all manner of forms. And in awakening, too. Here are a few examples of some well known and not so well known folks:
Ramana Maharshi (pictured left), who by anyone’s definition would meet the tests of “enlightened” sat around in a loincloth and asked for nothing (except a newspaper and food). And yet he had a strange obsession with a mountain. Go figure. He “looked the part” of the great enlightened one, partly because of his particular experiences and partly because he was living in India.
Nisargadatta Maharaj (pictured right), again someone who passes almost anyone’s “tests”, smoked cigarettes like a chimney and owned a little store (where he sold cigarettes amongst other things). He was a common man, uneducated, but as awake as could be. He certainly didn’t look enlightened. He even would shout at his visitors in his passion to bring the truth to them.
Okay, one more: my favorite is a man who currently plays banjo at the Grand Ole Opry and tells silly hillbilly jokes on stage. He is billed as a “banjer funnyman” yet when he has done satsang, the beauty of the truth in him echos from his voice. He is vibrant, alive, amazing. And yes, he was on Hee Haw 20 years ago (I’m not making this up, I promise!). His name is Mike Snider, and you can find out more about him here.
All awake. All aware of the Truth.
These are some examples. I know of others. As a matter of fact, I’m going to be posting an interview I did recently with someone who has realized the truth of who he is. He is a delight to speak with, but again, he won’t look like the common conceptions of “enlightened guy.” Which to me means those conceptions are probably quite mistaken.
To be honest, it is probably best to throw away these beliefs about enlightenment, and we should probably begin with the term enlightenment. Too much baggage as I said before. In point of fact, probably the best way to express it all is to simply say, “one who has realized the truth of who she is.” Much better. Because it isn’t any more complicated or exciting than that.
Again, as I mentioned above, that realization can’t simply be “oh, yeah, I get it.” It must penetrate deep, it must be thorough, it must be through the entire being. But don’t worry. You’ll know. Believe me, when the truth dawns, you won’t have any doubts. You probably won’t be able to stop laughing for a while.
As an addendum, I would like to thank Vern over at aimforawesome.com for getting this discussion rolling. He has a terrific blog with great articles and killer images. He writes from his experience, which is rare in the world of spirituality. Again, thanks Vern.
