Is there an exalted state of consciousness? For Nisargadatta, the self is not one super-entity which knows independently, regardless of things; there is no such super-entity, no creator with infinite intellect. God does not exist independently from creation. What does exist is the 'total acting' (or functioning) of the ultimate or absolute reality along the infinite varying forms in manifestation.
U. G. Krishnamurti, was an Indian thinker who questioned enlightenment. Although necessary for day to day functioning of the individual, in terms of the ultimate reality or truth, he rejected the very basis of 'thought' and in doing so negated all systems of thought and knowledge in reference to it: 'Tell them that there is nothing to understand'. Although many considered him an 'enlightened' person, Krishnamurti often referred to his state of being as the 'natural state'. He claimed that the demand for enlightenment was the only thing standing in the way of enlightenment itself, if enlightenment existed at all. Adyashanti, trained in Zen, has mentioned that there are dangers in following a guru. He said: 'Don't get hooked on me, I'm very addictive. I should have come with one of those warning labels on my head'. What Maharishi said are the advertisements for enlightenment. The actual thing is, well, maybe it never is to become because it is not something one is going to find later on. There is a natural state. People look for it even though they already have it. The natural state is much much less than what people expect it to be because while they have it, they have all this stuff going on in their heads that leads them to think they do not have it, and then they seek it. The purpose of advertising enlightenment is to start the process of taking out that trash. When enough of the trash is gone, the natural state is experienced. The problem is spiritual disciplines often result in an accumulation of more trash. One measure of how much you are living the natural state is how you react to what others say. The more you react, the less the natural state is shining through. The more opinions you have, that you believe are actually true, the less the natural state is shining through. In Maharishi's statement that Buck posted, the word that misleads is 'exalted'. This is ad copy designed to incite desire. There is nothing exalted about the natural state, it is just plain ordinary. But, boy, what you have to go through to be just plain ordinary, because instead we want to be exalted, invulnerable, immortal. We want to be gods, we want to be the ruler of the gods, we want to be the god of gods. That is pretty heady ambition. But all one really needs to have the natural state is to take out the trash. The path of enlightenment is basically a garbage collection route. When the truck rolls by you may notice it smells, really bad. So instead of reacting to the smell and complaining about it, here is a chance to load something onto the truck and lighten your load. Then you have a chance for 'living lightly'. Dr. Dumbass' comment, which was posted after yours Ann, is also a good description of that passage Buck posted. It may seem different from what I posted here, but not really. Even Barry's statement is not different, because in believing, you lock up the lid of your garbage can, and cannot remove it. A healthy dose of doubt is necessary to navigate the spiritual minefield, because compared to the result, the 'path' to it is a crock of shit. Once the path is left, when it runs out, it's time to take a shower and begin to live life as an ordinary person, who, inside, really is not there at all. There is just life. It is a burden to live in life. Life itself is automatic.
