日本語版はこちら
One Indian colleague has been involved in my project off and on for about two years. It turns out he's also spiritual, and he recently revealed that he's been into someone called 'Sri Bagavath' for the past few years.
He said, he used to meditate for an hour every morning!! but after encountering the teachings of this guru, he felt he didn't need to go to such lengths anymore and stopped morning 1-hour meditation.
According to him, the guru has spent over 50 years practicing various disciplines like yoga and meditation to reach the state of enlightenment. However, he now believes that enlightenment is something that can be easily attained intellectually, and now he's dedicated to spreading his teachings through lectures, books, and YouTube.
He recommended me to read the book "Don't Delay Enlightenment" as a starting point. This book is like a bible to him, and he says he often rereads it.
I read the English version, which is free through Kindle Unlimited.
It's a compact book, only 80 pages long.
There are other translations available, all priced at less than a dollar. It's impressive how passionately they're trying to remove any financial barriers.
My initial impression after reading it for the first time was that it had some really good stuff in it!
Overall, it explains how-to to reach enlightenment (It's more like a state of higher-dimensional existence of the mind) in a simple way. It's really straightforward; you don't even need the famous "Elevator breathing", haha!
Warning: Spoilers ahead! If you want to read it yourself, stop here!
Enlightenment is described as something:
- Intellectually attainable
- Surprisingly simple
- But just because it's simple doesn't mean it's not valuable, so be careful there
It emphasizes obtaining realization through an intellectual approach.
Here's a summary of what resonated with me the most:
The subconscious cannot be controlled.
Thoughts and emotions that arise from the uncontrollable subconscious are also uncontrollable.
While they naturally flow and dissipate if left alone, humans unnecessarily attach heavy energy to certain thoughts, leaving them lingering and causing suffers.
All emotions and thoughts should be allowed to flow without judgment. Let them come and go like waves.
This clear state of mind is the state of enlightenment.
The below is from Page 69:
It's like a revelation. My belief is the ego is an essential part of myself, but I was struggling with my ego at the same time because I didn't know how to handle it!
Especially when the loop of self-loathing begins... Is it better to accept the pain as a learning experience or to ignore it? But when you become sensitive, your body becomes acidic and tired, and then the hell cycle of random obsessive thoughts begins...
But thanks to this book, I understood that the attention we give to thoughts as they arise is the act that turns them into "heavy" energy (the Japanese sounds the same 'Omoi' for both meanings "thoughts" and "heavy").
After reading this book, even when emotions like disgust, anger, or frustration from past traumas arise, I feel like I have the capacity to watch them disappear.
Today, when I got frustrated while teaching my child (lol), I said, "I'll definitely be fine today; I won't get mad!!." But five minutes later, I got annoyed. However, I was able to turn it into laughter by saying, "Oops, Mom got mad so easily! Oh well, humans, right?" I gained the skill of having a calm mind that can turn anger into laughter.
I'm going to read this book again. I would like to make it my own and practice it every day.
I highly recommend this book!