Awakening is Not Permanent Bliss

Tree in Fog

The eye does not see

As we start looking deeply into the nature of our experience, we commonly make the mistaken assumption that there is world of objects out there, and we, as the subject experience the world as separate from us. That said, even a simple intellectual analysis of our sense experiences will show that the world is in fact experienced in the mind. For example, even though we might believe that the eye sees, all it does is receive light signals and it is our brain that interprets those light signals and creates a visual representation in the mind. It is the same with sound, the ear does not actually hear anything, it just receives sound waves and our brain interprets these sound signals to give us the experience of sound.

We experience the world in our mind

Our experience of the world is through our sense objects. These sense objects receive signals, and then our brain interprets these signals to create a world out there that we experience. Just to be clear, experiencing the world in our mind does not mean that the world is unreal or it is an illusion. What it means is that our experience of the world happens in our mind. Without the mind, the world does not exist. For example, in deep sleep, the sense objects are in a state of statis so the world that we experience in the waking state does not exist.

I have to reiterate that this description of reality is from the perspective of the subject, meaning the person who is sleeping. For the person sleeping, the world does not exist for him. It does not make sense to ask the question from the state of an external observer because we experience the world from our subjective perspective. Obviously, we can agree on a shared reality, meaning two people can see a table and agree that they see an object that has four legs and is made of wood or metal.

Our minds are shaped by evolution

Just like most animals, our human mind is shaped by evolutionary forces. Like all living beings in our planet, our minds react to stimuli in similar ways.

1- We chase pleasurable stimuli

2- Recoil from painful stimuli

3- Indifferent to neutral stimuli.

We as humans are hardwired to chase after pleasure and avoid pain. From an evolutionary perspective this makes sense because it ensures the survival of the species. Chasing pleasurable stimuli is a good thing for us because it helps propagate the species, and running away from painful stimuli ensures the survival of the species.

Our brains are hardwired to get bored

Due to evolutionary pressures acting on the mind, our minds are exquisitely tuned to always be in a state of constant seeking From the viewpoint of evolution, stasis means death of the species because if one is happy irrespective of circumstances then there is no need to search. Not seeking means death of the species. These evolutionary pressures allow the mind to react and change constantly to various stimuli from the outside world and because of this any experience gets boring after a while. The best vacation, the most pleasurable experience, the best food, your favorite car etc., all of them get boring after a while because the nature of the mind is to constantly seek new objects. This is samsara, the state of constant seeking, looking for the next big thing or experience.

What this means is that the brain is hardwired to lose interest after a while. Even blissful mental states generated through the practice of meditation will end. That is how our brains are wired. Chasing blissful states will not make any meditator happy. On the contrary, trying to recreate a blissful meditation experience will inevitably lead to frustration because of the inherent nature of our mind.

Awakening will not lead to a state of permanent bliss

One common misconception among many spiritual practitioners is the expectation that enlightenment or awakening is a state of uninterrupted bliss. The assumption is that if one gets enlightened then all the problems of the world would go away, and all the person will be in a constant state of everlasting ecstasy. In fact, the literal translation of Nirvana, (Nibbana in Pali) is extinguish or blow out.

If we assume that awakening happens in the mind, it follows that any pleasure that is experienced by the mind will get boring after a while. Any trance state, or drug induced ecstatic state will end, and will also get more and more difficult to recreate because the mind is hardwired to move to the next hypotheticallyl great pleasurable experience. This is the exact same reason why taking drugs to stimulate awakening will not work because awakening is not a mental state. Any state is temporary. Awakening does not come and go depending on your mood or mental state.

Indicators for Genuine Awakening

I believe that there are a few good indicators to determine the difference between a genuine awakening versus another mental state or construct. Of course, as with most things there are no guarantees, and the practitioner should always be aware of the tendency of the ego to co-opt a genuine spiritual awakening as its own. As the Katha Upanishad says, "The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard."

A few characteristics from my own experience that I believe are the hallmarks of a genuine awakening:

• In most cases, but not all, recognition of our true nature (Awareness) always comes as a surprise. You can read about it, hear about it but when the recognition happens it is always a surprise. Everybody I know who has had this experience is always surprised by the utter obviousness and simplicity of the recognition that our essential nature is us. We don’t have to go anywhere to find it.

• It is not an experience. It does not come and go depending on how good or bad you feel that day. It is always present, unchanging, and you don’t need to make any effort to find it because it is non-different from you.

• There is a perceptual shift in how you experience the world. Things that bothered you don’t have the same grab on you as they previously did in the past.

• It is not an energy transfer or shaktipat. No teacher can give you this recognition, you have to find it for yourself.

.

Sunrise