A short story on accidental enlightenment

Yes. Someone can accidentally get enlightened. I know of a soldier, in 1971 Indo-Pak war, he was shot. He is from Haryana. He was on his horse and he got shot in the neck. He survived that but he then he got enlightened. The man suddenly saw himself not being the body and it was an accidental enlightenment. He passed away in the late 80’s; he was a very nice gentleman.

When there is total harmony and synchronicity between the left and right hemisphere of the brain, and when the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system are working in harmony, then you say that this is an altered state of consciousness. And this altered state of consciousness which can be physically measured today, is what is called enlightenment.

But then after enlightenment, he wanted to know more, study a little more, after enlightenment he went to look for a Guru (Master). He needed a Guru. In those days a lot of this caste politics was there. Almost like Eklavya, he sat outside the kutir of his Guru, and just heard and learned what the Guru was talking to other students. Then he thanked his Guru and then he came. 

He was living in Kotla, Mubarakpur. There was a drain in New Delhi, Kotla area, he used to live there. He was married, he had children. But then he made his own little kutir, an ashram, he used to sit there. He had just passed second class in the school, not very educated, but a very wise person. 

There are many such examples, many many people. That is possible. But you know, here again, they must have done something in the past life. In this life, it appears to be an accidental one, but really not, it is all in the grand plan.

I used to meet him, I was only 23 or 24 at that time. And he used to call me as ‘Oh, Yogiraj.’ I was a little shy to listen to all those praises. ‘You have come after so many thousands of years.’ He used to tell me, ‘The whole world is looking for you.’ This is how he used to talk to me. But he was very rude to other people. He used to have a stick and used to chase people out. Rude means in a sweet manner; he used all the slangs. But he had the vision, he knew, he could see.

There is no criteria for enlightenment. You have it already. When will it come out, when will it blossom, is completely a mystery.

Diversity needs to be honored, acknowledged and celebrated

The world is beautiful because it is diverse and diversity is the beauty of this creation. There is not one type of fish, there is not one type of potato. You know, in Peru, there are three thousand varieties of potatoes! Three thousand type of potato in Peru alone. And in Colombia, I say it is the most bio-diverse country on the planet. So many types of trees, birds are there. We have seven hundred types of rice alone in our country and so many types of wheat. In this ashram, we have eighty types of butterflies.

Whether it is religion or it is food, any species of fish or cows, we have to protect the diversity. Because diversity is the basis of existence. In the Vedas, it is said that the Divine says ‘I am one, but I become many.’ Why? In ‘many’ there is bliss. To express the bliss that I am, I became many. So the diversity is to be celebrated. I think tolerance is a very negative word. You tolerate something which you don’t like. But when you love diversity, it is no longer tolerance, it is a celebration of diversity.

When Devi Puja is done in the Vaidic time, in Vaidic ritual, they say ‘O, Mother Divine, you present yourself in such diverse way. Mother, you are in so many different forms.’  (When things are not of your own form, your own type, you always have a fear about it. Someone who is not like you, someone who doesn’t belong to you, you have some fear about them). Mother Divine remove this fear from my mind and let me recognize you in all the diverse creation. This is the prayer. And it is said, ‘Mother, you have manifested yourself in such diversity, in such variety, how I can sing thy glory!’

One who recognizes this diverse nature of the Shakti, of the consciousness, is the real King. You yourself bestow the Kingship in the person. You (Mother Divine) offer various and different kind of wealth. This planet contains so many minerals, so many types of precious stones, this is all part of this diversity and it is the Mother Divine’s manifestation in this diverse universe, and in abundance. Diversity needs to be honoured, acknowledged and celebrated.

Even in sesame, there are many different types of sesame, many different types of grains, not one. So diversity is what is being praised here. And this has been the lifeline of ancient Vaidic Civilisation.