What makes us different from enlightened beings?
Enlightened beings see Divinity in us as well as in all organisms, but we don't view it like that. They experience God within themselves and therefore perceive His energy pulsating in every atom of Creation. We cannot see God everywhere as we have trained ourselves to see Him only in places of worship.
How can we bring about a transformation in our perception of Divinity like these enlightened beings?
If we consistently follow four basic steps, as sages and seers did, we will also experience enlightened living:
Step 1: Principled and organised living : We think we are leading a principled life. However, according to seers, we should base our lives on sound moral ethics and principles like truth or satya, non-violence or ahimsa, unconditional love or amara prema and selfless service or nishkama karma. These principles are ageless cosmic laws that are expounded by the scriptures which enlightened beings scrupulously follow in their lives. If we emulate this, we link ourselves to Divinity which expands our hearts and purifies our minds. Like the pole star in the sky, these principles make us remain constant and guide us in the right direction so that we are not influenced by social pressures, changing desires or shifting priorities.
Step 2: Empowering the Conscience : As we follow Step 1, we integrate ethics and principles into our lives and empower our conscience. This changes our attitude, repels negativity and propels us towards Divinity. As our ethical base becomes strong, our conscience becomes clear and easily repels all negative influences like cravings, temptations and habits. We realise that our thoughts, words and actions are slowly shaping our ordinary lives into enlightened lives. We get empowered to see and shape our lives with clarity; we also get interconnected to each other. The words we speak and actions we perform will have a good impact because our conscience is crystal clear. This removes the conflicts, chaos, problems, worries and crises among peoples and nations.
Step 3: Self Control : When our conscience starts guiding us, this gives us the master key to complete self-control. We begin to control our thoughts, emotions and senses. We will no longer be carried away by temptations, cravings, addictions, desires and negative emotions. Our will power establishes itself. We gain Supreme Will. We stop resting on our past achievements and stop crying over past failures. We will not be troubled by the uncertainties of the future. Now we are completely tuned in to the cosmic law. Our lives become joyous and we gain control over our minds. Self control of the mind makes it pure and transparent. Awareness and intelligence blossom forth, revealing the existence of the Soul through experiences or anubhava.
Step 4: Divine Intervention : After establishing self-control, the divine effulgence in our hearts starts, that is, experiences of the existence of the Divine begin in us and everywhere around us. We see a paradigm shift in our perception and also experience waves of care, compassion, tolerance, patience and selfless love. Selfless love puts us in touch with the omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent power of the Creator. We become the light of all lights. We have just given birth to the "birthless and deathless", that is, the awareness of the Soul begins within us. We trigger this in others as well, making this world a powerful centre of the Creator to express solidarity, unison, unification and bliss for every Soul and every atom. Spirituality and tranquillity are established forever.