What is the definition of a spiritually awakened person?

Our prevailing experience of, ‘I am John (please insert your name here) and this body, mind, speech, etc. are mine’, is called body-consciousness. In case of a spiritually awakened person, this experience begins to leave and the experience of the Soul begins to prevail. This is the first sign which shows that one is spiritually awakened.

And as this experience grows deeper, it implies one is progressing in his spiritual awareness and is on the way to final liberation. A spiritually awakened person’s sole desire remains that of attaining ultimate liberation.

What are the symptoms of spiritual awakening and what causes it?

A spiritually awakened person may be seen rendering his worldly duties and obligations externally, but internally he has a constant awareness that, ‘These worldly duties and obligations – it all happens naturally (no one has to do it) and I am the pure Soul that sees and knows all that happens.’

Whatever problems we are suffering from, they are because of ignorance of the Self. When spiritually awakened, we come to know that in reality, ‘who am I and who is the doer’. With this knowledge, automatically, whatever suffering was there due to this ignorance, is dissolved.

Here are some of the symptoms that tell us that a person is spiritually awakened:

• Such a person has an intense desire, that of fully experiencing the Soul, which outweighs the need for any material or worldly things. After spiritual awakening, one yearns for real happiness only.
• Spiritually awakened people have a firm conviction seeded within them to not hurt others, because by hurting others, it is not possible to attain ultimate liberation. To not hurt others means practicing non-violence.
• A spiritually awakened person remains at peace and calm amidst any suffering. Spiritual science guarantees these results as it is based on right understanding.
• The world uses anger, pride, attachment and greed as means to get what they want. However, anger, pride, deceit and greed are weaknesses. These, when in effect, hurt the Soul. Therefore, a spiritual person is very keen and perseverant to remove them. As the anger, pride, attachment and greed get milder, spiritual awareness increases even more.
• A spiritually awakened person is focused on seeing one’s own faults rather than seeing the faults of others. When one focuses on others’ faults, one forgets to see their own, and consequently, his faults increase even more. On the other hand, when one is focusing on seeing one’s own faults only, then these faults decrease.
• A spiritual person is always found on the side of positivity as positive line is the side of God. They endeavour to seek out a positive solution, no matter how bad a situation is.
• The one who is spiritually awakened does not create a divide due to difference of opinion with anyone, rather he is willing to be ‘everywhere adjustable’ with everyone, coz he is on the path that leads to ‘oneness’ with the entire world!
• If a person feels hurt by a spiritually awakened person, even if there’s no obvious fault of the latter, he immediately asks for forgiveness (does pratikraman) from the God (Soul) residing within the other person. Pratikraman forms the basis of their existence. Mistakes may happen, but the strength lies in asking for forgiveness for the hurt caused by us to any living being.
• This person possesses the finest qualities of the worldly self namely ultimate humility, extreme simplicity, spontaneous forgiveness and a complete absence of rigidity, stubbornness or any kind of insistence or obstinacy.

Gnani, the Enlightened One, is a live and ideal example of a perfect spiritually awakened being. Thousands attain spiritual awakening from this Enlightened Being and in His presence grow their awareness and progress towards attaining ultimate liberation. So come, let us also go to this Enlightened being, and get spiritually awakened!!