It is true that probably ninety five percent of spiritual teachers these days tout enlightenment as some kind of experiential happening. They lead you to believe that it is special, mystical, extraordinary, not present, yet always available. The formulation of the basic teaching of non-duality is correct: It is a re-cognition, an appreciation of the non-dual something you are or that is always with you. This kind of teaching is only good for very dispassionate mature people.
There is this myth that enlightenment ipso facto makes you a teacher capable of ‘transmitting’ enlightenment. We call this kind of teaching smriti, remembered knowledge. Those who promote it are teaching from their own experience…which can be helpful up to a point. But this kind of teacher can almost never close the sale, which takes a complete teaching capable of removing any self doubt. They are so in love with their enlightenment they do not understand that experience does not transfer. They assume that one size fits all…that what worked for them should work for everyone.
In any case, there is no new experience. From womb to tomb life is always only myself experiencing myself. Even experience that seems remote only takes place in your mind, which is non-separate from you. Knowledge transfers. If you put an unlit candle next to a lit candle, the flame will jump from the lit to the unlit candle. Likewise if you tune your mind to the mind and heart of a wise person the wisdom will enter you and take up residence.
What is a wise person? It is a person who is completely satisfied with his or herself at any given moment and satisfied with the world at any given moment. No matter how you formulate your ignorance it is impossible for a wise person to tell how ignorant you are, unless you open your mouth and share it. But everyone knows what satisfaction is. It is a direct universal experience. So, when you encounter a satisfied person you linger; you want to gain it.
And how do you gain that realization? Pray for an impersonal vetted complete systematic means of Self knowledge that works for anyone, a free teacher who models the teaching and wields the knowledge skillfully, then dedicate yourself to assimilating that wisdom and qualifying for it. Traditional Vedanta is such a means.
When this combination of factors coalesce there is no end to the number of people who reach the end of the path. As it is, a seeker gets as much as he or she can through the points where his or her understanding and the teacher’s understanding intersect and…dissatisfied…moves on to another teacher, repeats the process and…frustrated…moves on once more.
In Vedanta we make it clear that enlightenment does not qualify you to teach. And it becomes obvious how inadequate you are to teach freedom when you subject yourself to the tradition, which is an amazing thing really. I feel sorry for modern seekers who have never been blessed by a complete teaching worked on them by a proper mahatma. Many are set free of worldliness and gain perfect satisfaction through Vedanta but the world never hears of them because they keep to themselves.
