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Knowledge, Power and Enlightenment


by Andrew Cohen
 

Part One
The attainment of genuine enlightenment is rare at any time in human history and the significance of its presence cannot be overestimated. The word "enlightenment" points to that which is miraculous. Its attainment represents a penetration into the profound depth of human consciousness through which the ultimate source of being itself becomes accessible. That ultimate source of being is undivided fullness that is empty of time, empty of space, empty of location and empty of mind. The conscious experience of this source is absolute knowing that is entirely free from objects, memory and time. In this knowing there is only knowing. In this knowing there is ceaseless recognition of absolute unqualified perfection. Abiding in that perfection always is liberation from time, space, location and mind.

Abiding in the perfection of enlightenment from the point of view of the mind means to remain in a state of not knowing the mind. When a human being is able to remain always in a state of not knowing the mind, they will be free from the mind. It is possible to be free from the mind only when one has discovered unequivocally the ultimate source of being and is choicelessly resting there. Choicelessly resting is the result of a doubtless recognition that the ultimate source of being is truth absolute. Doubtlessness is the freedom to abide fearlessly in that state of not knowing the mind always. That means that a human being has won final liberation from the mind, which alone allows them to fully embrace the totality of what it means to be alive.

The totality of what it means to be alive can be fully experienced only when a human being is resting in that state of not knowing the mind, because in that state of not knowing the mind, the knowledge of perfection is the very ground of all conscious experience. When the knowledge of perfection is the ground of all conscious experience, the relationship with the world of time, space, location and mind is transformed. Indeed, the relationship with the world of time, space, location and mind is transformed in such a way that that perfection becomes the very source of mind itself. In fact, it is the ability to cognize and express that perfection that is the manifestation of the miracle of enlightenment in a world that is locked into the prison of time, space, location and mind.

Part Two
The ability to cognize and express perfection means that time, space, location and mind are no longer seen as a prison, but are now recognized to be the very ground on which that perfection, which is the expression of the ultimate source of being, can become manifest. That perfection will become manifest only to the degree that a human being is able to sustain that state of not knowing the mind. Indeed, the degree to which a human being is able to sustain that state of not knowing the mind is the degree to which the mind itself will be enlightened by the ultimate source of being, and thereby express the perfection that is its nature.

Finally the ability to express that perfection transcends mere cognition, but points toward something even greater, which is the fact that that state of not knowing the mind literally affects the world of time, space, location and mind as consequence. In the end, it is the degree to which the mind itself has become enlightened that determines to what degree that perfection will affect the world of time, space, location and mind as consequence.

Part Three
Unless the individual is abiding at least 51% in that state of not knowing the mind, it will be impossible to effect any degree of perfection, which is the true expression of the ultimate source of being, in the world of time, space, location and mind. In the same way, the degree to which the individual is able to abide beyond at least 51% in that state of not knowing the mind determines to what degree that perfection will be expressed as consequence in the world of time, space, location and mind. This fact is subtle and its profound significance could easily be missed. It points to a dimension of perception that demands enormous humility and emptiness of self. Because this means that the ability of a human being to express that perfection that is the ultimate source of being as consequence depends not upon the power of mind in and of itself nor the individual's ability to cognize and organize information, but in fact is solely determined by where the individual ultimately abides—within or beyond the mind. This truth is so important, and indeed unless one is able to grasp its enormous significance, it is unlikely that one will be able to avoid succumbing to the overwhelming temptation of power that knowledge, not in submission to perfect emptiness, offers us.

 

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This article is from
Our Science Issue

 
 

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