Don’t respect enlightened beings

Enlightenment is not a ‘becoming.’ Person A…a limited, inadequate and incomplete being…does not become person B…a fully enlightened all-powerful, compassionate being. Enlightenment is the removal of ignorance about the nature of the Self.

Those who perpetuate the belief that ego transformation is enlightenment do spiritual culture a disservice. Additionally, the reverence and respect accorded enlightened beings is also undeserved because enlightenment is nothing other than a re-discovery of something that was already known. When I wake up I don’t become somebody else, I simply trade the idea of myself as a dreamer for the idea of myself as a waker. In fact, the waker and the dreamer are the same person, but seem to be separate entities because of their association with the state of consciousness in which they find themselves at the moment.

It is fashionable these days for society to congratulate formerly fat people who returned to their normal size. But rather than offer them respect shouldn’t they be castigated for getting fat in the first place? Touting one’s Enlightenment only calls attention to a lengthy and embarrassing stay in ignorance.