Beyond Enlightenment

The flowering of enlightenment brings only the first flowers of the spring. As the spring deepens, and all these experiences of bliss and ecstasy become more and more natural, just like the heart beat or the breathing, one comes to the final transcendence – going beyond the Buddha – or going beyond enlightenment.

Where Gautama the Buddha has stopped, I have moved beyond that point. Now ahead of me is only an infinite space. The last milestone has been left behind. Now there are no boundaries and no milestones. Buddhahood is the ultimate realization. This is going beyond the ultimate.

In a mysterious way it completes the circle. One becomes again a child, again innocent, full of wonder, collecting seashells on the beach or running after butterflies. Even colored stones become diamonds or emeralds and rubies.

This extraordinary ordinariness is the essential flowering of sannyas. Before it, all is preparation. Unless one comes to this extraordinary ordinariness, one is not really a true sannyasin. When one passes beyond personality, one becomes an individual. When one passes beyond individuality one becomes a sannyasin. Personality is false, individuality is true. Sannyas is beyond all dualities. Because it is beyond all dualities it is indefinable. You cannot say this is this or this is that. All words for the first time become empty, hollow utterly futile. But as words, languages, minds are left behind, one becomes more and more rich in being.

Thinking is a state of poverty. Hence I say all philosophy is poor. There have been philosophies of poverty. All the religions have been preaching them. I declare the poverty of philosophy. Only when one has transcended words, thoughts, one is rich. This richness belongs to being. One is simply more, and this being more goes on expanding without any limits.