Enlightenment and the Body of Light by John White

[Guest guest]

Enlightenment and the Body of Light

by John White

 

When our research took us into the mind-stretching realms of the

highest yogic attainment, we were happy to be able to rely on our

dear friend and fellow dharmanaut John White for guidance. White,

intrepid explorer and tireless documenter of the highest in human

potential, has written extensively about an evolutionary shift in

consciousness that he sees transforming humanity. Here, he provides

us with a brief retrospective survey, through history and across

traditions, of what some believe to be our evolutionary destiny—the

attainment of " the light body. "

 

ENLIGHTENMENT IS THE goal of human life, for the individual and for

the race. Enlightenment is awakening to the presence of God as the

One-in-all and All-in-one and then expressing that nondual

realization in every aspect of your existence. Simply put,

enlightenment is God-realization, i.e., making God real in the

totality of your being.

 

Enlightenment, therefore, is a developmental process, not a one-time

event. It is the highest aspect of our human potential for self-

directed growth in body, mind, and spirit. That human potential can

change the human condition.

 

Enlightenment is not purely psychological. In the course of higher

human development, physical changes also occur, most dramatically in

the later phases of the enlightenment process. In the final phase,

according to various sacred traditions, the body is alchemically

changed into light. Enlightenment becomes literally so, through the

transubstantiation of flesh, blood, and bone into an immortal body of

light. Through a combination of personal effort and divine grace, a

person attains a deathless condition through the alchemical

transmutation of his or her ordinary fleshly body. This

transubstantiated body is called various names in the traditions,

such as light body, solar body, diamond body, or resurrection body.

I'll expand on that below.

 

If involution is the materialization of Spirit and evolution is the

spiritualization of matter, then the end of evolution—final

enlightenment—is the complete return of matter to Spirit as humans

attain full expression of their inherent divinity and become Godmen

and Godwomen. It is the conquest of death. It is the return to the

condition of " that which never dies and that which was never born. "

 

From Morality to Mysticism

 

Morality, or the moral dimension of life, is the foundation for the

process of higher human development to enlightenment. However, the

process only begins there. As a person practices spiritual

disciplines—prayer, meditation, or esoteric psychotechnologies—to

deepen his or her relationship with God, the person ascends in

consciousness to higher and higher planes of existence. Mystical

experience and arcane metaphysics come to the forefront of the

person's consciousness, and the light of God shines ever more

brightly through every aspect of the person's life. Ultimately, the

quest for enlightenment leads one to actually becoming light—

attaining the body of light and becoming a being of light. Morality

and virtue are then understood to be the human reflection of divine

attributes, and the practice of mysticism is understood as a process

of becoming, quite literally, more and more Godlike.

 

The important thing in the process is, as the Bhagavad Gita puts it,

to " fix your heart on God, " submit your will to the Divine Will, and

then invoke the Holy Spirit, the Shekinah Glory, the Goddess

Kundalini, etcetera, as the entry point for your spiritual practice.

Support that with moral behavior, cultivation of the body and mind,

works of social goodness and civic responsibility. In other words,

live a life of integral practice, so that your entire being—body,

mind, and spirit—is oriented to the attainment of enlightenment. God

will take care of the rest. Through spiritual refinement, the

psychophysical dross of your humanity is removed. Then you can " cast

off " the flesh body through the death process. You put on

the " seamless robe of light. " You no longer cast a shadow because

you do not have a Shadow.

 

Enlightenment and the Body of Light

by John White