Enlightenment, Spiritual Goals, States of Englightenment, Path of Enlightenment
Traditions or techniques of meditation that espouse spiritual evolution will direct their followers meditative effort toward the lofty goal of enlightenment as their purpose. The goal of enlightenment is idealised as the reason we are born on earth, or the purpose of life or the ultimate answer to life. Rehnadee Shum is no different, yet in Rehnadee Shum there is no singular word that is synonymous with enlightenment because enlightenment is not a singular experience instead it comprises of a series of multi-layered mystical experiences that confer multi-faceted consequences to ones consciousness.
In Rehnadee Shum each layer of the enlightenment experience is peeled out as in the layers of an onion and meticulously organised and defined as goals that are set in meditation maps. Meditation maps themselves are organised into five levels that start from a beginner to that of a master. These levels which are used to organise meditation maps are innovations that Rehnadee Shum brings to the practice of meditation. It is part of Rehnadee Shum’s Dynamic Meditation.
What this means is that even a beginner in Shum meditation is aiming for a mystical goal that is an experience of enlightenment that is tailored to her current mystical ability. The attainment of this experience is used as a signpost to advance to the next level of meditation maps with deeper more profound goals of enlightenment.
This is how a Shum meditator progresses in his meditations, from enlightenment to enlightenment. Just as a mountaineer conquers a mighty mountain such as the Everest using base camps to gradually reach its summit, the Shum meditator uses meditation maps to reach ever deeper levels of enlightenment until the loftiest state of enlightenment is attained.
Rehnadee Shum’s Path of Enlightenment
In Rehnadee Shum meditations are organised into five levels–Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Guide and Master. There is also a level 0, which is called Fundamentals of Shum that have Rehnadee Shum’s study program. Enlightenment is the goal of Shum meditations from the very start, but what you need in the form of technique and mystical strength to achieve the enlightenment states at the different levels is of course different. It becomes more challenging as you move up but so will the rewards of enlightenment–ever deeper feeling of fulfilment and the amazing unraveling of the ‘Power of Quiet’.
The Levels of Meditation in Rehnadee Shum gradually build a meditators stamina and mystical sensitivity. Various techniques are employed that include yoga postures, breath control, ‘uncluttering’ the subconscious, prayers or affirmations to develop a meditators mystical strength to progress from one level to another. At each level there will be prescribed pre-enlightenment or enlightenment experience to reach and graduate to the following level.
The ultimate goal is a the experience of enlightenment called Emkaeef. If we liken Rehnadee Shum’s Path of Enlightenment to the proverbial mountain of spirituality, Emkaeef is at the summit. There is only one summit with many paths around the mountain to it. Each path has its set of base camps and with each base camp representing an enlightenment experience. The mystic collects her string of enlightenment pearls which gradually gets her to the mountain’s summit.
Mystic Strength
There is the goal and the path to get there. This is the structure of all approaches in the practice of meditation. What is unique to Rehnadee Shum is the emphasis it gives to the path. Not only is the path aggregated to levels with goals assigned to them, challenges are defined with methods to overcome them prescribed.
Getting back to the mountain of spirituality, the path to each of the base camp is different. Without a comprehensive and detailed understanding of how to prepare and manage the obstacles that will be faced to reach the base camps it is almost impossible to reach the more challenging base camps let alone the summit. Getting inspired by others experience of the journey to the summit is the easy part. Preparing and getting to the top is where the work is. Having a guide who has maps that provide detailed explanations of every segment of the journey is the best way to conquer the mountain.
In the journey to the summit of enlightenment, Rehnadee Shum provides the format for detailed meditation maps every step of the way. At the Beginner and Intermediate levels the maps themselves can provide enough guidance for meditators to achieve the goals and move on up to a point. Going beyond that point will require the guidance of a Shum Guide or a Shum Master. The duty of the Shum Guide and Master is to develop the meditator’s spiritual stamina and grow their Mystic Strength.
Developing Mystic Strength is a process of spiritual growth that is encompassed in the Path of Enlightenment. You can liken it to a novice weight lifter who wants to lift 200 kilograms. Obviously he can start by himself up to a point after which he needs a trainer who can safely guide him to reach his goal of 200 kg. This is a gradual process that requires education, time, training and practice.
If you are interested in achieving enlightenment after reading about it in a book written by a guru or after listening to a discourse, you might be fired up to begin meditation with whatever technique that you had learned. Perhaps the technique involves using a mantra, breathing technique and/or point of concentration. The instruction would be to keep maintaining your concentration until your reach a breakthrough. Your goal could be experiencing a bright light in your mind. You persist with a daily routine but after just few sittings you find it difficult to maintain your concentration. After sometime you will wonder how long it will take to experince your goal and when you seek advice from another meditator they might say just persist with your practice. But after more time without experiencing anything you might give up thinking either the technique doesn’t work or that meditation is just not for you. However the answer is usually that you have not built up enough Mystic Strength to contain the state of enlightenment you were seeking.
The meditation technique works for someone who is already adept in meditation where they already possess the Mystic Strength to contain that particular experience of enlightenment. It is like a weight lifter who can already carry 150 kg training to reach 200 kg, whereas you are at the 50 kg range and not ready for that training yet. So the technique is just too advance for you.
I myself had gone through many unsuccessful attempts at trying to experience enlightenment like this. It was only after I learned Shum meditation that I realised the path toward enlightenment is open to everyone so long as their starting point is properly set and their Mystic Strength is developed through proper training. There is no one meditation technique that fits all. The composition of everyone’s mind is different and the main guarantee to attaining lofty states of enlightenment is where you start and moving up the path by collecting your string of enlightenments. Rehnadee Shum's Path of Enlightenment builds your Mystic Strength gradually so that you will get to the summit.
Enlightenment
In Rehnadee Shum enlightenment experiences are organised into three categories–Pre-Enlightenment, Enlightenment and Post Enlightenment. Pre-enlightenment are meditation goals that build toward an enlightenment experience. Enlightenment is as it is the sought after enlightenment goal. Post Enlightenment experiences occur after reaching the ‘summit’ of enlightenment. Thus spiritual advancement continues even after the ultimate state of enlightenment has been reached. The naming and aggregation of these experiences according to meditation levels are innovations of the Path of Enlightenment and unique to Rehnadee Shum.
In modern times meditation is practiced for a variety of reasons–health, well-being, optimising mental capabilities, confidence building and providing solace are among them. These purposes are meant to provide comfort or to reach performance goals in day to day living. Enlightenment is not the goal of these meditations rather enlightenment is a goal for meditators who are seeking to advance spiritually. In Eastern Mystical traditions this is the purpose of meditation. The descriptions of the States of Enlightenment is fairly consistent across these traditions. Rehnadee Shum also describes the same States of Enlightenment but whereas other mystic traditions depict enlightenment experiences as a whole, in Rehnadee Shum's States of Enlightenment are divided into their constituent parts and placed across the levels of meditation as goals in meditation maps.
States of Enlightenment
The mystic seeking enlightenment following the steps laid out in a Rehnadee Shum meditation map is on a path toward the ultimate state of enlightenment known as Emkaeef. However the goal of his current meditation map is not yet Emkaeef. He is using a meditation map of the Intermediate Level and his goal is one of the Kaeefs. Kaeef is a state of enlightenment that encompasses a multitude of experiences that are goals of meditation maps at the various levels of Rehandee Shum meditations. Kaeef States of Enlightenment build the Mystic Strength of the meditator to the point where the goal of goals Emkaeef can be attained. This is Rehnadee Shum’s Path of Enlightenment.
Kaeef and Emkaeef are the two States of Enlightenment. Kaeef leads to Emkaeef. Kaeef consist of many different experiences. All these experiences are of Pure Consciousness. The intense sight of the Clear White Light in the mind, feeling the bliss of the vibration of Pure Mind-Space, feeling of Oneness with Cosmic Consciousness or the sublime feeling of love as the heart melts in devotion. These are among the many experiences of Kaeef. The Kaeefs are the goals of meditation maps used at the various levels in the Path of Enlightenment. The attainment of these goals at their levels signify readiness to move on to the next level of Shum meditations until the summit of Emkaeef is reached.
Before a Kaeef goal can be reached there are Pre-Enlightenment meditation maps that help the meditator develop the mystic skills required so a Kaeef can be attained. For instance a budding mystic can have her eyes set on experiencing The Clear White Light, which is an intense experience of seeing a bright white light in the mind with one’s eyes closed. However if she is starting out unable to see anything but blackness in her mind with her eyes closed she is not ready yet for The Clear White Light Meditation Map. Instead she has to start with developing the skill of seeing in her mind with her eyes closed first. A few Pre-Enlightenment maps is necessary to build the Mystic Strength required so she can follow The Clear White Light Meditation Map to experience this state of Kaeef enlightenment.
Kaeef leads to Emkaeef. Emkaeef is the goal of goals in the Path of Enlightenment. Emkaeef is a singular experience. There are no multitude of Emkaeefs, just the one, but it is a mighty one because it is the Experience of Nothing. While the Kaeefs are about experiencing the purest states of our consciousness, Emkaeef is beyond consciousness and is glorified in all mystic schools as the ultimate state of enlightenment. Thought there are reams of scriptures and books by spiritual gurus and authors dedicated to the wonders of achieving this State of Enlightenment little written instruction is available about the mechanics of attaining it except that it is very challenging and requires a guide. Even in Rehnadee Shum, with its innovation of meditation maps, the challenge of reaching Emkaeef is not understated. The mysterious experience of non-experience requires expert guidance, however the mechanics of the Mystic Strength required to achieve Emkaeef is explained in the Path of Enlightenment. By understanding this mechanics the challenge the mystic is confronted with in their search for Emkaeef can be surmounted with certainty.
Emkaeef is the goal of goals in Rehnadee Shum however it is not the end of the mystic path for there are also the Post Enlightenment experiences. These experiences are not more potent than Emkaeef, rather it is about the ‘super spiritual’ experiences the mystic will be open to after attaining Emkaeef. It is as if you are floating ever higher above the summit and everytime you go higher you appreciate the grandness of Creation deeper. Eventually you are in space and get to enjoy the sight of the planet as whole. Post Enlightenment experiences have paradigm shifting effect on one’s consciousness. They gradually transform a Rehnadee Shum mystic to a Shum Master.
As Rehnadee Shum develops there will be an ever increasing number of meditation maps in each level. Kaeef, Pre-Enlightenment and Post Enlightenment states ore open to innovation and discovery. These will be collected over time as meditation maps that will become repositories of the Path of Enlightenment that generations to come can have access to for guidance on their way to their own enlightenment.
