One Without a Second

o n e w i t h o u t a s e c o n d Q For someone to be qualified to give all these answers about enlightenment, obviously they must believe that they’re enlightened. So, Andrew—are you enlightened? A 1never answer that kind of question. Why not? It’s not the politically correct thing to do! You know, it’s a funny thing—I have never been one to go around proclaiming that Iam enlightened but, in spite of that, 1have been accused of this terrible crime ever since Istarted teaching. You see, the reason it’s better not to speak about these things is that peo¬ ple tend to misunderstand and get the wrong idea. Of course, if Ididn’t feel qualified to do what Iam doing, 1wouldn’t dare to do it. But there’s no reason that you should take my word for it. That is something you would be able to determine only by getting to know me. That’s why Ihesitate to make any bold declarations. 1think that if we want to know what any teacher is really made of—if they’re authentic or not—the only way to find out for ourselves is to get to know them. o n e w i t h o u t a s e c o n d 1 9 For example, Fm sitting here with you, speaking with a reasonable degree of confidence about that which is absolute. And these kinds of questions naturally arise: Who is this person? What is the spiritual realization that they are describ¬ ing? And what does that realization mean about their human¬ ity? Because in the end, only the teacher’s ability to actually live their teaching will convince us of their authenticity. After all, it has been this simple but ultimate challenge that so many who have claimed enlightenment have been unable t o m e e t . Why is it so challenging? Because the implications of what we’re speaking about here are so big. You see, initially enlightenment requires an indi¬ vidual to take aradical leap into the unknown. That leap is the timeless thrill of leaving the whole world and everyone in it behind forever. It’s the death of the one who has apersonal story; the end of their attachment to everything that their his¬ torical identity represents in time. It means saying good-bye to life as they have known it. It means that from now on they will be alone with their own Self. So, that’s the leap and it’s an enormous one. But once that leap has been taken, the stability of the transformation depends entirely upon remaining resolutely in the unknown, never to return again. What does that mean? It means ever abiding in that mysterious place where the mind has no foothold what¬ soever. It means always wanting to be nobody more than we want to be somebody. And most importantly, it means that 20 living enlightenment we have surrendered our every breath to the Self Absolute and to the evolutionary impulse that emerges from that Self with a miraculous power to do what can’t be done and to say what can’t be said for acause that cannot be imagined. There are very few who are willing to go that far. Indeed, even among those who appear to be seriously interested in these matters, when push comes to shove, most are not yet willing to surren¬ der to the extent necessary for this kind of total transformation to occur. And the simple reason for that is that the degree of humility it demands is almost unimaginable. Why is humility so important? In this profound leap beyond the known, the individual rec¬ ognizes that their true identity is not the separate personality but is, in fact, the Self Absolute or the One without a second. And of course, there could only be one One without asecond. That is why humility is so, so important. Because unless the individual’s motivation is pure, the temptation to claim the realization that “I am that One without asecond” for the ego, for the part of themselves that may still want to be someone special, someone unique, will be irresistible. The ego can claim enlightenment for itself? Yes, and unfortunately it often does. But if the individual’s motivation is pure, if there is afoundation of deep and profound humility, then the realization will not be corrupted by the desire for personal gain—and that’s very rare indeed. o n e w i t h o u t a s e c o n d 2 1 r