Teachings

Enlightenment is not an affirmation, no matter how often or how sincerely we profess it to ourselves. It is an experience without the senses, a revelation without the mind.  It is a direct result of self-knowledge.  We may read that we are always already enlightened, which is true, but we are always already ignorant of this, veiled, lost within a clutter of cravings and welter of misguided conditioning. Breaking free of this is a task requiring sustained meditation, contemplation and application per the directives of a truly enlightened sage.

Perhaps only a handful of authentic sages have left a blueprint for us to follow, and of these many had to couch their message of liberation in terms of religion.  They knew that they had to preach to a choir in order to reach the few who had ears to hear truth.  We must frequently sift through the dross of orthodoxy to obtain the gold of their instructions.

Personally, I find the same essence in Jesus' words as I do in Ramana Maharshi's, but I prefer the latter because his canon consists of direct recordings and transcriptions free from the accretion of centuries of zealotry.  So, too, with Nisargadatta Maharaj.  Maybe Eckhart Tolle will float your less esoteric boat.  Just begin the search--a host of good teachers are out there providing different strokes for different folks.