The Science of Enlightenment
Enlightenment, Liberation and God
A Scientific Explanation
by Nitin Trasi, M.D.
Reviewed by Dennis L. Trunk
What is enlightenment? What are its characteristics? Is it a natural condition? Is it permanent? How does it happen? These are just some of the intriguing questions Dr. Trasi raises and answers. A practicing medical doctor, a scholar deeply versed in religion, philosophy and modern physics, and a long-time associate of the well-known Advaita teacher Sri Ramesh Balsekar, Dr. Trasi is ideally positioned to examine his subject from both a scientific and traditional perspective and to strip away much of the confusion and fallacy surrounding it. The result is an incisive, naturalistic description and analysis of enlightenment.
He begins by observing that the common, core teaching of mystics worldwide is "that Consciousness is one, in other words, that we are not separate psychological entities." Even though we see and feel ourselves as separate, it is an illusion, an illusion that becomes the driving force of our lives and leads to suffering.
That observation immediately raises a difficult, age-old question: if Consciousness is really one, why aren't all of us already aware of it? How did the illusion of a separate individual come about? Dr. Trasi identifies several agents, including the nature of the human nervous system, symbolic thinking, language, conditioning, and so on. Essentially, he explains, we conceptualize ourselves as separate beings. Individual identity is nothing more than a mental construct, an idea, an interim product of our development as human beings.
Just as importantly, he also points out that the recognition of the individual self as mere illusion has inevitable implications. One of the most controversial is that there can be no such thing as free will, because that would require an individual self who can act. Although his conclusion will seem self-evident to some and, in fact, can be readily understood simply by observing the nature of the mind, it is undoubtedly deeply disturbing to many - perhaps most - seekers of spirituality. The idea that one's life is completely determined by factors other than an individual self seems to contradict and subvert not only common sense, but also many religious, philosophical and moral teachings. To his credit, Dr. Trasi confronts the seeming conflict directly and in some detail, particularly in the book's question and answer section. It must be noted that he is not inventing a new deterministic interpretation of Advaita. Many important sources, past and present, support him. Among those sources, although the connection is not mentioned in the book, is the teaching of his friend and associate, Ramesh Balsekar, and some of Balsekar's disciples, most notably Wayne Liquorman.
Dr. Trasi goes on to discuss many other paradoxical implications, such as the futility of spiritual effort, the irrelevance of cultivating virtue, and the nature of spiritual seeking as an obstacle to awakening, all of which, if not understood correctly, might lead to paralysis or despair in the serious seeker. The problem, of course, is that all effort presupposes the existence of an "I" who can do something. But since there is no one there, what can be done? Fortunately, he provides a good, practical answer. One of the most important chapters in the book is called "What Should 'I' Do?" It is undoubtedly the one that most seekers will refer to most often. In the spirit of Ramana Maharshi, it suggests using inquiry and understanding as a self-starting mental approach, a means of pulling oneself up by the boot straps, much as a computer does when it boots itself. The mental preparation leads to understanding the truth of the individual self as illusion. That, in turn, may lead eventually to the sudden shift in consciousness called enlightenment and the ensuing change called liberation.
What actually happens in the processes of enlightenment and liberation makes up a large portion of the book. The author defines enlightenment as "the clear and deep perception...or intuitive understanding...of the unity of Consciousness and of the absence of the 'me' or 'I' as a separate, autonomous entity." He adds that it "is more or less a sudden happening" and explains it in terms of the brain undergoing a paradigm (pattern) shift in perception in which, for the first time, things are seen as they truly are. The eventual result is a series of changes, among them the cessation of all spiritual seeking and effort, because such activity is directly perceived as pointless.
After enlightenment, although the me-based conditioning that was built up as a result of the illusion of separation may continue for years, it gradually begins to reverse or drop away, until it leads to liberation, which Dr. Trasi defines as "totally unconditioned living." He emphasizes at some length that nothing necessary to normal everyday functioning is lost. For example, although unnecessary thinking automatically and gradually ceases, the ability to think, plan and solve problems is still available as needed and at even greater efficiency. Indeed, many sages, such as Nisargadatta Maharaj, have continued afterwards to carry out ordinary business and household functions as if nothing had ever happened. What is lost, says Dr. Trasi, is only the psychological suffering caused by the illusion of separation.
If any fault can be found in this book, it may be in what is not included. Undoubtedly, some readers will view the author's approach as reductionist, as eliminating from his model too many phenomena related to spirituality that are difficult to explain (although he does examine a few very briefly). For example, although he quotes J. Krishnamurti frequently, he does not mention the many strange circumstances surrounding that sage's own awakening. Although it was spontaneous, it did not come about as a simple paradigm shift. According to Krishnamurti's biographer, Mary Lutyens, it unfolded over many days as a dramatic, stormy, confusing and severely painful event that left many of his closest associates fearing for his physical and mental health and worried that something had gone terribly wrong.
Of course, the man who eventually emerged from that maelstrom turned out to be a brilliant, down-to-earth teacher who perfectly embodied Dr. Trasi's definition of enlightenment and liberation. But that incident and the many kinds of odd but related phenomena other people have experienced, such as kundalini or shakti, raise questions as to what else there is to know about the nature of spirituality, the nature of Consciousness and the process of enlightenment.
Although the encompassing theme of this book is the naturalness of the condition called enlightenment and its availability to scientific description and examination, the book is not aimed primarily toward scientists or scholars. It is for everyone. The amount of scientific discussion is minimal and easy to follow, and the writing is always crystal clear. Beyond that, Dr. Trasi guides the reader very carefully through his exegesis of various scriptural passages and the writings of various mystics, clarifying meaning, clearing away misconceptions and demonstrating a unified recognition of enlightenment as a consistently identifiable phenomenon, natural to the human species.
I believe that he has made an invaluable and much needed contribution to our understanding of enlightenment. Among other achievements, he pulls together and distills in one volume essential information that is usually gathered only through a library of reading. Those who seek spiritual understanding can be grateful that he has provided what may be the closest thing yet to a handbook for enlightenment. It should be considered necessary reading.
D.K Printworld (P) Ltd., hardback, 320 pages
ISBN: 81-246-0130-5
You can order The Science of Enlightenment from Amazon.com. Click the "Explore This Book" links on the left side of the Amazon.com page to find excerpts from the book, a summary, a bio of Dr. Trasi, and various editorial and customer reviews. Dr. Keshav Magan's customer review, in particular, is excellent:
To me, the most significant achievement of this book is that it brings down Enlightenment/Liberation from its distant holy pedestal, and shows clearly that it is not some esoteric, mysterious, rare state only meant for spiritual Goliaths, but instead a simple and practical state within the capacity of every average man or woman.
- Dr. Keshav Magan
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Dennis L. Trunk
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