My guru is Nisargadatta Maharaj. I did not meet his body, it was a meeting of minds and hearts - of lives. Like he did with his guru, I listened to his words and did what he said: Just BE. Every word he said turned out to be true.
Nisargadatta: "The aim is to awaken yourself to the faith in the self, 'I am'. That is the entire purpose. So whatever is inducive to that development you may accept. Suppose you have faith in a living guru, then accept a living guru. If you have faith in a guru who has left his body, accept that guru." - from "Experience of Nothingness"
People hesitate to use the word "enlightened" - as if there were something egoic about it, something self-centered. To me, it means "lightened, light". The load has dropped, ego-momentum is finished. I am all there is - inclusively. It is amazing - when "other" goes, all are my Self - we are all the same Being.
The world is my Self. Samsara is Nirvana. This is the final understanding.
Current Reflection (31 August) - Finding the 'I Am" The mental "I" requires a mental "you", but the "I Am" does not, as it's the sense of Being (and obviously we can't feel the Beingness of others directly through them). So there's no objective Beingness to be found, thus no subjective. You know the sense of comfort/ease throughout the body after eating a meal? That's the Beingness (in one version, anyway). When you're enraged, the feeling of 'burning' in the body is the Beingness in another incarnation. The feel of being intoxicated on alcohol or drugs is yet another 'tainted' Beingness. Find the pure Beingness that exists in between these states as well, and abide in it. This really isn't difficult or complicated... the mind likes to over-complicate everything. N. wouldn't have recommended it if it wasn't easily available to everyone. P.S. the Beingness is supported by the body, but it isn't the body... so don't worry about it affirming the body. It's affirming the I Am, not the body. There's no need to give the body a single thought (and in fact you should not). This is about feeling your Being, not thinking about the body. For anyone who's wondering "Are you sure about this interpretation of I Am" the answer is yes. I would stake my life on it. The reason for the ego (plus corresponding negative emotions) is that we lost touch with our Being at an early age, and so ego arises, along with corresponding feelings that 'bring us back' to the Beingness. It's the mental way we get back in touch with our Being, so to speak. Get back in touch with it now, and there's no need anymore for the ego. "All is due to your having forgotten your own Being" - Nisargadatta, I Am That