Fully Awake Awareness...

Someone may imply to others that they are a "sage" or "jnani" and may even sincerely believe that they are such and may be able to talk about it in a very convincing and 'enlightened sounding' manner. But there is a certain classical criteria for discerning such a claim that they may have forgotten or may have never been aware of, and that all the reputable teachers and sages of India speak of at some length.

In the estimation and experience of these genuine "jnanis", when one fully wakes up to pure awareness and has an abiding realization of the supreme Self, the essence of this realization is that pure awareness is ever awake, 24/7, and does not go back to sleep at all.

This is true when the body is awake in ordinary waking life, it is true in the dream state, (this is called lucid dreaming, in which one is lucid and aware during dreams and one knows consciously that he/she is in a dream while they are in it), and it is true even in the state of deep sleep in which the body, the world, self and others are not present and only pure consciousness/awareness is present and aware of itself.

Of course when this is happening in deep, dreamless sleep, there is no thinking faculty present either and so, no power of reflection is possible. So one can never reflect on how "neat" it is that one is aware and witnessing sleep during deep dreamless sleep.

But when one 'wakes up' from deep sleep, either into the waking state or into the dream state, one is perfectly aware that they were perfectly aware during sleep and can then reflect on this fact. But while actually in the state of deep, dreamless sleep itself, no thinking or reflecting ability is present, because the only perception then is awareness aware of itself alone.

No matter how "enlightened" one may feel or believe themselves to be, if awareness is not fully awake and conscious in all the 3 states of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, then one is mistaken about this sense or feeling of spiritual attainment, no matter how strong...

Francis Bennett