As long as someone within asks, 'Am I liberated?' chances are, you are not. You must be free from the questioner, the bugger clamouring for liberation. 'Am I liberated?' is like 'Am I not?' If you don't exist, who is left to claim liberation?
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Questioner: Acharya Ji, if someone is behaving in a certain way, like he always remains peaceful, meditative, joyful and never shows anger etc. By observing these patterns, can we tell whether the person is enlightened or not?
Acharya Prashant: Totally depends; ultimately that person has to answer this.
You can pay an actor sufficient money to enact all these roles. Is he liberated? And he’ll perform these roles to perfection. He’ll display tremendous resilience, angerlessness, patience, diligence, virtue. In fact, he will be more peaceful than peace itself. He will be more meditative than a Buddha.
Only the fellow can tell whether he is liberated. As long as there is somebody asking this question within, “Am I liberated?” Chances are, you are not. You have to be liberated from this question; the questioner itself, the bugger who keeps clamouring for liberation.
The question “Am I liberated?” is similar to the question “Am I not?” Had you not been there, who would ask this question? “I am liberated” is the same as saying “I am not;” I don’t exist. If you don’t exist, who is claiming liberation?
