A wise man said......

[kmguru]

"The path to enlightenment is lonely and seldom trod."

Could it be because it is statistically improbale to have one enlighten person to run into another at the same time and place (path)?

For example, an IQ of say 180 would be found in 1 in 10,000,000 people. Then if you are one of them, do you think you will have several of them living next door? Highly unlikely....

It is a statistical statement...which is correct.

 

[Datura]

"The path to enlightenment is lonely and seldom trod."

Does this mean that if we find many people in agreement with us (or us with them) and much comradeship, it is a sign we are on the wrong path?

What it means to me is that taking up such an endeavor (enlightenment) requires solitude and inner reflection. It's a difficult job at times unless the individual knows how to not take on the outside world as an identity, what society says as truthful, and what is deemed as acceptable.

So of course, few people are willing to do such things, and don't think that way, either. In essence, perhaps the majority agreeing with you could very well indicate you are not on the 'correct' path yet.

 

[VossistArts]

What it means to me is that taking up such an endeavor (enlightenment) requires solitude and inner reflection. It's a difficult job at times unless the individual knows how to not take on the outside world as an identity, what society says as truthful, and what is deemed as acceptable.

So of course, few people are willing to do such things, and don't think that way, either. In essence, perhaps the majority agreeing with you could very well indicate you are not on the 'correct' path yet.

I bet your insight into the saying is close or right on to what the sayer was trying to say

 

[RoyLennigan]

i would posit that enlightenment reveals that we are all one, and to realize that, you are truly alone, even with others who are enlightened. i do not mean this in a mystical way. i mean that we are all made up of the same matter and energy that makes up the universe and so we will all return to the same state, just as we have all come from the same state.

our minds are all the same, but are limited in different ways to create different personalities. every person has a soul, but that soul belongs to everyone; beyond death we become one with everyone and everything.

 

[Quantum Quack]

i would posit that enlightenment reveals that we are all one, and to realize that, you are truly alone, even with others who are enlightened. i do not mean this in a mystical way. i mean that we are all made up of the same matter and energy that makes up the universe and so we will all return to the same state, just as we have all come from the same state.

our minds are all the same, but are limited in different ways to create different personalities. every person has a soul, but that soul belongs to everyone; beyond death we become one with everyone and everything.

It is an interesting notion that we are only different if anything only because of our limitations or percieved limitations rather than the other way round.
Normally one would consider our diferences being based on how we excel in our various specialities. To say that we are different because of our limitations is an interesting slant.

 

[RoyLennigan]

It is an interesting notion that we are only different if anything only because of our limitations or percieved limitations rather than the other way round.
Normally one would consider our diferences being based on how we excel in our various specialities. To say that we are different because of our limitations is an interesting slant.

i think difference based on limitation could be the only way to explain how enlightenment could be attained. the only way to reach enlightenment would be to discover each limitation, and in doing so, experience a new epiphany explaining how the mind works.

i come to this conclusion because i have had several personal epiphanies by which, afterwards, i felt a sense of increased clarity and i could restrain my emotions better to prevent impulsive behavior, therefore enabling me to retain a mood in which i am better able to learn. these epiphanies were directly related to how thought works. i think everyone has experiences like these, even if they do not remember them. but to reach enlightenment, one would need to make a lifelong career out of learning in this way.

 

[Avatar]

"The path to enlightenment is lonely and seldom trod."

Does this mean that if we find many people in agreement with us (or us with them) and much comradeship, it is a sign we are on the wrong path?

Another wise man has said

Willed introversion, in fact, is one of the classic implements of creative genius and can be employed as a deliberate device. It drives the psychic energies into depth and activates the lost continent of unconscious infantile and archetypal images. The result, of course; may be a disintegration of consciousness more or less complete (neurosis, psychosis: the plight of the spellbound Daphne); but on the other hand, if the personality is able to absorb and integrate the new forces, there will be experienced an almost super-human degree of self-consciousness and masterful control.
This is a basic principle of the Indian disciplines of yoga. It has been the way, also, of many creative spirits of the West. It can not be described, quite, as an answer to any specific call. Rather, it is a deliberate, terrific refusal to respond to anything but the deepest, highest, richest answer to the as yet unknown demand of some waiting void within: a kind of total strike, or rejection of the offered terms of life, as result of which some power of transformation carries the problem to a plane of new magnitudes where it is suddenly and finally resolved.

(Joseph Campbell "The hero with a thousand faces" Chapter I: Departure, 2. Refusal of the Call)

 

[nameless]

"The path to enlightenment is lonely and seldom trod."

Does this mean that if we find many people in agreement with us (or us with them) and much comradeship, it is a sign we are on the wrong path?

YES! As you reach some 'depth' on your 'path'.
Any 'path' will lead a sincere 'seeker' to his 'desire'. If one is on a populous path for awhile, his inner sincerity will lead him onto a more 'fruitful' path when 'ready'. One might 'need' the fruits of a few moments on a 'dead end path' before exiting at an onramp to the 'next'. Trust your inner 'guide' if you are truly sincere in your 'search. Dues will be paid. Truth is not comfortable, pretty, easy to endure, popular, etc...
What are you willing to 'sacrifice'?
How sincere are you?
(rhetorical)

Any 'path' beneath the feet of a sincere, dedicated 'seeker' will be the correct' path(s).
*__-

 

[Bowser]

I have read that <i>"The Path"</i> is a cosmic joke, and that the truth is there with you now.

Does this mean that if we find many people in agreement with us (or us with them) and much comradeship, it is a sign we are on the wrong path?

If you are still searching, does anything else matter?

 

[nameless]

The 'path' is simply finding 'access' to 'Self'.
The 'joke' is having forgotten it in the first place.

And, Avatar, thank you for that beautiful quote from Joseph Campbell! Which reminds me of, "To live well one is fain, to live half Mad, half sane!" Unfortunately, I forgot the author's name..

 

[jn7]

Both Harvard, Einstein and hundreds of deep thinkers have stated that we are totally unaware of over 75 percent of our mind. Hidden from us and beyond thought the path to it is simple in that anyone can reverse mind or meditate. the path Required is SILENT_STILLNESS. The obsticle is that the ordinary mind will put up a battle. Be still and KNOW...Paul.

 

[jn7]

Because this is such an important topic I would like to recommend 2 books. The first book was recommended by the late Christopher Reeves in answer to the question. If you could take only one b ook to a desert island what would it be? He said, The Secret Path by Dr Paul Brunton. My recommendation would be In Days of Great Peace by Mouni Sadhu. For those very serious about obtaining the Ultimate Prize these books will not disapoint you. Purchased at Alibi book, used fine condition.

 

[kmguru]

Both Harvard, Einstein and hundreds of deep thinkers have stated that we are totally unaware of over 75 percent of our mind.

That is because they manage the autonomic system of our being...One is called the Limbic System.There is a very good reason, why we are not aware of it.

 

[nameless]

Be still and KNOW...Paul.

I must have done it all wrong!
First, I 'Knew', then became 'still' (thoughtless), and Now, I 'Know' nothing!!
Maybe I should have left a thought or two rattling around?
*__-

 

[genep]

"The path to enlightenment is lonely and seldom trod."

Does this mean that if we find many people in agreement with us (or us with them) and much comradeship, it is a sign we are on the wrong path?

There are spiritual (our, "primitive") cultures, like the Maoris, that never had a word for being or getting lost. It might be difficult to believe but this included the high seas -- the Pacific Ocean.
Not even god himself could have convinced James Cook that these “barbarians” could not get lost, not even on the Pacific Ocean even though they had no navigation instruments.
It would take researchers another 300+ years to realize that in fact these people really could not get lost, not even on the Pacific Ocean.
For these spiritual peoples it was impossible to get lost, because to them it was obvious that no matter where you go you are always there. And since you cannot get lost you cannot find yourself.

So to find the “right” path is an exercise in futility because there is no path to lose oneself, nor is there a path to find oneself.
We are all born as spiritual beings that cannot get lost but then this spirituality is beaten out of us by family, religions, and society so we can piss our life away trying to find ourselves when it is impossible to get lost.

 

[Qorl]

Loneliness gives you to many thoughts, that's why you become enlightened.

 

[kmguru]

Or a psycho...

 

[Bowser]

Loneliness gives you to many thoughts, that's why you become enlightened.

Don't chase after your thoughts. Sit back and experience. BTW: The Path is life.

 

[seekeroftheway]

You may have agreement and comradeship with many people, all of whom follow a lonely path, since such fellowship is mostly not the path, just a rest stop. The exception being the enlightening exchanges that provide a short cut, such as suggesting that there is no path. Perhaps some people are attracted to a point of view just for the feeling of identification with others, and the actual path never gets trodden.

Exactly. If the peace or path one seeks to tread is within oneself, then comradeship from without is not a sign that you are not on your path. They are as two different dimensions, they coincide without affection one another directly.

 

[Zephyr]

Don't chase after your thoughts. Sit back and experience. BTW: The Path is life.

Isn't the idea of isolation to flee life and seek the Path in pristine loneliness?