Then you may want to remove your doubts about Ramana Maharshi http://www.geocities.com/advaitavedant/whoami.htm
I didn't doubt he is a smart guy (I have read some of teachings through google searches since)- I said I doubt he is the "sharpest of them all," which entails he is the most articulate, intelligent, enlightened person to ever live.
Well, I just wanted to provide you a text if you were interested in reading him. Yes, he is a hindu guy, but then again this is a hinduism forum.
There is a difference between being an intellectual and being an enlightened master. In an enlightened master, the mind has attained complete cessation or no-mind permanently. There is infinite peace, joy and bliss, which is not dependent on any external aids like drugs or pleasures or anything, and this state is permanent. This is not there in the unenlightened ones.
We are not on the same page then, because this is what 'enlighened' means to you. To the dictionary, englightened means "in the light" or "free from illusion." One can be partly enlightened with this definition. Whatever, doesn't matter at this point.
The government probably would ban Hinduism and Buddhism if they could made up an excuse for doing it. Even so, they do a good job promoting Christiantiy to the point where 80% of the population is Christian. Think about all of the american propoganda that uses the word "god" in a christian sensse "God bless america" "I pledge of allegiance to the flag... one natiion, under GOD..." There has NEVER been a president that was not Christian (im almost positive of this) Our current president is a born-again christian; one of the more extreme sects And Im not sure entirely what you mean by "loss of control of senses", but LSD and other psychedelics do not make you lose control of yourself. You may lose your ego, but if anything psychedelics make you more aware of your senses; they certainly do not make you lose control of them
Choose for yourself. I'm really bored with this constsnt discussion about psychedelics. Who takes it takes it - those who don't will simply never know anything about it. If weak minded persons can't handle it they'll crack up - probably they would anyway.
If there's no mind, how can they a) think b) communicate. Also, whilst enjoying their 'permamant bliss' don't they ever get even a bit miffed by the state of the world around them with all it's wars, human rights abuses etc?
I was very fortunate to spend time with a young enlightened master of modern India , Devamrutha, whose physical beauty and stature and youth and rivals the Buddhas , and who is a buddha himself. Devamrutha told me that asking a question to him is like beating a drum, the answer comes back,without any thought on his side. The answers just comes spontaneously,brilliant pieces of wisdom as well. The enlightened masters too do their work to help others, only difference is that they are in a state of perfection while working , and whatever they touches becomes gold, and become massive movements. Krishna, Buddha , Jesus, Lao Tsu, all have influenced the world in a stupendous way, much more than any one else have influenced. Also enlightened masters, can help the world with their very presence, as they emit sattvic vibrations of peace all over. In the presence of Devamrutha, when I first met him and was debating with him, I could suddenly feel my heart opening up, and feeling heavy, and my mind feeling peaceful and tranquil. All these happened spontaneously, and this was what made me feel that the man before me was not any one like I have met before. And my later experiences with him strengthened that conviction.
I disagree. Although internet has increased communication and spread of information, there are many people who have no idea sometimes and think they do have some idea. They choose, but they choose wrong and it may have terrible consequences for those around them. It is the government's job to protect individuals against such conditions if they could be prevented. Therefore, the government is right to ban psychedelics, and those who experiment with them performatively deny government's protection.