Can enlightenment come at any time?

Swami Satyananda Saraswati’s answer.

“Enlightenment can come at any time. It may at first seem like a flash from time to time, until it finally stabilizes itself. It is not predestined. It is not one’s will. It is not an outcome of one’s sadhana, which means purity, tapasya or vairagya. It comes unannounced, it can come to a person on the street and bypass a saint who has been meditating for a long time.

I had always thought that enlightenment was only possible through absolute one-pointedness. However, I have come to the conclusion that enlightenment is the will of something else. If there is a will, it will come to you. Inner enlightenment can come and does come at any point. It has nothing to do with the vagabond thought process. Even while you are thinking banal thoughts, it can come. Enlightenment has nothing to do with cessation of the thought process. Even if you stop your thoughts, you cannot attain enlightenment, which is not there.”

Aim Hrim Klim