Does Someone Who Is Enlightened Think?

In the meditative aspects of Kabbalah we sometimes hear, that the worlds of Adam Kadmon and Atzilut would be beyond the mind to grasp. Those worlds could be only perceived if they encloth themselves into Binah-Consciousness. All thinking processes start at the level of Binah. Binah is like the palace of reflection. Chochmah can only be discerned, when it 'impregnates' Binah, which is also often referred to as a womb. When something enters the mind, which is also referred to as the 'Kli (vessel)' in Kabbalah, it means it has enclothed itself into Binah. Only at Binah discernment and differentiation starts. Visions can become only visible through the fire of Binah, that's why the left column of the tree of life corresponds to fire. Chochmah corresponds to water. Chochmah is like a gigantic sea of consciousness which contains everything in itself, but it can only become visible for the mind's eye through the illumination of the above-mentioned Binah-Consciousness.

To attain not thinking is a very important task in all meditative approaches of every spiritual tradition, but does it mean that someone who has achieved enlightenment would never think at all? Not really, rather we could say, that someone who has achieved unity with everything thinks, but his thoughts are incomparable sharper and more focused than the thoughts of a normal person, and they often manifest themselves speedily in the physical world.

Someone who has attained the highest world is aware of the non-dual causal plane of existence, from where everything is originating from. This plane we call 'Ein Sof (without end)' in Kabbalah. From there arises a desire or a 'thought impulse' to impart joy and pleasure. This state we call 'Adam Kadmon' or 'Keter'. But here no one exists yet, who can receive the bounty, so it creates a vessel, that can receive this pleasure, this is called 'Chochmah' in Kabbalah, which corresponds with the world of 'Atzilut'. But the created being there exists yet more in potential than in actual, that's why it's often only referred to as a point, which is at the same time infinitely small and infinitely big, beyond any graspable form. We can say, that here consciousness from the side of the created beings originate, but it's yet more potential than actual. Only in the worlds below Atzilut, in Briyah, Yetzirah and Assiyah the souls begin to become 'actual' and aware of themselves.

Someone who has found unity with God lives on all planes at the same time. He lives in the realm of the unmanifest, but begins to manifest his desires through his thought processes, that are completely connected to the source. And so he takes the energy that is emanating from Atzilut and begins to create (Briyah), to form (Yetzirah), and finally manifests it through action in Assiyah. This can be compared to someone having an idea of something, for example a house. The origin of the thought lies in Atzilut, then I articulate the idea for building the house, which corresponds to Briyah. Then I formulate all the different aspects of the house in my mind, this corresponds to Yetzirah. And finally I bring it into action through actually building the house in the world of Assiyah. When it has reached completion it means that it has attained the Malchut of Assiyah which corresponds to our world.