Awakening is defined within the International Nath Order as an experiential awareness of the union of Macrocosm and Microcosm. It also names the process of attainment to, and experience of, hitherto unknown mind dimensions and levels of that awareness.
It is the first of the INO’s three stated aims: spiritual development toward Awakening, development of occult attainment (Siddhi), and a more enlightened social order. Shri Gurudev Mahendranath wrote that the experience seldom comes in one stroke. The first opening can feel final; later it repeats on a higher level. Even the first change is dynamic. The person is not the same. Related words such as Enlightenment and Self Realization have been set aside in the INO, because other writers load them with too many contrasting uses. Awakening is not a grade, not initiation, and not another name for Avadhut. It is what sadhana is for. A neighboring Sanskrit name is atma jnana, knowledge of the Self. This page remains the INO term.