Life of sage

Q: What should be the life-style of an "enlightened" person in todays world?

A: In reality, nothing changes when 'someone' becomes enlightened - before there was the non-dual brahman, after there is the non-dual brahman. From the standpoint of the relative world, what has happened is that self-knowledge has arisen in the mind of the now-enlightened person so that he or she now knows that everything is brahman. From the standpoint of another person, it will outwardly appear that nothing has happened, except that the enlightened person's behavior is likely to change. I say 'likely' because the extent to which this happens is somewhat dependent upon the mental preparation that this person underwent prior to the enlightenment. Such things as mental eqanimity are likely to increase post-enlightenment. The person's behavior to others is likely to be different - more sympathetic, loving etc. - because it is now known that these 'others' are in fact one's own Self. Desires etc. are likely still to arise but whether these are satsified or not will no longer be important. And so on... The person's working, social life etc. may well continue as before, since there is no reason to try to change anything when all is known to be perfect (and changeless) in reality but then again, it may not. E.g. perhaps the person had a natural inclination to teach, which had been supressed and, since there are now no ambitions etc., he may give up his materialistic lifestyle and devote it to others. Who knows?

http://www.advaita.org.uk/discourses/q_and_a/q_and_a8.htm

Vice virtue

Sri Ramakrishna: Did you have any conversation with Bhaskarananda?

Manilal: Yes sir, we talked for a long time. Among other things we discussed vice and virtue. He said: Don't tread the path of sin. Don't even think of evil. This is what the Lord requires of you. Perform only actions which bring you merit.

Sri Ramakrishna: Yes, that is true as far as worldly people are concerned. But it is different for those who are illumined, who have realized that the Lord is the only reality and all else is unreal and ephemeral. They know that the Lord alone does everything and that we are all non-doers. They who are illumined never take a wrong step, they don't have to calculate before eschewing sin. They have so much love for the Lord that all their actions are exemplary. But they know that they are not the doers of their actions, they know that they are only the servants of the Lord - that they are only the machines while the Lord is the operator of the machine. They know that what they are doing is by His will, that what they speak is what He makes them speak, that they move the way He makes them move.

~ Source: 'Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita' (Volume II, Section III, Chapter I) ☞ http://www.kathamrita.org/KathamritaMain.htm

Desire

Papaji Says:  "There is a never-ending cycle of birth and death. What is birth and what is death? They are desire. This never-ending cycle is fueled by desire, the desire to enjoy sense objects in a body. When desire ceases, this cycle also ceases. This apparently endless cycle of birth and death ends with the cessation of desire. It is not only birth and death that end. When desire ceases, the universe itself ceases. It is as if it never existed. That's how it is."
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.papajidaily