how many people are truly awake in this "world"?

Answer 1

Gurdjieff thought there were very few.

Answer 2

Depends on which world you are talking about and whether by 'awake' you mean 'fully informed'. The world of finance, business, science, health, technology, politics, economics?

No-one has got hold of the complete picture. Not even Professor Hawking could claim he is truly awake, even though he has a very impressive script.

Knowledge is deceptive. Do people think that the more they accumulate, the greater their ability to organise what they have accumulated into a package or container called 'this is the truth', the greater they can lay claim to being 'truly awake'?

What is knowledge that disappears when you die? It's just a puff of smoke. Here one day and gone the next. Books gather dust, memories fade, and the truly awake is truly no more.

I feel sorry for people who put their trust in knowledge, believing it is a substance that gives meaning to life and who go galloping around the planet charging people to hear their monologue. More the pity for those who pay?

Truth is free. Jesus Christ will tell you all you need to know that will be good for this life and the next.

Answer 3

There are very few initiates in this world...there are even fewer masters.

There was a 15 yr. study done by David Hawkins Ph.D. who calculated there are only 12 people today living within Christ conciousness. (Truly self-aware at the most basic level of existence.)That's three times as advanced as history's greatest thinkers, ie. Albert Einstein. The good news is that the number of people who have achieved enlightenment- a bare minimum requirement- has jumped four-fold in the last decade. Now numbering in the few hundreds.

Above all: countless mystics, sages and/or saints have mentioned that everyone is already enlightened. But most do not wish to remember.

On a more practical level...I seriously believe that if you fall below a certain level (say an IQ of 125) then you are just as 'unaware' as everyone else. Only 8% of popluation is above this level, I'm lucky :-)

Answer 4

It really depends on what you consider to be "truly awake."

For me, being truly awake and truly alive is to be an atheist. With that definition, I figure only about 10-15% of the world is that.

Answer 5

I woke up fully to atheism at the beginning of the year. I see now that we live in a pretty scary world. It would be beautiful if it just wasn't for the people in it. They are either delusional, corrupt or both. And those of us who are none of those things tend to get swept along with the tide. I really care about people, but it's very hard to watch them harm themselves and one another. It makes you feel like emotionally shutting them out. I can see why so many people are delusional now. It's truly the easy way out.

Answer 6

Not many if compared to the number of human beings that are not awake.
I think it has to do with how buried in the physical world (material worries and concerns) humanity as a whole is.
It is very hard to connect with one's spirit and from there move beyond the mundane, but once yu do it is worth it :)

Answer 7

In the sense of connecting at the most aware level with nature then there are only 8 people existing in the world at present who are capable of this undertaking

Answer 8

To be truly awake, you would need to be aware of all levels of existence simultaneously. Makes it kinda hard to do things like catch buses and grocery shopping.

We need to shield ourselves to some extent just to get through the mundane tasks.

Answer 9

Why did you quote world and not awake? Anyway, I'd say very few (unless you're talking about insomniacs in which case, a large number).

Answer 10

You might as well ask, "How many of you are right about almost everything?"

If you are not "awake", you will falsely believe you are. Just as anyone who is awake, will not.

Look for those who say they are, and you will know they are not.

Answer 11

I'll go with Shihan's 144,000. It sounds about right.

However, I aim to increase that number exponentially, starting with myself. I truly believe I have the capability to awaken myself, and then guide others to do the same. I have already made this promise to myself, and I will never give up on that.