As Buddha sat cross-legged under the now famous Bodhi tree in Gaya, he resolved, "Though only my skin, sinews, and bones remain, and my blood and flesh dry up and wither away, yet will I never stir from this seat until I have attained full enlightenment." This resoluteness and devotion towards his goal finally brought about the much sought-after enlightenment for Buddha.

Applying himself to the "mindfulness of in-and-out breathing", the Buddha entered u the first stage of meditative absorption. Gradually he entered the second, third, and fourth stages, cleansing his mind of impurities in the process. He soon directed his composed mind to dwell on his past births. This was the first part of knowledge gained by him in the first night of meditation. He then directed his mind to the knowledge of the disappearing and reappearing of beings of varied forms, in good states of experience, and in states of woe, each faring according to his deeds. This summed up the second part of knowledge attained by him in the middle watch of the night. Next he started concentrating on how to cleanse the mind of impurities.

He soon gained insight into the true nature of suffering, its origin and the path that would lead to its cessation. In other words, Buddha started understanding everything that existed around him in its totality. In the process, he liberated his mind from the defilements of sensual pleasures, of becoming and of ignorance. With his mind thus liberated, he understood: "Destroyed is birth, the noble life has been lived, done is what was to be done, there is no more of this to come" (there is no more continuity of the mind and body, no more becoming, rebirth). This was the third knowledge attained by him in the last watch of the night. This is known as the threefold knowledge attained by Buddha.

At the age of thirty-five, on another full moon night in May, Buddha attained Supreme Enlightenment by understanding the Four Noble Truths. Buddha preached these Four Noble Truths to guide the suffering humanity, to help them liberate themselves from all bondages and attain absolute happiness in Nirvana. However, it must be borne in mind that Buddha did not create these four noble truths, he only re-discovered their existence.

Buddha was a human being without any connection to a God or any supernatural power. He was a unique being whose sole aim in life was to lead his followers to the ultimate truth and free everyone from suffering. In fact, he always asked his followers not to accept his words as the ultimate truth but test for themselves how relevant his teachings were.

The Buddha never claimed to be a savior who saved "souls" by means of a revealed religion. He simply believed that man has infinite potentialities that need to be realized and nurtured. He proved by his own experience that deliverance and enlightenment lie fully within man's range of effort.

According to Buddha, each individual should make a conscious effort to break the shackles that bind him/her and achieve true liberation in the process. It was the Buddha who for the first time in the world's history taught that deliverance could be attained independently of an external agency, through man's own actions. No one could grant deliverance to the other.

No one can grant deliverance to someone who merely begs for it. One may lend a helping hand through guidance and instruction, but the highest freedom is attained only through self-realization and self-awakening. Buddha always spoke against shifting the burden to an external agency and urged his followers to develop their inner forces and qualities first. That, he said, would lead them to the ultimate goal of Nirvana.