How long did contemporary enlightened beings live once the personality had completely disappeared?
This is a crucial question, as it touches the very nature of realization: is it a temporary or a permanent state? The answer is both simple and complex.
The personality, as an identified structure, never disappears “completely” in a functional sense. What disappears is the identification with it. The enlightened being no longer mistakes themselves for their personality, but the personality remains as a tool, a vehicle, a set of residual habits.
That said, to answer your question about lifespan after this fundamental shift, here is what can be observed in the most recognized contemporary enlightened beings:
- Those who lived long lives after realization (The “Stabilization” Model) They lived for decades in a stabilized state of awakening, demonstrating it is not a fleeting flash, but a new, permanent mode of being.
Ramana Maharshi: Had his awakening experience at age 16 (1896). He died at 70 (1950). He thus lived 54 years in that state. Nisargadatta Maharaj: Met his guru at 34 and underwent a radical transformation shortly after. He died at 84 (1981). He lived about 50 years in realization. Sri Aurobindo: Had major spiritual experiences starting during his imprisonment (1908-1909), followed by a complete descent of the “supermind” in the 1920s. He died at 78 (1950). That's 40+ years in advanced states of realization. Anandamayi Ma: Considered enlightened since childhood, she lived until 86 (1982).
Here we observe that realization does not necessarily shorten life. It can even coexist with normal, or even exceptional, longevity. The body follows its karmic/biological course, but is inhabited by an impersonal presence.
- Those whose health deteriorated rapidly (The “Depleted Vehicle” Model) For some, the intensity of the transformation seems to have exhausted the physical body, as if the vehicle was not designed for the energy load.
U.G. Krishnamurti: Underwent a physical and psychic “calamity” at 49 (1967) that dissolved his personality. He died at 88 (2007), but lived the last 40 years in a strange, “non-mental” state, often ill, describing a bodily functioning completely disconnected from ordinary human experience. Tony Parsons (contemporary): Had an experience of dissolution at fifty eight. He is now over 80 and still alive, though in fragile health. Several cases in modern non-dual circles show individuals whose health declines significantly after a sudden awakening, as if the nervous system suffered a shock from which it never fully recovers.
- The Paradox: The “Functional Personality” Persists This is the most important point. Watch videos of Nisargadatta or Ramana, or listen to contemporaries like Eckhart Tolle or Mooji. They still have a recognizable personality: A particular humor (sharp in Nisargadatta, gentle in Ramana). Ways of speaking, verbal quirks. Simple food preferences. A body with its weaknesses and illnesses.
What has disappeared is the feeling that “I am this entity.” The personality is no longer a project to defend or embellish. It has become a worn, transparent instrument through which consciousness operates without attachment. They may appear “normal,” but their center of gravity is no longer there.
In Conclusion: Time No Longer Has a Hold
To answer your question directly: The “personality,” in the sense of identification, disappears in an instant (the awakening). This disappearance is irreversible. The body-personality as a tool continues until biological death. This duration is highly variable: from a few years to several decades, depending on the body's constitution and residual karma. The enlightened being no longer lives in psychological time. There is no more project of becoming, no more accumulation for a future “me.” They live in a perpetual present. The question “how long did they live?” therefore has no meaning for them. It only has meaning for the external observer.
Thus, enlightened beings demonstrate that realization is compatible with a long human life, but that it creates a total decoupling between timeless consciousness and the temporal vehicle, which itself continues to age and die according to the laws of nature. The death of the body is then only a minor event, the discarding of a tool whose user was never a prisoner.