> On Jun 2, 2006, at 9:04 AM, TurquoiseB wrote:
>
> > I think the secret of why "sages" would propose a
> > "definition" even while admitting that one cannot
> > be given is pretty simple: they wish to be considered
> > the "experts," the "authority" in such matters.
> >
> > Throughout history, the enlightened have tended to
> > give non-definitions such as the one you quote above,
> > stating the impossibility of the task. In my exper-
> > ience, whether they *then* go on to violate that state-
> > ment and propose a definition has a lot to do with
> > their position in the society of the time, and whether
> > they have a position and an income to protect. If they
> > do, well duh...it is in their interest to 1) set them-
> > selves up as the arbiters of "what is enlightened and
> > what is not" (only a Jivanmukta can recognize a Jivan-
> > mukta") and 2) come up with "definitions" that
> > define *themselves* as individual who, *by definition*
> > are "perfect," free from "weaknesseses and
> > limitations," "omniscient," etc.
> >
> > In other words, I think it's wise to look into what
> > the author of any definition of enlightenment was
> > selling before considering it definitive.
>
>
> Sivananda's descriptions are basically textual and
> traditional. I did not see anything particularly
> original other than that it was him giving it in
> his own wording.
I didn't suggest there was. Nor do I suggest that
Sivananda was motivated by anything other than a
legitimate desire to help people. All I was
suggesting is that one thing that should be kept
in mind when asessing "definitions" of enlight-
enment is the tradition they spring from, and
whether the "definition" tends to preserve and
protect the vested interests of that tradition.
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