What does Enlightenment mean to you ....??

Question

Atheists friends are also requested to give their view-point.

Thanks

Answer 1

Consciousness of all that is in oneness. Absence of attachment. Freedom. Knowing. The gap all the time.

Answer 2

Well after you figure out that the bible is the worship of the SUN of God not the son... and that the entire thing is mainly based on basic astronomy, and simple astrology, then you become enLIGHTened, or as the conspiracy theorists like to say ILLUMINATED....

Some of the illuminated ones actually control the religious ones, many of the church leaders themselves are illuminated enlightened people, but they keep their sheeple in the dark. The Dark ages, and the middle ages were when the Catholic Church was able to keep this basic knowledge about the phoney bible very secret, nobody was enLIGHTened.

Answer 3

It means fully realizing that a personality was formed, while growing into adulthood, by parents, peer group, culture in general. This personality includes belief systems, preferences, etc. We are heavily conditioned from birth. We have 'recorded', on some level, all that has happened to us, etc.

This formed 'entity/personality' has a huge force in our lives and eventually 'lives' the life 'it' has inhabited. The original or 'natural one' dies back into nothing-ness. There still exists a subtle awareness that knows something has gone 'amiss'.

As this awareness becomes stronger, not buying into the conditioned, reactive, personality, one is 'enlightened'. The awareness 'sees' the personality and all of its antics, but no longer feeds the karmic story-line. Freedom surfaces as the tyrant personality no longer leads the life.

Life does go on, as usual, but there is more joy/freedom.A release from the karmic 'prison'.

Answer 4

For me enlightenment is attitude of Gratitude...If you are greatful for everything I mean whatever life is offering ...accept with folded hand as if it is the blessing of Devine..THen you feel that you are in heaven...

And more over enlightenment is to feel as a normal person nothing special about us...Because we think if we become enlightened we will become some super human being thats why every spritual person is running after enlightenment..

It is my personal ecperience that since when I have started living in the attitude of gratitide..my life has started changing...and I have stopped running after my desires...

Answer 5

enlightenment means so many things to so many people, that it'd be hard to put your finger on it's "actual" meaning ... without introducing my own believes, I'll simply state this:

Enlightened could be simply defined (via dictionary.com) as being "wise through knowledge". While this term doesn't have to reflect any type of religious or spiritual belief, it usually does.

Using that as a guideline of the definition, one could make the "enlightened" assumption that "enlightenment" would be the gaining of new knowledge.

Answer 6

Enlightenment is the removal of conditioning, so attatchments become mere prferences, and the full nature of things and self are seen clearly.

Answer 7

As a Buddhist, and essentially atheist, enlightenment is as empty of inherent existence just like everything else you can imagine.

_()_

Answer 8

To realize that Consciousness is separate from Matter (Vivekhyati). Then Self abides in Self, which is known as Kaivalya!

Answer 9

to me enlightenment is when we are shown the path to the truth

when we are awared a little of what is right and wrong and what is the purpose of our life

Answer 10

Accepting and using rationality as the most useful tool for discovering and analyzing truth

EDIT - through rationality, you see religion for what it is, and you see the world and its bustle for the illusion that it is.