#Enlightenment

Deism is the doctrine of a god who, like a distant watchmaker, created the world only to abandon it to its own devices. It stands as the Enlightenment’s boastful offspring, straddling faith and disbelief in a hybrid of convenience theology. Prayer to this absentee deity reaches only a capricious mechanism, while moral guidance becomes a disposable tool manufactured by human reason. Deists pat the divine wrist in white gloves, only to confront the mirrored truth that they have, after all, relied solely on their own rational contraptions.

Enlightenment is the act of lamenting one’s ignorance only to wander deeper into the maze of self-doubt. The reward for seekers of truth is nothing but an endless proliferation of questions and the glazed-over looks of onlookers. The moment you believe you have attained peace, you are inevitably swept away by a new wave of obsessions. It also comes packaged with preachy aphorisms and smug self-satisfaction.

Illumination is the grand festival celebrating the instant someone deems their ignorance eradicated, while secretly mocking everyone still in the dark. It belongs to the ancient ritual of shedding light, yet more often that light just spotlights one’s vanity. Scholars call it noble discovery, though it frequently marks the entrance to another labyrinth. Those who proclaim their illumination eagerly peddle cheap conclusions as universal truths.

Perceptual enlightenment is a self-indulgent mental phenomenon that convinces one the ordinary senses have been imbued with divine power. In that brief moment, the world appears full of profound revelations, only to vanish from memory seconds later. It promises a path to ultimate truth while actually leading the participant into a maze of their own making. Practitioners pretend to peer into their inner selves while merely echoing the latest fads in pop spirituality. In short, it’s a technology that converts ignorance into a celebrated virtue.

Spiritual awakening is the glitch in one’s soul where the mind assumes it’s unlocked a higher perspective. Commonly observed during overpriced retreats and fasting camps, participants proclaim life-altering revelations on social media, though in reality it’s just a positivity badge. Believing they’ve attained enlightenment, they lecture others with the zeal of a hamster on a self-reflection wheel. Eventually, they quietly revert to everyday chaos as if nothing happened, masterful in the art of selective forgetfulness.

Ultimate Samadhi is the mythical final level of meditation apps, unattained by anyone and measurable only by the count of social media likes. It promises total banishment of distractions, yet practitioners are routinely crushed by smartphone notifications. Supposedly the pinnacle of inner peace, its true trial lies in enduring relentless pop-up ads. It is a labyrinthine, self-referential philosophy where every seeker is destined to return to the starting line.