A Conceptual History of the New Age Concept of Enlightenment
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Numen 67 (2020) 373–401 brill.com/nu Getting off the Wheel: A Conceptual History of the New Age Concept of Enlightenment Bas J.H. Jacobs Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands [email protected] Abstract Although many new agers believe that enlightenment is the end goal of spiritual devel- opment, the importance of this concept has largely been overlooked by scholars until now. This article contextualizes the concept of enlightenment historically. After a de- tailed description of what the new age concept of enlightenment entails, it traces the origin of the concept to the late 19th-century “Oriental reaction” to Theosophy, when “missionaries from the East” like Vivekananda and Suzuki drew on transcendentalism, Theosophy, and recent innovations in psychology to articulate a paradigmatic expres- sion of Asian soteriology. It highlights the importance of models of enlightenment in the transmission of Asian ideas and follows the trajectory that starts with Vivekananda and Suzuki to figures and currents like Aldous Huxley, 1960s counterculture, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and neo-advaita. Thereby, it provides an account of the formation of the new age concept of enlightenment. Keywords enlightenment – transcendentalism – Theosophy – Vivekananda – Suzuki – Huxley – Osho What is enlightenment? In January 1992, spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen (b. 1955) published a journal dedicated to clearing up the confusion surround- ing the concept — appropriately titled What is Enlightenment? — and in the first issue he tried to answer that very question. He tells us that © Bas J.H. Jacobs, 2020 | doi:10.1163/15685276-12341588 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NCDownloaded 4.0 License. from Brill.com09/23/2021 06:27:58PM via free access 374 Jacobs Enlightenment is a condition in which there is a conscious knowing that one has come to the end of becoming. To be fully Enlightened means to come to the end of evolution, the end of the possibility of any evolu- tion. Even people who glimpse what Enlightenment is for a brief period have intimation of the kind of finality that I’m speaking about. It is the element of finality that makes that kind of knowing that I am speaking about so extraordinary and so difficult to describe to people who haven’t tasted it … It is Absolute. A. Cohen 1992: 1 What will be apparent to anyone who frequently visits new age settings is how important the concept of enlightenment is to the new age.1 Many new agers believe that enlightenment is the end goal of spiritual progress. They believe that specific individuals have attained enlightenment and that an association with these individuals is desirable, beneficial, and inspiring. Most have a vague notion that practices such as meditation, in addition to the worldly benefits they offer, aim at enlightenment. A small subgroup will actively seek to attain enlightenment, a process for which the association with an enlightened “mas- ter” (who is not only enlightened but also guides others to enlightenment) is essential.2 Many new agers will keep a few pictures of masters they feel a spe- cial connection to in their living spaces, and they will own at least a few books with teachings from enlightened masters procured from a local esoteric book store, a spiritual center, or, nowadays, the internet. Although these enlight- ened masters will often belong to specific lineages and religious traditions, the specifics rarely concern the new ager, who draws inspiration from masters of different traditions. Olav Hammer (2010) has argued that the new age is more uniform than scholars sometimes assume. If so, enlightenment is certainly one of its central ideas — even though Hammer does not mention it. Why, then, has the new age concept of enlightenment received so little attention from scholars? To begin with, a concept that is so ubiquitous as enlightenment is often not seen for how alien and foreign it is. The concept will seem so natural and obvi- ous to anyone who frequents new age circles that it does not require elabora- tion. At the same time, the concept is notoriously opaque, which is why you can find popular literature with the sole purpose of articulating the meaning of the term. This ambiguity presents problems for scholars. Although we may be 1 I am referring to the new age sensu lato (Hanegraaff 1996). 2 A directory of enlightened masters is provided by Rawlinson 1997. NumenDownloaded 67 from (2020 Brill.com09/23/2021) 373–401 06:27:58PM via free access Getting off the Wheel 375 unable to provide a clear definition of enlightenment, we can, however, know something about it. It should be clear, first, that the sort of ultimate soteriological attainment described here is not the enlightenment of the Enlightenment (German: der Aufklärung, French: les Lumières), but the “spiritual” enlightenment referred to in German as Erleuchtung and in French as illumination. Second, note that, although these terms are related to the Christian concept of divine illumina- tion (Latin: illuminatio or illustratio; Greek: Phôtismos), the emphasis on a final and complete state of liberation that can be attained within the confines of earthly existence suggests that we are dealing with a concept mostly foreign to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.3 Therefore, we must distinguish between divine illumination and what we might call the “new age concept of enlighten- ment;” nevertheless, based on fieldwork in the new age community and the reading of popular works, it is possible to identify six characteristics of the lat- ter. It was thought best to state these at the outset to facilitate comprehension, although much of the supporting evidence will be discussed below. (1) Enlightenment is described as a final release — a state rather than an (necessarily finite) experience. It is the be-all and end-all: the goal of spiritual practice and the completion of spiritual growth and progress. It is the end of all striving and a release from reincarnation and cyclic ex- istence. Often, practices that provisionally aim at physical or psychologi- cal healing are seen as part of a path that culminates in enlightenment. Of course, some schools argue that there is no path and that you are al- ready there — the trick is knowing that you are. The latter view is mainly found in the neo-advaita movement (Frisk 2002: 66). (2) Enlightenment is available to all, and is not the exclusive territory of the re- ligious specialist. Techniques that aim at bringing about enlightenment — among which “meditation” always figures prominently — can be learned from courses, seminars, books, audio, and video recordings.4 (3) Enlightenment is described as the end of an evolutionary development. (4) On a psychological level, enlightenment is described as a modification, transformation, or alteration of consciousness.5 The state of enlightenment 3 For a historical introduction to the concept of divine illumination, see Pasnau 2015. 4 On his personal website, www.andrewcohen.com, Cohen offers a twelve-part self-study course in what he calls “evolutionary enlightenment,” consisting of eleven one-hour teaching videos and one live question-and-answer session, which promises the applicant “a thrilling journey of awakening,” at US$ 250. The advertisement was posted on May 16, 2018. 5 See, e.g., Rawlinson who speaks of a “spiritual psychology” underlying interactions between enlightened masters and their followers (1997: xvii, 96). Enlightenment is also an impor- tant, albeit contested, concept in the transpersonal psychology of Ken Wilber (b. 1949); see Numen 67 (2020) 373–401 Downloaded from Brill.com09/23/2021 06:27:58PM via free access 376 Jacobs does not preclude the normal functioning of other human faculties, which, even in a transformed state, remain functional (Ullman and Reichenberg-Ullmann 2001: xv). (5) The experience of getting enlightened is described in narratives that paint a picture of enlightenment and authenticate the enlightened master and his or her experience.6 Here, enlightenment is described as a mystical experience, i.e., as an encounter or merger with a transcen- dent reality.7 This requires some elaboration. By mysticism, I mean, in the non-technical sense, “a specific religious system or practice, de- liberately undertaken in order to come to some realization or insight, to come to unity with the divine, or to experience the ultimate reality directly” (Webb 2017). Mysticism is distinct from what Ernst Troeltsch referred to as “mystical religion” — the idea that all genuine religiosity is mysticism.8 New agers conceive of enlightenment as a mystical experi- ence on the lines of the “common core thesis” in the comparative study of mysticism. The common core thesis holds that mystical experience is a universal phenomenon that is essentially the same for mystics from different traditions, even when it is interpreted differently. This position, also known as “perennialism,” is associated with, among others, William James, Aldous Huxley, and Walter Stace.9 The common core thesis has been challenged by scholars who argue that interpretation is an essential part of any experience, so that mystical experiences from different tradi- tions are dissimilar and distinct.10 Now, as far as the new age concept of enlightenment goes, enlightenment is conceived in the same way pe- Wilber 2006. For a critical perspective on Wilber’s understanding of enlightenment, see Ferrer 2015. 6 For a popular collection of such narratives, sometimes generated by questionable cut- and-paste methods, see Ullman and Reichenberg-Ullmann 2001. The introduction (xv– xx) encapsulates much of new age thinking on enlightenment at the start of the new millennium. 7 As does Ken Wilber who writes that “Enlightenment is the realization of oneness with all states and structures that are in existence at any given time” (2006: 95). 8 For a discussion of Troeltsch’s concept and its relevance to the new age, see Campbell 1977 and 1978.