Enlightenment is a term that carries veils of meaning, history and desire. It gives one the picture of sages sitting under trees, of scholars doubting the antiquity of dogmas, of scientific revolutions, and of men endeavoring to become acquainted with their own natures. The concept of enlightenment has been a mirror and a guide at the same time: it has reflected the most important concerns of humanity that have led it to be clearer. However, it is infamously hard to define enlightenment. It simultaneously is a process, a philosophy, a metaphor and an experience. It is the ultimate of the investigation and the origin of wisdom. It is the disillusionment, the discovery of the truth. It is an inward enlightenment and externality.

To enlighten is to study human nature itself. This essay presents enlightenment in various ways: its foundations in Eastern spirituality, flowering in the history of Western intellectual culture, its psychology, its scientific background today and its relevance to individual experience. Both views are a dimension to a word that has defined whole civilizations and is still inspiring those on the way of making a higher comprehension.

1. Enlightenment as Spiritual Arousal.

1.1. Grassroots in the Eastern Traditions.

Enlightenment is a term most famously used in most Eastern traditions, most notably in Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and certain branches of Jainism, and denotes a mystical state of personal recognition that changes the perception of reality. It has been commonly defined as a transition between ignorance and understanding, illusion and truth, agony and freedom.

The nirvana, in Buddhism, means the degrading of the process of rebirth and ending of suffering. The historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, is also reported to have achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree after many years of meditation, philosophic thought, and personal struggle. The insight that he came to is that suffering was the result of attachment and ignorance and the way out was to comprehend what the true self is. This enlightenment is not a power accomplishment but the loss of the illusion of selfhood which brings out the comprehension of the interrelation of all being.

Enlightenment in Hinduism can be understood to mean the awareness that one is Brahman who is the ultimate reality. The Upanishads explain enlightenment as the moksha, liberation of the cycle of birth caused by the realization that the individual soul (ātman) is not distinct out of the universal consciousness. This intuition is captured in the popular line Tat Tvam Asi that translates into You are that, this wisdom identifies the spirituality of the cosmos between the seeker and the essence of God.

In contrast, Taoism believes that enlightenment is compliance with the natural course of the universe, Tao. Instead of transcendence or escape, the enlightened one studies to live easily and naturally, letting life run its course without straining and opposition. Enlightenment is the realisation that simplicity, harmony and balance are the wisdom. In all these traditions, enlightenment is not intellectual knowledge but an experience of discovery of the actual nature of reality. It breaks down the boundary between the seeker and the sought, and sheds light upon the world.

2. Enlightenment as Intellectual Liberation.

2.1. The Age of Reason (Western Enlightenment).

The meaning of enlightenment in the Western history is quite different. Enlightenment The Age of Reason, or the 17 th and 18 th centuries, was a cultural shift which transformed science, politics, philosophy and society. Enlightenment in the given context denotes the strength of the human sense of reason to defy the power, uncover the truth, and better the human existence as opposed to being an inward spiritual awakening. Philosophers like Immanuel Kant, Voltaire, John Locke, Montesquieu and David Hume advocated the idea of rational inquiry, questioning the dogma and seeking knowledge based on evidence and reason. Science, which was driven by such individuals as Isaac Newton and Galileo Galilei, was a strong instrument of knowledge of the natural world. Enlightenment promoted democratic principles, the rights of individuals and the fact that progress was not only possible but also inevitable.

Kant is most famous in defining enlightenment as the manifestation of man out of his self-incurred immaturity, where he called on people to dare to know. Inability to appeal to the reason of oneself and dependence on outside authorities, be it religious, political, or cultural, was what immaturity entailed to Kant. Enlightenment therefore turned into an intellectual bravery: the resolution to doubt the beliefs inherited and reason freely.

According to this perspective, enlightenment is not a mystical enlightenment but an intellectual revolution. It is the assumption that human beings can transcend superstition and fear using reason, science and critical thinking. The revelation of the divine does not light up the world but the light of human insight does.

3. Enlightenment as Psychological Understanding.

3.1. The Inner Light of Awareness

Other than spirituality and intellectual history, enlightenment can be interpreted psychologically as a high level of awareness and clarity. Contemporary psychology does not view enlightenment as a supernatural phenomenon but, rather, as a radical change of perception that may be developed with the help of introspection, mindfulness, and self-awareness.

In this respect, enlightenment means the power to see the mind without being under its control. It entails the identification of thoughts, feelings, and urges as temporal realities instead of structural points of self. This view is quite consistent with mindfulness approaches based on Buddhist meditation yet having more and more studies in the field of neuroscience.

Psychologists refer to states of enlightenment as the moments when the conditioning is set loose, the cognitive distortions crumble, and people get freedom of habit patterns. These experiences could lead to a feeling of peace, authenticity, connectedness, and profound self-understanding.

Pure light and infinite love be with us!