Devonavar wrote:
mathias wrote:
scinju wrote:
With all else, you would be happy for a while, but the nagging feeling of having more and more would constantly be hounding you, and you would end up going crazy.
Ask yourself if this is really true for each of the other categories.
If power and attention were to drive you crazy, it could just just as easily be from having too much of it, from it becoming a burden.
I think religion could also do this, if you feel you understand your religion, then you just might become obssessed with serving it and advancing it, and generally carrying out the implications of what you "know".
You missed the point, perhaps because he's not taking enlightenment to simply mean knowledge.
But that is roughly how religion goes, first you learn the religion, then you live it. My point is that living the religion, even the later stages which most people never get to, could be a burden too. For example, you might feel saved by Jesus, but then you might feel the obligation to help save others. And then you might feel very frustrated if you fail to do so.
Devonavar wrote:
BTW, with almost any "true" religion, if you "understand" it you've completely missed the point. By enlightenment, I think he means the realization of what is truly important
How isn't "realizing what is truly important" feeling that you understanding the religion? (perhaps more clearly feeling that you understand the message of the religion) And if you feel you realize what is truly important, why can't it turn out to be unachievable?
Devonavar wrote:
This is something that only enlightenment can help you achieve. Just because you have money doesn't guarantee you don't also want power. With enlightenment, this is not the case, obtaining enlightenment entails that none of the other options are worth pursuing except as required by the circumstances (i.e. none are worthwhile in their own right).
Actually, I believe
scinju's point was that with all the categories other than enlightenment, you end up wanting more and more of the same thing.
Devonavar wrote:
mathias wrote:
scinju wrote:
An added advantage with enlightenment would stem from the fact that I am a Hindu. Being enlightened, I would be one with god when I died, and I would be free from the cycle of reincarnation!
That sounds to me like religion backfiring in ways similar to those mentioned before for other things. Religion convinces you that you will live again after you die. A lot of people would consider that a pretty sweet deal. Yet it's not enough, and somehow it becomes a burden.
Once again, you've missed the point.
Because I disagree about how religion affects people I've "missed the point"?
I don't see "the point" because I feel that the extremely cynical view of nonreligious aspiriations that the point rests on is not very sound.
Since I'm an atheist, I see my own point, which you seem to miss.