Purification and Enlightenment

  Statue of Athena, who's worshippers had moon rituals that they followed.  - Photo by Judith Hirst-Joyeux copyright 2007

 

After reading the headline "Teachers Purify Students with Cow Urine", I started to wonder about purification, enlightenment and what they both mean. I understand that purification is used to clear un-cleanliness for a particular spiritual event. I fail to see how using something that is involved in elimination could be a purifier. I am just making an observation. To me purification is about wiping or washing away, and moving the person to a higher feeling of being. In this article, the students complained and said they felt humiliated.

Is purification necessary to find enlightenment? If enlightenment is a final destination, then it would seem that one would be purified at the end. If someone tells you that you need purifying, and it is not part of a ritual, it would seem a judgement is taking place. Purification in a ritual is part of a tradition. Tradition honours our past; honours our ancestors.

Enlightenment generally means acquiring new wisdom or clarity. This may apply to either spirituality or to intellectual knowledge. If the Buddhist (Theravada) meaning is applied, then it means having shed all negative aspects of self and having perfected the positive aspects of self. At the most complete level, one achieves Buddha status. Enlightenment exists in all belief systems, as do purifications such as baptisms. Perhaps its time to rethink our rituals and prepare for 2013.