I recently came across a blog called What Enlightenment??! which is dedicated to raising awareness about some of the more disturbing behaviors of spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen, founder of What is Enlightenment? magazine. 

 There are some very elegant and well-written accounts of life inside Cohen’s group here, including several written by former editors of the magazine.  While the details may be different, the issues are the same as most groups I’ve encountered.  I particularly liked a post entitled Reflections of an Early Student, which addresses the conflict felt by members who struggle to reconcile behavior they don’t agree with from a teacher who they feel has really helped them. 

The August 24, 2006 post is an interesting essay entitled “Some Reflections on Abuse and Uncompleted or “Intermediate” Gurus.”  It discusses Aurobindo’s philosophy on the danger posed by teachers with only partial enlightenment as a reason for Cohen’s behaviors.  It’s an interesting theory, and the list of warning signs may be useful to some.  But the article supposes that there is such a thing as complete enlightenment, and implies that a teacher functioning in such a state would not be at risk of these behaviors.  Perhaps this is true, but as I have seen no evidence of any teacher who actually expresses such an idealized state, I question the validity of the concept itself. I seem to find myself much less willing to believe in things for which I have no proof, particularly given how difficult it is to find any teacher who is not tainted by scandal of some form. 

WHAT Enlightenment??! Blog