Re: Illumination

From: TTrotsky_at_aol.com
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1998 18:42:28 EDT


Ashley Munday:

<< Forget all this mystical cock about Illumination (like it being some
transcendental watchamacallit).>>

    The official material rather strongly supports the idea that Illumination is a transcendental state, so I think one would need a rather good reason to ignore it. OTOH, if you don't like the official view, obviously you can change it in your own game. However, I believe you need to consider some of the following (unless, of course, I've misunderstood what you're saying):

<< Think of Illumination as being the realisation that everything you've been
told isn't quite as black and white as you thought.>>

    I think there must be a lot more to it than that. Reaching that realisation isn't particularly difficult for somebody with wide enough experience, which doesn't seem to be how most people become Illuminated.  

 <<Real world examples of this (in order of increasing improbability):  

    This could be discovered by simple observation. Illumination would appear to be somewhat more difficult to attain.

<< - - An American realising socialism isn't EVIL EVIL BAD BAD BAD;>>

    The Gloranthan equivalent being an Orlanthi discovering that this was true of the Lunars, presumably. Which, if true, would imply that most of the population of Sylila are illuminated.

    I just don't see how a realisation of this type would gain you far reaching and mystical powers. Another example of what you're saying might be a Humakti deciding he didn't need to keep his geases - as soon as he realises this can be done (and he only has to observe an existing Illuminated Humakti to figure this one out), hey presto, the geases no longer apply. This feels far too easy to me.

 << This makes Illumination quite an "enlightened" view for the types of culture found in Glorantha and therefore well alien and something to be feared by most people. Glorantha is a world of dogma: Anything that breaks the dogma is going to be contentious and be feared.>>

     Well, yes, but if Illumination were simply a POV, I think it would be far more common than appears to be the case. Spirits of Retribution presumably don't just work because people expect them to, since they're only going to attack people who've intentionally broken cult rules and dogma. Yet, if someone is deliberately breaking cult rules, they must surely have come to the realisation that such rules are not universally a good thing. Which under your theory, means they must be Illuminated, and thus immune to Spirits of Retribution...

    In summary, I think that if you want to make Illumination a basically mundane (if unusual) way of looking at things, you need to think a lot more about the implications and to define more precisely what that way of thinking is. I'm not saying that it can't be done, just that the view described in your post needs more work, IMO. Not that I can understand why you'd *want* to scrap the official version, mind, but that's up to you ;-)  

Forward the glorious Red Army!

    Trotsky


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