Mike,

Your distinction is interesting to me and to anyone who ever took the realization of Knowledge seriously or to those who pursue the enlightenment spoken of in all the world scriptures.

It is not splitting hairs.

I know a premie who was very into the attainment of higher state of consciousness.  Now, he is still a premie and he says that Knowledge was never about that anyway, that Knowledge was all about being alive and happy.  Supposedly, we were mistaken to think that Knowledge was God realization.  I asked him why we said JSCA, and I think that reminded him of the earlier premie mind set which he seems to have conveniently forgotten as he continues to watch Rawat's videos.

Your b category is absolutely true.  Rawat cannot take a person into higher states of consciouness any more than he can talk about them.  He would never utter words like atman, because he knows damn well that he might make an embarassing mistake if he did.  The kind of mistake that Rawat is capable of making is like the Biblical error he made in equating St. John of the Gospel of St. John with John the Baptist.   Cringe.  Rawat is just not a scholar on any level and I think that is one reason his speeches are so devoid of actual content.  But, apart from teaching about higher consciousness in any real way, he also cannot help anyone actually grow into higher consciousness, at least it certainly doesn't appear that premies have enjoyed this type of growth.

So that does leave your question about the a category.  Is there such a thing as Self, the Atman, and can we attain it?  This must remain an open question.  We must not decide one way or the other as long as we are ignorant human beings.  It is not necessary to decide.  We can certainly decide to stop trying, which is what I did, because I could see that trying was not making me happy, and that not trying makes a lot more sense to me.  Actually, I do believe in an intelligence higher than the one I am currently possessing.  I consider this higher intelligence to be mysterious to me and if we are ever to get to know one another better then I am game.  But I feel that the time and place is for IT to decide, not me.  I do take one step toward it, because that is all that I can do, and by that I mean that I open myself up to the possibility and I honor intelligence itself, I honor truth and love.  Of course I do.  And of course I want perfect harmony.  I can't help it!  But it just isn't up to me to manipulate the universe or to manipulate my own life and my own activities in some false formulaic way in order to become something that I am not, and something that I will never be as long as I live. 

Rawat's formula stinks, just as badly as all the other formulas.  They don't work, but they also stink because they claim to work.  It's really beneath us!  Come on guys, we may not be enlightened, but we don't have to stink.

Kick the guru to the curb.  And throw that little brat baby out the window right along with him.  That baby is nothing but a silly manmade concept.  The truth is bigger than that little concept, surely.

Let us wish each other all the grace that the universe possesses, whether we can measure it or not, and whether or not  we can get it to do what we would have it do.  More simply and authentically, let us learn what there is to learn, and love what there is to love. 

Rawat himself has evolved his philosophy to something very similar to my own.  He speaks only about the simplicity of life and the enjoyment we can have as we live it.  That is all wonderful.  The world could use a lot more of that.  But Rawat will not or cannot let go of his position as iconic middleman, and the world needs none of that.  If he wants to hang on to those perks, he is going to have to contend with the consequences that go along with them.  He could make a better choice, and he would be all the better for it.  So would his students.  Perhaps, when the Keys fail to achieve Rawat's goals, he will rethink.