I dislike the whole idea of enlightenment. To say someone is enlightened is simply to say that we agree with/admire them. At best it means a change of views, of setting aside one set of ideas for another which is deemed more fitting, proper or useful.

Self-discipline involves the curbing of instincts, of course. But it also involves the control of thoughts, enforcing sequential reasoning to reach more valid conclusions than those obtained by jumping from intuition to intuition. Slowing a natural inclination to rush, or working to overcome natural sloth. The aim should be to achieve balance between our natural inclinations and learned behaviours in order to become a more complete individual.

Society, however, has always been controlled by those who want things from us. Thus we are manipulated into emphasising those parts of ourselves which serve our rulers' purposes. Discipline and obedience for warlike societies, docility and patience for agricultural ones, greed and self-indulgence for consumerist/capitalist and so forth.

The choice to resist and become better, more complete, people is there for all of us, but it involves had work and the mockery of those who surrender.