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Mysticism

Mysticism represents the most intense and concentrated form of religious experience. It is characterized by the claim of mystics to have the most direct and intimate encounter with the divine presence or ultimate reality, making it a central aspect of various religious traditions.

Mystical experiences can take different forms, and one common theme across many of them is the idea of identity or union. In Western religions, mystics often describe their experiences as an intimate connection with God. In Eastern religions, the emphasis is on union with Absolute Reality, which may be called Brahman in Hinduism or Nirvana in Buddhism.

Differences Between Mystical and Normal Experience:

Mystical experience is fundamentally different from ordinary, everyday experience:

1. Absence of Sensory Perception and Thought: In mystical experiences, sensory perceptions, thoughts, emotions, desires, and other elements that are typical in ordinary experiences are entirely absent. This absence of familiar cognitive and sensory content contributes to the ineffability of mystical experiences.
2. Indescribability: Because mystical experiences lack sensory perceptions and thoughts, they are often considered indescribable. Language and concepts, which are products of sensory-intellectual consciousness, are inadequate to capture the essence of mystical experiences. Mystics struggle to put their experiences into words.
3. Transcendence of Sensory-Intellectual Consciousness: Normal consciousness can be likened to a building with three floors, representing sensory perceptions (the ground floor), mental images (the second floor), and conceptual thinking (the third floor). This structure is referred to as sensory-intellectual consciousness. Mystical consciousness transcends these levels, as it is devoid of thoughts, concepts, and sensations.
4. Unity and Oneness: In fully developed mystical experiences, there is an apprehension of a non-sensuous unity in all things. It is a sense of oneness, a realization of a reality that is beyond the reach of the senses and reason.
5. Subjectivity: Mystical experiences are highly subjective and personal. They are often understood as individual communion with supreme reality, God, or goddess. These experiences can manifest as visions, dreams, revelations, and other forms of personal revelation.
6. Experiential Knowledge: In the Christian tradition, scholars like Thomas Aquinas referred to mystical experience as "cognitio dei experimentalis," signifying experiential knowledge of God.

Forms of Mystical Experience

Mystical experiences can take various forms, including but not limited to:

• Identity or union with God (in Western religions).
• Identity or union with Absolute Reality, such as Brahman (in Hinduism) or Nirvana (in Buddhism).
• Experiencing oneness or unity with all of creation.
• Profound insights into the nature of existence, reality, and the self.
• Revelations of divine truths and wisdom.

Mysticism is a rich and diverse field, with each tradition and culture offering its unique interpretations and expressions of mystical experiences. While they may vary in form and content, these experiences share the common thread of providing individuals with a direct and profound connection to the divine or ultimate reality.

Mystical Experiences and Unity with the Divine
Mystical experiences are often described as encounters with the divine that result in an intense and intimate connection. These experiences may lead individuals to feel that they have become one with God or the ultimate reality. The quotes you've provided emphasize this unity:

• "If I am to know God directly, I must become completely He, and He I, so that this He and this I become and are one."
• "One who knows Brahman becomes Brahman."
• "Flight of alone to the alone."

These statements express the idea that in a mystical experience, the boundary between the individual self and the divine is dissolved, resulting in a profound sense of oneness.

• Atheists and Mystical Experiences: Mystical experiences are not exclusive to religious believers. Even atheists can have mystical or religious experiences. For example, nature mysticism involves a profound sense of connection and unity with the natural world. Additionally, Buddhist experiences of shunyata (emptiness) or enlightenment are not dependent on belief in a god. These experiences transcend traditional religious beliefs and can be deeply meaningful to individuals regardless of their religious or philosophical positions.
• Numinous Experience: Numinous experiences, as described by Rudolf Otto, are characterized by an overpowering, mysterious, and alluring quality. These experiences often involve a profound encounter with an "other" or a transcendent reality. This "other" may be a specific individual, such as Jesus or Krishna, an object, or an undefined presence. Numinous experiences evoke a sense of awe, fear, and fascination.
• Mysticism in Eastern and Western Traditions: Mysticism is a prominent feature of various religious traditions in both the East and the West. In the Western tradition, figures like Plotinus are celebrated for their mystical writings and experiences. However, mysticism is particularly pronounced in Indian religion. It is found in its purest form in the Upanishads, Advaita Vedanta, Bhakti cults, and the teachings of saints like Kabir and Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. In these traditions, the seeker strives to identify completely with the ultimate reality, often described as Brahman. This involves a profound unity where distinctions between the knower and the known vanish.

Sufism is another mystical tradition where individuals seek vision and communion with God. Although Muslims perceive God as transcendent and separate from mortals, Sufis strive to have a personal and mystical connection with the divine. Jewish mysticism, too, shares elements of mystical experiences, and individuals like Jesus Christ and Al-Hallaj faced persecution for their claims of unity with God, as they challenged conventional religious boundaries.

Mysticism in the Western World

Pre-Christian Mystics

1. Pythagoras (c. 580/570 - c. 500 B.C.E.)

   • Founder of a philosophical/religious school focusing on mystical interconnections in numbers, nature, and the human soul.

2. Parmenides (c. 515 - c. 450 B.C.E.)

   • Extended Pythagoras' teachings, emphasizing that all existence is unchanging and unified, paving the way for dual-worldviews important in mysticism.

3. Philo (c. 20 B.C.E. - c. 41 C.E.)

   • An Alexandrian Jew who merged Platonism, Stoicism, and Neo-Pythagoreanism, blending the active and contemplative life.

Christian Mysticism

Christian mystics are individuals deeply concerned with experiencing the divine presence and growing in their relationship with God. This mystical path involves humility, shedding ego, and pursuing a deeper connection with God through a transformative process.

Characteristics of Christian Mysticism

1. Ineffability
   • Mystical experiences are beyond verbal expression, defying adequate description. They are uniquely personal and resist categorization.
2. Noetic Quality
   • These experiences offer insights, revelations, and deep understanding, providing direct knowledge of truths that transcend human experience and reason.
3. Transiency
   • Mystical experiences are often brief but may recur over time, deepening in intensity and duration.
4. Passivity
   • Mystics feel their will subordinated to a higher power during these experiences. Although the trance may be transient, the impact lingers and shapes their personality.

Types of Mystical Experiences

1. Extrovert
   • The mystic perceives the ultimate truth through the senses, experiencing material reality. However, this stage is not true mysticism but serves as an initial step.
2. Introvert
   • The mystic becomes internally focused, detaching from the external world to realize the ultimate reality within themselves. In this profound experience, ordinary consciousness vanishes, and transcendental consciousness is reached, achieving true mysticism.
3. Theist
   • This mystical experience involves the direct encounter with God.
4. Non-Theist
   • In this mystical experience, the mystic encounters an entity other than God.

Prominent Christian Mystics

• Throughout history, various Christian mystics have contributed to this tradition. Some noteworthy figures include Ignatius of Antioch, St. Polycarp, Basil the Great, Augustine, William of St.-Thierry, and Hildegard of Bingen. These mystics have left a lasting impact with their writings and spiritual insights, guiding individuals towards a deeper understanding of God and a transformative relationship with the divine.

Mystical experiences have played a significant role in the development of Christian mysticism, connecting individuals to the core of their faith and fostering profound spiritual growth. To delve deeper into Christian mysticism, one can explore the teachings of Jesus found in the New Testament and engage with the writings of mystics throughout history, guided by personal experiences enriched by the Holy Spirit.

Mysticism and Its Relationship with Religion

Mysticism is often perceived as a form of religious experience, but their connection is not as straightforward as it may seem. While there is an important link between mysticism and religion, they are not inherently synonymous. Several reasons underscore the distinction between mystical experiences and religion.

1. Stripped-Down Mystical Experience

• Mystical experiences, when stripped of their intellectual interpretations that identify them with God or the absolute, result in an undifferentiated unity. This undifferentiated unity itself doesn't inherently possess religious qualities.

• In the Western theistic religious tradition, undifferentiated unity is interpreted as "union with God." However, this interpretation is not synonymous with the raw mystical experience itself.

2. Varied Interpretations in Different Cultures

• The same mystical experience can receive diverse interpretations across different cultures. For instance, undifferentiated unity is understood as the Trinitarian conception of God by Eckhart and Roysbrocck, the Unitarian God of Islam by Islamic mystics, or as impersonal absolute by certain atavistic realists.

• Different cultural and religious backgrounds influence the interpretation of mystical experiences.

3. Non-Religious Mystical Experiences

• Buddhism, for example, offers a mystical experience of 'Sunyata' or nothingness, which is not associated with any concept of God. Buddhism denies the existence of a supreme being, and the experience of 'Sunyata' is not inherently religious.

• The absence of religious elements in this form of mysticism demonstrates that mysticism itself can exist independently of religious contexts.

Mysticism's Connection to Religion

However, mysticism often takes on religious forms and is frequently linked to specific religious traditions for several reasons:

1. Melting Away of the Individual

• A common thread in introvertive mystical experiences is the sense of the individual "melting away" into the Infinite or the dissolution of one's individuality. This notion of transcending individuality is present in the mystical literature of various major religions.

• Among Sufis, this experience is referred to as 'fana.' When the individual experiences the dissolution of self into the Infinite, this Infinite is often associated with the concept of God, lending the experience a religious dimension.

2. Beyond Space and Time

• Mystical experiences are often described as transcending space and time, representing an encounter with the "Eternal Now." The concept of the Eternal is akin to the idea of God in religious thought.
• As a result, mystical experiences are often interpreted as encounters with God due to their perceived connection with the timeless and infinite.

3. Emotional Aspects

• Mystical experiences frequently evoke emotions of profound peace and joy. This emotional facet becomes linked with the peace of God or divine tranquility.
• Even in Buddhism, where mystical experiences are not personified as God, the term Nirvana is used to describe the experience due to its association with a sense of profound peace.

In conclusion, mysticism and religion share a complex relationship. While mysticism itself is not inherently religious, it often acquires religious attributes through cultural interpretations, emotional aspects, and the perception of transcending space and time. These factors contribute to the common association of mysticism with religious experiences.

Ethical Aspects of Mysticism

Mysticism is sometimes criticized for being an escape from life and its responsibilities, where mystics retreat into a private state of bliss, seemingly turning their backs on the world and neglecting their own sorrows as well as the needs of others. However, this view represents an incomplete form of mysticism. Complete mysticism leads to boundless action and a profound love for all humanity.

1. Complete Mysticism and Selflessness

• Incomplete mystical experiences, where the focus remains solely on personal bliss, are condemned by some mystics as "spiritual gluttony." True mysticism involves intense and burning love for the divine, which must manifest as love for fellow human beings through actions, charity, and mercy, not just in words.

• Christian mystics, in particular, emphasize that mystical union with God gives rise to a deep love for God that should overflow into the world, expressed through love and compassion for others.

2. Mysticism as the Metaphysical Basis of Love

• Some mystics assert that mysticism forms the metaphysical foundation of love. Mystical consciousness serves as the secret source of love, both human and divine. Love is the ultimate source of genuine moral activity, and it flows from mysticism.

• True love arises from the realization that "my brother and I are the same," erasing the distinctions between "I," "you," "he," and "she." The dissolution of individual ego expands the personality and leads to unconditional love for all, breaking down the barriers of superficial distinctions.

• The separation of individuals fosters egoism and the conflict of all against all, but mysticism enables us to realize that "no man is an island," emphasizing the interconnectedness of humanity.

Mysticism and Epistemology

Mysticism represents both a form of knowledge and a type of feeling. In addition to its ineffable nature, it possesses a noetic quality, making it a source of cognitive knowledge. Mystics claim to have knowledge of ultimate reality that they consider certain, distinct, and indubitable, contributing to religious knowledge.

Critique of Mysticism as Neurotic

Mystical states are sometimes criticized as neurotic conditions. However, mystics differ significantly from individuals in a neurotic state. Unlike neurotics, mystics exhibit social adjustment and mental integration in abundance. The company of mystics can lead to positive changes, fostering feelings of friendliness toward others, a sense of community, peace of mind, and more.

Late-Nineteenth Century Interest and Scientific Explanations

• The late nineteenth century witnessed a surge of interest in mysticism, often intertwined with the growing fascination with occultism. The Theosophy movement played a pivotal role in popularizing these interests. In the late twentieth century, books such as "Conversations with God" gained prominence, describing the author's claimed experiences of direct communication with God.
• Psychological Understanding: Sigmund Freud proposed the wish-fulfillment hypothesis, suggesting that childhood feelings of helplessness and fear lead to a desire for protective figures, which, in adulthood, transforms into the desire for a divine protector. This wish is fulfilled through the illusion of divine providence.
• Neuroscientific Understanding: Recent advances in neuroscience suggest that religious experiences may result from neurophysiological causes, leading some to view them as ultimately delusory. For instance, epileptic seizures and frontal lobe stimulations have been shown to cause religious visions.

These scientific explanations aim to demystify the origins of mystical experiences, interpreting them as products of human psychology and physiology.