Numinous (/ˈnjuːmɪnəs/) means "arousing spiritual or religious emotion; mysterious or awe-inspiring";
also "supernatural" or "appealing to the aesthetic sensibility." The
term was given its present sense by the German theologian and
philosopher Rudolf Otto in his influential 1917 German book The Idea of the Holy. He also used the phrase mysterium tremendum as another description for the phenomenon. Otto's concept of the numinous influenced thinkers including Carl Jung, Mircea Eliade, and C. S. Lewis. It has been applied to theology, psychology, religious studies, literary analysis, and descriptions of psychedelic experiences.
Etymology
Numinous was derived in the 17th century from the Latin numen,
meaning "nod" and thus, in a transferred (figurative, metaphorical)
sense, "divine will, divine command, divinity or majesty." Numinous is etymologically unrelated to Immanuel Kant's noumenon, a Greek term referring to an unknowable reality underlying all things.
Rudolf Otto
The word was given its present sense by the German theologian and philosopher Rudolf Otto in his influential 1917 book Das Heilige, which appeared in English as The Idea of the Holy in 1923.
Otto writes that while the concept of "the holy" is often used to convey moral perfection—and does entail this—it contains another distinct element, beyond the ethical sphere, for which he uses the term numinous.
He explains "numinous" as a "non-rational, non-sensory experience or
feeling whose primary and immediate object is outside the self." This
mental state "presents itself as ganz Andere, wholly other, a condition absolutely sui generis and incomparable whereby the human being finds himself utterly abashed."
Otto argues that because the numinous is irreducible and sui generis
it cannot be defined in terms of other concepts or experiences, and
that the reader must therefore be "guided and led on by consideration
and discussion of the matter through the ways of his own mind, until he
reaches the point at which 'the numinous' in him perforce begins to
stir... In other words, our X cannot, strictly speaking, be taught, it can only be evoked, awakened in the mind." Chapters 4 to 6 are devoted to attempting to evoke the numinous and its various aspects.
Using Latin, he describes it as a mystery (Latin: mysterium) that is at once terrifying (tremendum) and fascinating (fascinans). He writes:
The feeling of it may at times come
sweeping like a gentle tide pervading the mind with a tranquil mood of
deepest worship. It may pass over into a more set and lasting attitude
of the soul, continuing, as it were, thrillingly vibrant and resonant,
until at last it dies away and the soul resumes its "profane,"
non-religious mood of everyday experience. [...] It has its crude,
barbaric antecedents and early manifestations, and again it may be
developed into something beautiful and pure and glorious. It may become
the hushed, trembling, and speechless humility of the creature in the
presence of—whom or what? In the presence of that which is a Mystery
inexpressible and above all creatures.
Later use of the concept
Otto's use of the term as referring to a characteristic of religious experience was influential among certain intellectuals of the subsequent generation. For example, "numinous" as understood by Otto was a frequently quoted concept in the writings of Carl Jung, and C. S. Lewis. Lewis described the numinous experience in The Problem of Pain as follows:
Suppose you were told there was a
tiger in the next room: you would know that you were in danger and would
probably feel fear. But if you were told "There is a ghost in the next
room," and believed it, you would feel, indeed, what is often called
fear, but of a different kind. It would not be based on the knowledge of
danger, for no one is primarily afraid of what a ghost may do to him,
but of the mere fact that it is a ghost. It is "uncanny" rather than
dangerous, and the special kind of fear it excites may be called Dread.
With the Uncanny one has reached the fringes of the Numinous. Now
suppose that you were told simply "There is a mighty spirit in the
room," and believed it. Your feelings would then be even less like the
mere fear of danger: but the disturbance would be profound. You would
feel wonder and a certain shrinking—a sense of inadequacy to cope with
such a visitant and of prostration before it—an emotion which might be
expressed in Shakespeare's words "Under it my genius is rebuked." This
feeling may be described as awe, and the object which excites it as the Numinous.
Jung applied the concept of the numinous to psychology and psychotherapy,
arguing it was therapeutic and brought greater self-understanding, and
stating that to him religion was about a "careful and scrupulous
observation... of the numinosum". The notion of the numinous and the wholly Other were also central to the religious studies of ethnologist Mircea Eliade. Mysterium tremendum, another phrase coined by Otto to describe the numinous, is presented by Aldous Huxley in The Doors of Perception in this way:
The literature of religious
experience abounds in references to the pains and terrors overwhelming
those who have come, too suddenly, face to face with some manifestation
of the mysterium tremendum. In theological language, this fear is
due to the in-compatibility between man's egotism and the divine
purity, between man's self-aggravated separateness and the infinity of
God.
Neuroscientist Christof Koch
has described awe from experiences such as entering a cathedral, saying
he gets "a feeling of luminosity out of the numinous," though he does
not hold the Catholic religious beliefs with which he was raised.
In a 2010 article titled "James Cameron's Cathedral: Avatar Revives the Religious Spectacle" published in the Journal of Religion and Film, academic Craig Detweiler describes how the global blockbuster movie Avatar "traffics in Rudolph Otto’s notion of the numinous, the wholly other that operates beyond reason. [...] As spectacle, Avatar remains virtually critic proof, a trip to Otto’s mysterium tremendum et fascinans."
Cameron himself mentioned this in a 2022 interview with BBC Radio 1
when trying to explain the first movie's success, saying "There was that
element that I call—borrowing from Carl Sagan—the numinous." Sagan specifically explored the numinous concept in his 1985 novel Contact.
Here words fail. In truth, there
were no flames, no blast, no thermonuclear storm; I'm grasping at
metaphor in the hope of forming some stable and shareable concept of
what was unfolding in my mind. In the event, there was no coherent
thought, just pure and terrible sensation. Only afterward did I wonder
if this is what the mystics call the mysterium tremendum—the blinding unendurable mystery (whether of God or some other Ultimate or Absolute) before which humans tremble in awe.
Liber Divinorum Operum, or the Universal Man of St. Hildegard of Bingen, 1185 (13th-century copy)
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning.
It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ultimate or hidden
truths, and to human transformation supported by various practices and
experiences.
The term "mysticism" has Ancient Greek origins with various historically determined meanings. Derived from the Greek word μύω múō, meaning "to close" or "to conceal", mysticism came to refer to the biblical, liturgical (and sacramental), spiritual, and contemplative dimensions of early and medieval Christianity. During the early modern period,
the definition of mysticism grew to include a broad range of beliefs
and ideologies related to "extraordinary experiences and states of
mind".
In modern times, "mysticism" has acquired a limited definition,
with broad applications, as meaning the aim at the "union with the
Absolute, the Infinite, or God". This limited definition has been applied to a wide range of religious traditions and practices, valuing "mystical experience" as a key element of mysticism.
Since the 1960s scholars have debated the merits of perennial and constructionist approaches in the scientific research of "mystical experiences". The perennial position is now "largely dismissed by scholars", most scholars using a contextualist approach, which considers the cultural and historical context.
"Mysticism" is derived from the Greekμύω, meaning "I conceal", and its derivative μυστικός, mystikos, meaning 'an initiate'. The verb μύω
has received a quite different meaning in the Greek language, where it
is still in use. The primary meanings it has are "induct" and
"initiate". Secondary meanings include "introduce", "make someone aware
of something", "train", "familiarize", "give first experience of
something".
The related form of the verb μυέω (mueó or myéō) appears in the New Testament. As explained in Strong's Concordance,
it properly means shutting the eyes and mouth to experience mystery.
Its figurative meaning is to be initiated into the "mystery revelation".
The meaning derives from the initiatory rites of the pagan mysteries. Also appearing in the New Testament is the related noun μυστήριον
(mustérion or mystḗrion), the root word of the English term "mystery".
The term means "anything hidden", a mystery or secret, of which
initiation is necessary. In the New Testament it reportedly takes the
meaning of the counsels of God, once hidden but now revealed in the
Gospel or some fact thereof, the Christian revelation generally, and/or
particular truths or details of the Christian revelation.
According to Thayer's Greek Lexicon, the term μυστήριον in classical Greek meant "a hidden thing", "secret". A particular meaning it took in Classical antiquity
was a religious secret or religious secrets, confided only to the
initiated and not to be communicated by them to ordinary mortals. In the
Septuagint
and the New Testament the meaning it took was that of a hidden purpose
or counsel, a secret will. It is sometimes used for the hidden wills of
humans, but is more often used for the hidden will of God. Elsewhere in
the Bible it takes the meaning of the mystic or hidden sense of things.
It is used for the secrets behind sayings, names, or behind images seen
in visions and dreams. The Vulgate often translates the Greek term to the Latin sacramentum (sacrament).
The related noun μύστης (mustis or mystis, singular) means the initiate, the person initiated to the mysteries. According to Ana Jiménez San Cristobal in her study of Greco-Roman mysteries and Orphism, the singular form μύστης and the plural form μύσται
are used in ancient Greek texts to mean the person or persons initiated
to religious mysteries. These followers of mystery religions belonged
to a select group, where access was only gained through an initiation.
She finds that the terms were associated with the term βάκχος (Bacchus),
which was used for a special class of initiates of the Orphic
mysteries. The terms are first found connected in the writings of Heraclitus. Such initiates are identified in texts with the persons who have been purified and have performed certain rites. A passage of Cretans by Euripides seems to explain that the μύστης
(initiate) who devotes himself to an ascetic life, renounces sexual
activities, and avoids contact with the dead becomes known as βάκχος.
Such initiates were believers in the god Dionysus Bacchus who took on
the name of their god and sought an identification with their deity.
Until the sixth century the practice of what is now called mysticism was referred to by the term contemplatio, c.q. theoria.
According to Johnston, "[b]oth contemplation and mysticism speak of the
eye of love which is looking at, gazing at, aware of divine realities."
Definitions
According to Peter Moore, the term "mysticism" is "problematic but indispensable". It is a generic term which joins together into one concept separate practices and ideas which developed separately. According to Dupré, "mysticism" has been defined in many ways, and Merkur notes that the definition, or meaning, of the term "mysticism" has changed through the ages.
Moore further notes that the term "mysticism" has become a popular
label for "anything nebulous, esoteric, occult, or supernatural".
Parsons warns that "what might at times seem to be a
straightforward phenomenon exhibiting an unambiguous commonality has
become, at least within the academic study of religion, opaque and
controversial on multiple levels".
Because of its Christian overtones, and the lack of similar terms in
other cultures, some scholars regard the term "mysticism" to be
inadequate as a useful descriptive term. Other scholars regard the term to be an inauthentic fabrication, the "product of post-Enlightenment universalism".
Richard Jones notes that "few classical mystics refer to their
experiences as the union of two realities: there is no literal 'merging'
or 'absorption' of one reality into another resulting in only one
entity."
He explicates mysticism with reference to one's mode of access in order
to include both union of the mystic with some transcendent reality and
the non-sensory revelation of that reality. The mystic experience can be
defined by the mystic's purported access to "realities or states of
affairs that are of a kind not accessible by way of ordinary
sense-perception structured by mental conceptions, somatosensory
modalities, or standard introspection." Whether or not such an experience is veridical remains undecided.
Union with the Divine or Absolute and mystical experience
Deriving from Neo-Platonism and Henosis, mysticism is popularly known as union with God or the Absolute. In the 13th century the term unio mystica
came to be used to refer to the "spiritual marriage", the ecstasy, or
rapture, that was experienced when prayer was used "to contemplate both
God's omnipresence in the world and God in his essence."
In the 19th century, under the influence of Romanticism, this "union"
was interpreted as a "religious experience", which provides certainty
about God or a transcendental reality.
An influential proponent of this understanding was William James (1842–1910), who stated that "in mystic states we both become one with the Absolute and we become aware of our oneness." William James popularized this use of the term "religious experience" in his The Varieties of Religious Experience, contributing to the interpretation of mysticism as a distinctive experience, comparable to sensory experiences. Religious experiences belonged to the "personal religion", which he considered to be "more fundamental than either theology or ecclesiasticism".
He gave a Perennialist interpretation to religious experience, stating
that this kind of experience is ultimately uniform in various
traditions.
McGinn notes that the term unio mystica, although it has Christian origins, is primarily a modern expression.
McGinn argues that "presence" is more accurate than "union", since not
all mystics spoke of union with God, and since many visions and miracles
were not necessarily related to union. He also argues that we should
speak of "consciousness" of God's presence, rather than of "experience",
since mystical activity is not simply about the sensation of God as an
external object, but more broadly about "new ways of knowing and loving
based on states of awareness in which God becomes present in our inner
acts."
However, the idea of "union" does not work in all contexts. For
example, in Advaita Vedanta, there is only one reality (Brahman) and
therefore nothing other than reality to unite with it—Brahman in each
person (atman) has always in fact been identical to Brahman all
along. Dan Merkur also notes that union with God or the Absolute is a
too limited definition, since there are also traditions which aim not at
a sense of unity, but of nothingness, such as Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and Meister Eckhart. According to Merkur, Kabbala and Buddhism also emphasize nothingness.
Blakemore and Jennett note that "definitions of mysticism [...] are
often imprecise." They further note that this kind of interpretation and
definition is a recent development which has become the standard
definition and understanding.
According to Gelman, "A unitive experience involves a
phenomenological de-emphasis, blurring, or eradication of multiplicity,
where the cognitive significance of the experience is deemed to lie
precisely in that phenomenological feature".
Mysticism involves an explanatory context, which provides meaning for
mystical and visionary experiences, and related experiences like
trances. According to Dan Merkur, mysticism may relate to any kind of
ecstasy or altered state of consciousness, and the ideas and
explanations related to them.
Parsons stresses the importance of distinguishing between temporary
experiences and mysticism as a process, which is embodied within a
"religious matrix" of texts and practices. Richard Jones does the same.
Peter Moore notes that mystical experience may also happen in a
spontaneous and natural way, to people who are not committed to any
religious tradition. These experiences are not necessarily interpreted
in a religious framework. Ann Taves asks by which processes experiences are set apart and deemed religious or mystical.
Some authors emphasize that mystical experience involves intuitive
understanding of the meaning of existence and of hidden truths, and the
resolution of life problems. According to Larson, "mystical experience
is an intuitive understanding and realization of the meaning of
existence."According to McClenon, mysticism is "the doctrine that special mental
states or events allow an understanding of ultimate truths."
According to James R. Horne, mystical illumination is "a central
visionary experience [...] that results in the resolution of a personal
or religious problem."
According to Evelyn Underhill, illumination is a generic English term for the phenomenon of mysticism. The term illumination is derived from the Latin illuminatio, applied to Christian prayer in the 15th century. Comparable Asian terms are bodhi, kensho, and satori in Buddhism, commonly translated as "enlightenment", and vipassana, which all point to cognitive processes of intuition and comprehension.
Other authors point out that mysticism involves more than "mystical
experience". According to Gellmann, the ultimate goal of mysticism is
human transformation, not just experiencing mystical or visionary
states. According to McGinn, personal transformation is the essential criterion to determine the authenticity of Christian mysticism.
History of the term
Hellenistic world
In the Hellenistic world, 'mystical' referred to "secret" religious rituals like the Eleusinian Mysteries. The use of the word lacked any direct references to the transcendental. A "mystikos" was an initiate of a mystery religion.
In early Christianity the term "mystikos" referred to three
dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely the biblical, the
liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative. The biblical dimension refers to "hidden" or allegorical interpretations of Scriptures. The liturgical dimension refers to the liturgical mystery of the Eucharist, the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God.
Until the sixth century, the Greek term theoria, meaning "contemplation" in Latin, was used for the mystical interpretation of the Bible and the vision of God. The link between mysticism and the vision of the Divine was introduced by the early Church Fathers, who used the term as an adjective, as in mystical theology and mystical contemplation.
Theoria enabled the Fathers to perceive depths of meaning
in the biblical writings that escape a purely scientific or empirical
approach to interpretation. The Antiochene Fathers, in particular, saw in every passage of Scripture a double meaning, both literal and spiritual.
Later, theoria or contemplation came to be distinguished from intellectual life, leading to the identification of θεωρία or contemplatio with a form of prayer distinguished from discursive meditation in both East and West.
This threefold meaning of "mystical" continued in the Middle Ages. According to Dan Merkur, the term unio mystica
came into use in the 13th century as a synonym for the "spiritual
marriage", the ecstasy, or rapture, that was experienced when prayer was
used "to contemplate both God's omnipresence in the world and God in
his essence." Mysticism was also manifested in various sects of the time.
Apophatic theology
Under the influence of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite the term mystical theology came to denote the investigation of the allegorical truth of the Bible, and "the spiritual awareness of the ineffable Absolute beyond the theology of divine names." Pseudo-Dionysius' Apophatic theology,
or "negative theology", exerted a great influence on medieval monastic
religiosity, although it was mostly a male religiosity, since women were
not allowed to study. It was influenced by Neo-Platonism, and very influential in Eastern Orthodox Christian theology. In western Christianity it was a counter-current to the prevailing Cataphatic theology or "positive theology".
Renaissance
In the 1400s, leading theologian Jean Gerson
wrote several books on "mystical theology" which was any theology (or
divine-human knowledge) that occurred in the affective (relating to the
will including the emotions) realm rather than the intellective. This
kind of mysticism was a general category that included the positive
knowledge of God obtained, for example, through practical "repentant
activity" (e.g., as part of sacramental participation), rather being
about passive esoteric/transcendent religious ecstasy: it was an
antidote the "self-aggrandizing hyper-inquisitiveness" of Scholasticism and was attainable even by simple and uneducated people. The outcome of affective mysticism may be to see God's goodness or love rather than, say, his radical otherness.
The theology of Catherine of Sienna was analysed in terms of mystical theology by Baron Friedrich von Hügel in The Mystical Element of Religion as Studied in St. Catherine of Genoa and Her Friends
(1908). Von Hügel proposed three elements of religious experience: the
institutional/historical, the intellectual/speculative, and the
mystical/experiential.
For Erasmus, mysticism subsisted in contemplating the deep secrets contained in the Bible, notably the startling personality of Christ.
The Appearance of the Holy Spirit before Saint Teresa of Ávila,Peter Paul Rubens
In the sixteenth and seventeenth century mysticism came to be used as a substantive. This shift was linked to a new discourse, in which science and religion were separated.
Luther
dismissed the allegorical interpretation of the bible, and condemned
Mystical theology, which he saw as more Platonic than Christian.
"The mystical", as the search for the hidden meaning of texts, became
secularised, and also associated with literature, as opposed to science
and prose.
Science was also distinguished from religion. By the middle of
the 17th century, "the mystical" is increasingly applied exclusively to
the religious realm, separating religion and "natural philosophy" as two
distinct approaches to the discovery of the hidden meaning of the
universe.
The traditional hagiographies and writings of the saints became
designated as "mystical", shifting from the virtues and miracles to
extraordinary experiences and states of mind, thereby creating a newly
coined "mystical tradition". A new understanding developed of the Divine as residing within human, an essence beyond the varieties of religious expressions.
The 19th century saw a growing emphasis on individual experience, as a
defense against the growing rationalism of western society. The meaning of mysticism was considerably narrowed:
The competition between the
perspectives of theology and science resulted in a compromise in which
most varieties of what had traditionally been called mysticism were
dismissed as merely psychological phenomena and only one variety, which
aimed at union with the Absolute, the Infinite, or God—and thereby the
perception of its essential unity or oneness—was claimed to be genuinely
mystical. The historical evidence, however, does not support such a
narrow conception of mysticism.
Under the influence of Perennialism, which was popularised in both the west and the east by Unitarianism, Transcendentalists, and Theosophy, mysticism has been applied to a broad spectrum of religious traditions, in which all sorts of esotericism, religious traditions, and practices are joined together. The term mysticism was extended to comparable phenomena in non-Christian religions, where it influenced Hindu and Buddhist responses to colonialism, resulting in Neo-Vedanta and Buddhist modernism.
In the contemporary usage "mysticism" has become an umbrella term for all sorts of non-rational world views, parapsychology and pseudoscience. William Harmless even states that mysticism has become "a catch-all for religious weirdness". Within the academic study of religion the apparent "unambiguous commonality" has become "opaque and controversial". The term "mysticism" is being used in different ways in different traditions. Some call to attention the conflation of mysticism and linked terms, such as spirituality and esotericism, and point at the differences between various traditions.
Variations of mysticism
Based
on various definitions of mysticism, namely mysticism as an experience
of union or nothingness, mysticism as any kind of an altered state of
consciousness which is attributed in a religious way, mysticism as
"enlightenment" or insight, and mysticism as a way of transformation,
"mysticism" can be found in many cultures and religious traditions, both
in folk religion and organized religion.
These traditions include practices to induce religious or mystical
experiences, but also ethical standards and practices to enhance
self-control and integrate the mystical experience into daily life.
Dan Merkur notes, though, that mystical practices are often
separated from daily religious practices, and restricted to "religious
specialists like monastics, priests, and other renunciates.
According to Dan Merkur, shamanism may be regarded as a form of mysticism, in which the world of spirits is accessed through religious ecstasy. According to Mircea Eliade shamanism is a "technique of religious ecstasy".
Shamanism involves a practitioner reaching an altered state of consciousness in order to perceive and interact with spirits, and channel transcendental energies into this world. A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into trance during a ritual, and practices divination and healing.
Neoshamanism refers to "new"' forms of shamanism,
or methods of seeking visions or healing, typically practiced in
Western countries. Neoshamanism comprises an eclectic range of beliefs
and practices that involve attempts to attain altered states and
communicate with a spirit world, and is associated with New Age practices.
The Eleusinian Mysteries, (Greek: ἘλευσίνιαΜυστήρια) were annual initiation ceremonies in the cults of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone, held in secret at Eleusis (near Athens) in ancient Greece. The mysteries began in about 1600 B.C. in the Mycenean period and continued for two thousand years, becoming a major festival during the Hellenic era, and later spreading to Rome. Numerous scholars have proposed that the power of the Eleusinian Mysteries came from the kykeon's functioning as an entheogen.
The apophatic theology, or "negative theology", of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (6th c.) exerted a great influence on medieval monastic religiosity, both in the East and (by Latin translation) in the West. Pseudo-Dionysius applied Neoplatonic thought, particularly that of Proclus, to Christian theology.
Theosis, practical unity with and conformity to God, is obtained by engaging in contemplative prayer, the first stage of theoria, which results from the cultivation of watchfulness (nepsis). In theoria, one comes to behold the "divisibly indivisible" divine operations (energeia) of God as the "uncreated light" of transfiguration, a grace which is eternal and proceeds naturally from the blinding darkness of the incomprehensible divine essence.It is the main aim of hesychasm, which was developed in the thought St. Symeon the New Theologian, embraced by the monastic communities on Mount Athos, and most notably defended by St. Gregory Palamas against the Greek humanist philosopher Barlaam of Calabria. According to Roman Catholic critics, hesychastic practice has its roots to the introduction of a systematic practical approach to quietism by Symeon the New Theologian.
Symeon believed that direct experience gave monks the authority
to preach and give absolution of sins, without the need for formal
ordination. While Church authorities also taught from a speculative and
philosophical perspective, Symeon taught from his own direct mystical
experience, and met with strong resistance for his charismatic approach, and his support of individual direct experience of God's grace.
The High Middle Ages
saw a flourishing of mystical practice and theorization in western
Roman Catholicism, corresponding to the flourishing of new monastic
orders, with such figures as Guigo II, Hildegard of Bingen, Bernard of Clairvaux, the Victorines, all coming from different orders, as well as the first real flowering of popular piety among the laypeople.
Many western esoteric traditions and elements of modern spirituality have been regarded as "mysticism", such as Gnosticism, Transcendentalism, Theosophy, the Fourth Way, Martinus, spiritual science, and Neo-Paganism. Modern western spiritually and transpersonal psychology
combine western psycho-therapeutic practices with religious practices
like meditation to attain a lasting transformation. Nature mysticism is
an intense experience of unification with nature or the cosmic totality,
which was popular with Romantic writers.
Portrait of Abraham Abulafia, Medieval Jewish mystic and founder of Prophetic Kabbalah
In the common era, Judaism has had two main kinds of mysticism: Merkabah mysticism and Kabbalah.
The former predated the latter, and was focused on visions,
particularly those mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel. It gets its name
from the Hebrew word meaning "chariot", a reference to Ezekiel's vision
of a fiery chariot composed of heavenly beings.
Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between an unchanging, eternal and mysterious Ein Sof
(no end) and the mortal and finite universe (his creation). Inside
Judaism, it forms the foundations of mystical religious interpretation.
Kabbalah originally developed entirely within the realm of Jewish thought.
Kabbalists often use classical Jewish sources to explain and
demonstrate its esoteric teachings. These teachings are thus held by
followers in Judaism to define the inner meaning of both the Hebrew Bible and traditional Rabbinic literature, their formerly concealed transmitted dimension, as well as to explain the significance of Jewish religious observances.
Kabbalah emerged, after earlier forms of Jewish mysticism, in 12th to 13th century Southern France and Spain, becoming reinterpreted in the Jewish mystical renaissance of 16th-century Ottoman Palestine. It was popularised in the form of Hasidic Judaism from the 18th century forward. 20th-century interest in Kabbalah has inspired cross-denominational Jewish renewal and contributed to wider non-Jewish contemporary spirituality, as well as engaging its flourishing emergence and historical re-emphasis through newly established academic investigation.
Regarding Jewish mysticism there are many "Segulot". "Segulot"
are spiritual powers that have the ability to influence reality in our
world. However, the "Segulot" do not necessarily "must" work. When there
is some trouble, the main thing is to rummage through our actions to
know what transgressions brought us the trouble, "and teshuvah, tefillah
and tzedakah (In English they are repentance, prayer and charity) pass
the evil of the decree". But if you already do teshuvah, and pray with
all your heart, and give tzedakah, especially to support the scholars,
then surely it is good and right to also add the power of "Segulot" to
give, so to speak, an additional "push" to each one to reach the
salvation he needs.
The consensus is that Islam's inner and mystical dimension is encapsulated in Sufism.
Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as
[A] science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God.
A practitioner of this tradition is nowadays known as a ṣūfī (صُوفِيّ), or, in earlier usage, a dervish.
The origin of the word "Sufi" is ambiguous. One understanding is that
Sufi means wool-wearer; wool wearers during early Islam were pious
ascetics who withdrew from urban life. Another explanation of the word
"Sufi" is that it means 'purity'.
Sufis generally belong to a halaqa, a circle or group, led by a Sheikh or Murshid. Sufi circles usually belong to a Tariqa which is the Sufi order and each has a Silsila, which is the spiritual lineage, which traces its succession back to notable Sufis of the past, and often ultimately to Muhammed or one of his close associates. The turuq (plural of tariqa)
are not enclosed like Christian monastic orders; rather the members
retain an outside life. Membership of a Sufi group often passes down
family lines. Meetings may or may not be segregated according to the
prevailing custom of the wider society. An existing Muslim faith is not
always a requirement for entry, particularly in Western countries.
Visiting holy places, particularly the tombs of Sufi saints, in
order to remember death and the greatness of those who have passed.
The aims of Sufism include: the experience of ecstatic states (hal), purification of the heart (qalb), overcoming the lower self (nafs), extinction of the individual personality (fana), communion with God (haqiqa), and higher knowledge (marifat). Some sufic beliefs and practices have been found unorthodox by other Muslims; for instance Mansur al-Hallaj was put to death for blasphemy after uttering the phrase Ana'l Haqq, "I am the Truth" (i.e. God) in a trance.
Sufism first came into contact with the Judeo-Christian world during the Moorish occupation of Spain. An interest in Sufism revived in non-Muslim countries during the modern era, led by such figures as Inayat Khan and Idries Shah (both in the UK), Rene Guenon (France), and Ivan Aguéli (Sweden). Sufism has also long been present in Asian countries that do not have a Muslim majority, such as India and China.
In Hinduism, various sadhanas (spiritual disciplines) aim at overcoming ignorance (avidya) and transcending one's identification with body, mind, and ego to attain moksha, liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Hinduism has a number of interlinked ascetic traditions and philosophical schools which aim at moksha and the acquisition of higher powers.
With the onset of the British colonisation of India, those traditions
came to be interpreted in Western terms such as "mysticism", resulting
in comparisons with Western terms and practices.
Yoga is a term for physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which aim to attain a state of permanent peace. Various traditions of yoga are found in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali define yoga as "the stilling of the changing states of the mind", culminating in the state of samadhi.
Classical Vedanta gives philosophical interpretations and commentaries of the Upanishads, a vast collection of ancient hymns. At least ten schools of Vedanta are known, of which Advaita Vedanta, Vishishtadvaita, and Dvaita are the best known. Advaita Vedanta, as expounded by Adi Shankara, states that there is no difference between Atman (the world-soul) and Brahman (the divine). The best-known subschool is Kevala Vedanta or mayavada
as expounded by Adi Shankara. Advaita Vedanta has acquired a broad
acceptance in Indian culture and beyond as the paradigmatic example of
Hindu spirituality. In contrast Bhedabheda-Vedanta emphasizes that Atman and Brahman are both the same and not the same, while Dvaita Vedanta states that Atman and God are fundamentally different. In modern times, the Upanishads have been interpreted by Neo-Vedanta as being "mystical".
Tantra is the name given by scholars to a style of meditation and ritual which arose in India no later than the fifth century AD. Tantra has influenced the Hindu, Bön, Buddhist, and Jain traditions and spread with Buddhism to East and Southeast Asia. Tantric ritual seeks to access the supra-mundane through the mundane, identifying the microcosm with the macrocosm. The Tantric aim is to sublimate (rather than negate) reality. The Tantric practitioner seeks to use prana (energy flowing through the universe, including one's body) to attain goals which may be spiritual, material or both. Tantric practice includes visualisation of deities, mantras and mandalas. It can also include sexual and other (antinomian) practices.
Mysticism in the Sikh faith began with its founder, Guru Nanak, who, from his childhood, had profound mystical experiences. Guru Nanak stressed that God must be seen with 'the inward eye', or the 'heart', of a human being. Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru, added works from various religions' mystics (bhagat) into the holy scriptures that would eventually become the Guru Granth Sahib.
The goal of Sikhism is to be one with God. Sikhs meditate as a means to progress towards enlightenment; devoted meditation, simran, is seen to enable communication between the Infinite and the finite human consciousness. There is no concentration on the breath
(as in other Dharmic religions), but chiefly, the practice of simran
consists of the remembrance of God through the recitation of the Divine
Name. A frequent metaphor is that of mystics "surrendering themselves to the Lord's feet."
According to Paul Oliver, a lecturer at Huddersfield University,
Buddhism is mystical in the sense that it aims at the identification of
the true nature of our self, and live according to it. Buddhism originated in India, sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, but is now mostly practiced in other countries, where it developed into a number of traditions, the main ones being Therevada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.
Buddhism aims at liberation from the cycle of rebirth by self-control through meditation and morally just behaviour. Some Buddhist paths aim at a gradual development and transformation of the personality toward Nirvana, like the Theravada stages of enlightenment. Others, like the Japanese Rinzai Zen tradition, emphasize sudden insight, but nevertheless also prescribe intensive training, including meditation and self-restraint.
Although Theravada
does not acknowledge the existence of a theistic Absolute, it does
postulate Nirvana as a transcendent reality which may be attained. It further stresses transformation of the personality through meditative practice, self-restraint, and morally just behaviour.
According to Richard H. Jones, Theravada is a form of mindful
extrovertive and introvertive mysticism, in which the conceptual
structuring of experiences is weakened, and the ordinary sense of self
is weakened. It is best known in the west from the Vipassana movement, a number of branches of modern Theravāda Buddhism from Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Sri Lanka, and includes contemporary American Buddhist teachers such as Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield.
The Yogacara school of Mahayana investigates the workings of the mind, stating that only the mind (citta-mātra) or the representations we cognize (vijñapti-mātra), really exist. In later Buddhist Mahayana thought, which took an idealistic turn, the unmodified mind came to be seen as a pure consciousness, from which everything arises. Vijñapti-mātra, coupled with Buddha-nature or tathagatagarba,
has been an influential concept in the subsequent development of
Mahayana Buddhism, not only in India, but also in China and Tibet, most
notable in the Chán (Zen) and Dzogchen traditions.
Chinese and Japanese Zen is grounded on the Chinese understanding of the Buddha-nature as one true's essence, and the two truths doctrine as a polarity between relative and Absolute reality. Zen aims at insight into one's true nature, or Buddha-nature, thereby manifesting Absolute reality in the relative reality. In Soto, this Buddha-nature is regarded to be ever-present, and shikan-taza, sitting meditation, is the expression of the already existing Buddhahood. Rinzai-zen emphasises the need for a break-through insight in this Buddha-nature, but also stresses that further practice is needed to deepen the insight and to express it in daily life, as expressed in the Three mysterious Gates, the Four Ways of Knowing of Hakuin, and the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures. The Japanese Zen-scholar D.T. Suzuki noted similarities between Zen-Buddhism and Christian mysticism, especially Meister Eckhart.
The Tibetan Vajrayana tradition is based on Madhyamaka philosophy and Tantra. In deity yoga, visualizations of deities are eventually dissolved, to realize the inherent emptiness of every-'thing' that exists. Dzogchen, which is being taught in both the Tibetan BuddhistNyingma school and the Bön tradition, focuses on direct insight into our real nature. It holds that "mind-nature" is manifested when one is enlightened, being nonconceptually aware (rigpa, "open presence") of one's nature, "a recognition of one's beginningless nature". Mahamudra has similarities with Dzogchen, emphasizing the meditational approach to insight and liberation.
Taoist philosophy is centered on the Tao, usually translated "Way", an ineffable cosmic principle. The contrasting yet interdependent concepts of yin and yang also symbolise harmony, with Taoist scriptures often emphasising the Yin virtues of femininity, passivity and yieldingness. Taoist practice includes exercises and rituals aimed at manipulating the life force Qi, and obtaining health and longevity. These have been elaborated into practices such as Tai chi, which are well known in the west.
Today there is also occurring in the West what Richard Jones calls "the secularization of mysticism".
That is the separation of meditation and other mystical practices from
their traditional use in religious ways of life to only secular ends of
purported psychological and physiological benefits.
Scholarly approaches of mysticism and mystical experience
R. C. Zaehner
distinguishes three fundamental types of mysticism, namely theistic,
monistic, and panenhenic ("all-in-one") or natural mysticism.
The theistic category includes most forms of Jewish, Christian, and
Islamic mysticism and occasional Hindu examples such as Ramanuja and the
Bhagavad Gita. The monistic type, which according to Zaehner is based upon an experience of the unity of one's soul, includes Buddhism and Hindu schools such as Samkhya and Advaita vedanta. Nature mysticism seems to refer to examples that do not fit into one of these two categories.
Walter Terence Stace, in his book Mysticism and Philosophy (1960), distinguished two types of mystical experience, namely extrovertive and introvertive mysticism.
Extrovertive mysticism is an experience of the unity of the external
world, whereas introvertive mysticism is "an experience of unity devoid
of perceptual objects; it is literally an experience of
'no-thing-ness'."
The unity in extrovertive mysticism is with the totality of objects of
perception. While perception stays continuous, "unity shines through the
same world"; the unity in introvertive mysticism is with a pure
consciousness, devoid of objects of perception, "pure unitary consciousness, wherein awareness of the world and of multiplicity is completely obliterated."
According to Stace such experiences are nonsensous and nonintellectual,
under a total "suppression of the whole empirical content".
Stace argues that doctrinal differences between religious
traditions are inappropriate criteria when making cross-cultural
comparisons of mystical experiences.
Stace argues that mysticism is part of the process of perception, not
interpretation, that is to say that the unity of mystical experiences is
perceived, and only afterwards interpreted according to the perceiver's
background. This may result in different accounts of the same
phenomenon. While an atheist describes the unity as "freed from
empirical filling", a religious person might describe it as "God" or
"the Divine".
Mystical experiences
Since
the 19th century, "mystical experience" has evolved as a distinctive
concept. It is closely related to "mysticism" but lays sole emphasis on
the experiential aspect, be it spontaneous or induced by human behavior,
whereas mysticism encompasses a broad range of practices aiming at a
transformation of the person, not just inducing mystical experiences.
William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience
is the classic study on religious or mystical experience, which
influenced deeply both the academic and popular understanding of
"religious experience". He popularized the use of the term "religious experience" in his "Varieties", and influenced the understanding of mysticism as a distinctive experience which supplies knowledge of the transcendental:
Under the influence of William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience,
heavily centered on people's conversion experiences, most philosophers'
interest in mysticism has been in distinctive, allegedly
knowledge-granting "mystical experiences."
Yet, Gelman notes that so-called mystical experience is not a
transitional event, as William James claimed, but an "abiding
consciousness, accompanying a person throughout the day, or parts of it.
For that reason, it might be better to speak of mystical consciousness,
which can be either fleeting or abiding."
Most mystical traditions warn against an attachment to mystical
experiences, and offer a "protective and hermeneutic framework" to
accommodate these experiences. These same traditions offer the means to induce mystical experiences, which may have several origins:
Spontaneous; either apparently without any cause, or by persistent existential concerns, or by neurophysiological origins;
Neurophysiological origins, such as temporal lobe epilepsy.
The theoretical study of mystical experience has shifted from an
experiential, privatized, and perennialist approach to a contextual and
empirical approach.
The experientalist approach sees mystical experience as a private
expression of perennial truths, separate from its historical and
cultural context. The contextual approach, which also includes
constructionism and attribution theory, takes into account the
historical and cultural context. Neurological research takes an empirical approach, relating mystical experiences to neurological processes.
Perennialism versus constructionism
The
term "mystical experience" evolved as a distinctive concept since the
19th century, laying sole emphasis on the experiential aspect, be it
spontaneous or induced by human behavior. Perennialists regard those
various experience traditions as pointing to one universal
transcendental reality, for which those experiences offer the proof. In
this approach, mystical experiences are privatised, separated from the
context in which they emerge. Well-known representatives are William James, R.C. Zaehner, William Stace, and Robert Forman. The perennial position is "largely dismissed by scholars", but "has lost none of its popularity."
In contrast, for the past decades most scholars have favored a
constructionist approach, which states that mystical experiences are
fully constructed by the ideas, symbols and practices that mystics are
familiar with.
Critics of the term "religious experience" note that the notion of
"religious experience" or "mystical experience" as marking insight into
religious truth is a modern development,
and contemporary researchers of mysticism note that mystical
experiences are shaped by the concepts "which the mystic brings to, and
which shape, his experience". What is being experienced is being determined by the expectations and the conceptual background of the mystic.
Richard Jones draws a distinction between "anticonstructivism"
and "perennialism": constructivism can be rejected with respect to a
certain class of mystical experiences without ascribing to a
perennialist philosophy on the relation of mystical doctrines.
One can reject constructivism without claiming that mystical
experiences reveal a cross-cultural "perennial truth". For example, a
Christian can reject both constructivism and perennialism in arguing
that there is a union with God free of cultural construction.
Constructivism versus anticonstructivism is a matter of the nature of mystical experiences while perennialism is a matter of mystical traditions and the doctrines they espouse.
The perennial position is now "largely dismissed by scholars", and the contextual approach has become the common approach. Contextualism takes into account the historical and cultural context of mystical experiences.
The attribution approach views "mystical experience" as non-ordinary
states of consciousness which are explained in a religious framework.
According to Proudfoot, mystics unconsciously merely attribute a
doctrinal content to ordinary experiences. That is, mystics project
cognitive content onto otherwise ordinary experiences having a strong
emotional impact. This approach has been further elaborated by Ann Taves, in her Religious Experience Reconsidered. She incorporates both neurological and cultural approaches in the study of mystical experience.
Neurological research takes an empirical approach, relating mystical experiences to neurological processes.
This leads to a central philosophical issue: does the identification of
neural triggers or neural correlates of mystical experiences prove that
mystical experiences are no more than brain events or does it merely
identify the brain activity occurring during a genuine cognitive event?
The most common positions are that neurology reduces mystical
experiences or that neurology is neutral to the issue of mystical
cognitivity.
Interest in mystical experiences and psychedelic drugs has also recently seen a resurgence.
The temporal lobe seems to be involved in mystical experiences, and in the change in personality that may result from such experiences. It generates the feeling of "I", and gives a feeling of familiarity or strangeness to the perceptions of the senses. There is a long-standing notion that epilepsy and religion are linked, and some religious figures may have had temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).
The anterior insula may be involved in ineffability,
a strong feeling of certainty which cannot be expressed in words, which
is a common quality in mystical experiences. According to Picard, this
feeling of certainty may be caused by a dysfunction of the anterior
insula, a part of the brain which is involved in interoception,
self-reflection, and in avoiding uncertainty about the internal
representations of the world by "anticipation of resolution of
uncertainty or risk".
Mysticism and morality
A philosophical issue in the study of mysticism is the relation of mysticism to morality. Albert Schweitzer presented the classic account of mysticism and morality being incompatible. Arthur Danto also argued that morality is at least incompatible with Indian mystical beliefs.
Walter Stace, on the other hand, argued not only are mysticism and
morality compatible, but that mysticism is the source and justification
of morality.
Others studying multiple mystical traditions have concluded that the
relation of mysticism and morality is not as simple as that.
Richard King also points to disjunction between "mystical experience" and social justice:
The privatisation of mysticism—that
is, the increasing tendency to locate the mystical in the psychological
realm of personal experiences—serves to exclude it from political
issues as social justice. Mysticism thus becomes seen as a personal
matter of cultivating inner states of tranquility and equanimity, which,
rather than seeking to transform the world, serve to accommodate the
individual to the status quo through the alleviation of anxiety and
stress.
