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Issue #60 10-16-88
A weekly electronic magazine for users of
THE ZEPHYR II BBS
(Mesa, AZ - 602-894-6526)
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Editor - Gene B. Williams
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(c) 1988
THIS ISSUE:
On boards such as "Heaven's Gates" some users CLAIM to have
some knowledge of religions. Others actually know what they're
talking about.
One of our regulars, Sue Miller, has done extensive anf formal
studies in the field. This issue is one of the papers who wrote
for a class.
The topic is mysticism.
ON MYSTICISM
by Susan Miller
"Mysticism is the scholastic of the heart, the dialectic of
the feelings."
-Goethe-
This quote by Goethe is one of many attempts to define
possibly the most indefinable portion of religion -- mysticism
and mystical experience. How does one define, let alone study,
mysticism?
Definitions
In attempting to define what mysticism is and is not, below
is presented a summary of the definitions given by six different
authorities. We'll examine these definitions and comment on
their similarities and differences.
Lawrence Fine:
* "...mystics seek intimate knowledge of the divine that
goes beyond intellectualization and rational thinking.
...are interested in the experience of the sacred in a
way that is intuitive, direct, and intense."
* "Mystics tend to find in themselves something in common
with the divine. They frequently turn inward in order
to discover that an aspect of their being, or the
totality of their being, corresponds to or is akin to
God." Mystics develop their "self-awareness" in order
to discover some "identity between the self and the
Other".
* Mystics "tend to look upon the world of nature as a
whole as an opportunity for discovering the sacred."
* Mystics must follow a disciplined way of life, certain
ethical practices necessary to perfect self, attain
mystical experiences.
* Mystics use special techniques such as prayer or
meditation to help increase their knowledge of the
divine.
David Blumenthal:
* Mysticism placed at one end of a continuum called
"spirituality".
* "...the forms and dynamics of spirituality turn
'mystical' when the reports of the experiences involved
betray an abstract con-ceptualization of God, as opposed
to a highly personalist, anthro-popathic conceptualiza
tion."
* Emphasis on aspect of "hard work" and "practice" to
achieve mystical experiences.
* Warning against reductionism in definition.
J. Dan:
* "Jewish mysticism, like any other mysticism, is based on
the deep religious belief that divine truth can be
neither found nor expressed in worldly terms. Divine
truth lies in a mystical realm, completely hidden from
the human sense and rationalistic analysis."
* "...hints of this esoteric realm in the Scriptures,
which, even though written in words, refer to a
dimension that is beyond human language."
* Says the bridge between the divine truth and language is
symbolism, because this divine truth is completely
inexpressible in human terms.
Arthur Green:
* Gives a definition of the mysticism "currently available
in the intellectual marketplace" which is "an utter
absorption within and identification with the deity."
He expands this definition into a working definition
with the following three points:
* Mysticism is "a religious outlet that (1) seeks out
inner experiences of the divine and to that end gener
ally cultivates the life of inwardness; (2) longs to
recover an original intimacy with God,...; and (3) in-
volves itself with an esoteric lore that promises both
to reveal the inner secrets of divinity and to provide
access to the restoration of divine/human intimacy."
Steven Katz:
* "...renewed, immediate, non-critical, largely non-cogni
tive, contact with the mystical depths of Being..."
* "...in the presence of the Absolute...all true seekers
come to know - to feel - the sameness which is the
Ultimately Real."
Gershom Scholem:
* Mystic "seeks an apprehension of God and creation whose
intrinsic elements are beyond the grasp of the
intellect."
* Mystical experiences come about "through contemplation
and illumination".
* Key phrases: "esoteric", "cannot be communicated
directly", "introspection".
Points of Similiarity
In the above aspects of mysticism, three things are found
common to more than one scholar: (1) the esoteric nature, (2) the
discipline required to achieve the experience, and (3) the indes
cribable nature of the experience.
The esoteric nature of the mystic experience seems not to be
a requirement of the mystical experience per se. It does not
result from the difficulty of achieving such an experience, nor
from the indescribable nature of the experience, but results from
a tendency of the mystic to limit the availability of the techni
ques for whatever reasons.
Several of the authors talk at some length about the
discipline required to become a mystic. This discipline might be
but is not necessarily connected with the possible esoteric
nature of mysticism. Blumenthal particularly emphasizes the hard
work and practice involved in the life of a mystic. The techni
ques used by mystics and aspirants to mysticism are many - study,
prayer, meditation, holding to special ethical principles,
performance of mitzvahs, and so on. This discipline could
conceivably include a life of asceticism, although not
necessarily in all situations or religious systems.
It seems obvious that any mystical experience, dealing as it
does with some unnamed connection of the mystic with the divine,
would be quite indescribable by normal human language. Just
about all of the authors make this point quite definitely, and go
on to discuss the heavy use of symbolism needed in order to
attempt to communicate mystical experiences in a way that others
can attempt to understand.
Points of Difference
The above descriptions of mysticism differ in the subtle
point of identifying the exact goal or object of the mystical
experience: is it union or identification with deity, or simply
knowledge of deity?
There is a difference, and it seems that various mystical
traditions approach the matter in different ways. In Buddhism,
for example, the ultimate goal is an exact identification with
that which is Absolute Reality, in which there is no self, nor
any "other" against which to compare the Absolute. The Buddhist
emphasis on non-self (Sanskrit: an-atman) is similar to the
Hindu's goal to identify with the only true self, the Universal
Atman, but some Hindu traditions are reluctant to regard the
union with the Universal Atman as complete; there is sometimes a
vague sort of distinctness between the one who has merged with
the All and the nature of the All itself. 9 On the other end of
the continuum are mystic traditions that strive for a knowledge
of deity without a complete identification with the object of
knowledge. In such a "gnostic" mysticism, there must often be a
partial merging of self with deity in order to obtain the mystic
gnosis, but there is always a separateness between self and
deity.
It makes sense that Fine and Green, who both emphasize the
goal of union with deity rather than simply gnosis, also agree
that an aspect of mysticism is that it attempts to find the
divine nature in man. When there is a piece of deity inside a
person, that person is more apt to want to want to locate his/her
"roots" in the deity of the same nature. There is then a deep
yearning to reunite with the ultimate being of like substance.
Fine and Green naturally are also the two who point out the
inward nature of mystics, which makes sense if that is where one
can look to find deity.
The alternative emphasis, provided by Katz and Dan, is on
the knowledge, rather than the union with, the Ultimate Reality.
This is naturally the position when we de-emphasize the deity in
man, and have less motiviation to lose our self in something of a
different nature. Katz and Dan both mention the goal of a
mystical knowledge of reality, but neither mention the aspect of
a divine spark in man, or of a goal to become identical with the
Ultimate.
These two ends of the spectrum are connected by Scholem's
dualistic model of Jewish mysticism. With Scholem, neither
extreme describes the Jewish mystic. The mystic does not have a
"profound yearning for direct human communion with God through
annihilation of individuality".10 Neither is God so distant that
one cannot merge identities with God to some degree. To Scholem,
the Jewish mystic's concept of Deity is "dualistic", in that God
is always simultaneously transcendent and immanent. One can
search for God inwardly and locate some measure of deity there
with which to identify, without losing the distinction between
self and God.
The Study of Mysticism
Now that we have come to some understanding of what
mysticism means, it is important for us to discuss methods for
investigating it. In general it seems useful to use those
scholarly techniques of study already employed in the examination
of traditional religious writings, with one special caveat:
reductionism must be avoided at all times. We must not reduce
the mystical experience into completely human terms, although
naturally that is a very tempting way to deal with it. Although
mystics are not necessarily at odds with the traditional
religious community of their culture, the experiences of mystics
are quite foreign to the average person, and tension over
difficulties in communication will certainly occur.
The natural starting place for mystical study by non-mystics
is the literature of mysticism, first and foremost that produced
by the mystics themselves as well as by commentators and critics.
The latter works must be examined with care, always searching for
the inevitable bias(es) that the writers will bring to their
writings. The literature of mystics should be compared and
contrasted with the traditional writings of the religion in
question as an aid to discover the cultural basis from which the
mystic has arisen. The student of mysticism would also profit
from a careful study of the historical background of mystics and
mystical works, since clues to deciphering the symbolism involved
might be gained by this. Time spent in philological study would
also seem to be an aid toward this end.
The goal of studying mysticism is an understanding of mystics
and their experiences, although this is by definition impossible
for the non-mystic. As William Inge aptly phrases it, "...the
relation of the individual to the Absolute, an essential them of
philosophy, can only be mystically apprehended."
Until Next Time
Your own views of mysticism could make for some interesting
conversation here. The number of tangent issues and ideas could
keep us running for years. It's a bit more than someone hanging
out a sign that says, "Tarot Readings."
As for myself, I've just about completed the present book
project ("Run For Freedom"). Before digging into the next (on
how to design a home), I'll do up a couple of new issues for the
magazine here. I can't tell you what they'll be about, because
I don't know myself at this point.
Meanwhile, if anyone else has something they'd like to
contribute . . .
Zephyr Magazine is ©
Gene Williams. All rights reserved.