Mysticism

Mysticism is popularly known as any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning, but may refer to becoming one with God or the Absolute. It also refers 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 múō, meaning "to close" or "to conceal", mysticism referred to the biblical, liturgical, 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.

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Mysticism is the practice of religious ecstasies (religious experiences during alternate states of consciousness), together with whatever ideologies, ethics, rites, myths, legends, and magic may be related to them.

History

Mysticism is a constellation of distinctive practices, discourses, texts, institutions, traditions, and experiences aimed at human transformation, variously defined in different traditions. The term has Western origins, with various, historically determined meanings. Derived from the Greek μυω, meaning "to conceal", it referred to the biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative dimensions in early and medieval Christianity, and became associated with "extraordinary experiences and states of mind" in the early modern period.

In modern times, "mysticism" has acquired a limited definition, but a broad application, as meaning the aim at the "union with the Absolute, the Infinite, or God". This limited definition has been applied to include a worldwide range of religious traditions and practices.

Since the 1960s, a scholarly debate has been ongoing in the scientific research of "mystical experiences" between perennial and constructionist approaches.

See also

• Kabbalah
• Gnosticism
• Spiritualism
• Islamic Mysticism
• Germanic mysticism

Sources

• Bhattacharya, Vidhushekhara, , Gaudapadakarika, , , 1943, , , , , , ,

• , , , Mysticism: A Variety of Psychological Perspectives, , , 2003, , , , , , ,

• Bloom, Harold, , Aldous Huxley, , , 2010, , , , , , ,

External links

• Encyclopedia Britannica, Mysticism
• Jerome Gellmann, Mysticism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy