Natural and Religious Mysticism
R. C. Zaehner has identified two distinctively different mystical experiences: natural and religious mystical experiences, this being the overarching thesis of his book Mysticism Sacred and Profane. Natural mystical experiences are, for example, experiences of the 'deeper self' or experiences of oneness with nature. Zaehner argues that the experiences typical of 'natural mysticism' are quite different from the experiences typical of religious mysticism. In this, Zaehner is directly opposing the views Aldous Huxley put forward in The Perennial Philosophy according to which the mystical experiences in all religions are essentially the same. Natural mystical experiences are in Zaehner's view of less value because they do not lead as directly to the virtues of charity and compassion. Zaehner is generally critical of what he sees as narcissistic tendencies in nature mysticism.
Read more about this topic: Mysticism
Famous quotes containing the words natural, religious and/or mysticism:
“The natural man has only two primal passions, to get and to beget.”
—Sir William Osler (1849–1919)
“... the loss of belief in future states is politically, though certainly not spiritually, the most significant distinction between our present period and the centuries before. And this loss is definite. For no matter how religious our world may turn again, or how much authentic faith still exists in it, or how deeply our moral values may be rooted in our religious systems, the fear of hell is no longer among the motives which would prevent or stimulate the actions of a majority.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“What does mysticism really mean? It means the way to attain knowledge. It’s close to philosophy, except in philosophy you go horizontally while in mysticism you go vertically.”
—Elie Wiesel (b. 1928)