RELIGION VIs-A-VIS MYSTICISM A Quest for the Meaningfulness of Life
Keywords:
REligion, MYSTICISMAbstract
Human quest for the ultimate understanding of reality seems to be unquenchable. The rigour and ingenuity with which various intellectual disciplines have been formed and perfected over the centuries testify to the human ability to soar higher and higher, accessing the ever-deeper and unfathomable dimensions of reality. The undying and ever-stronger determination and commitment on the part of seekers to unravel the inner recesses of reality against the deep and profound dimensions of the same reality that challenge human inquisitiveness continue to elicit renewed spirit and novel strategies.
References
Saju Chackalackal, Unity of Knowing and Acting in Kant: A Paradigmatic Integration of the Theoretical and the Practical, Bangalore: Dharrnaram Publications, 2002, 32-42.
John V. Apozyhski, "Mysticism and Epistemology," Studies in Religion 14, 2 (1985), 201. Opinions of two philosophers are worth quoting here, as both try to question and ridicule religious and mystical experiences. According to Bertrand
Bemard Lonergan, Method in Theology, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003,316.
Friedrich von Hugel, The Mystical Element of Religion as Studied in St. Catherine of Genoa and Her Friends, 2nd ed., 2 vols., London: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1923, 1:51-53.
Louis Dupre, "General Introduction" in Light from Light: An Anthology of Christian Mysticism, ed. Louis Dupre and James A. Wiseman, New York: Paulist Press, 1988, 6-7.
Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism: The Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness, Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2006, 75.
Emst Neumann, Kulturentwicklung und Religion, Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 1981.
Bruce Janz, "Mysticism and Understanding: Steven Katz and His Critics," Studies in Religion 24, 1(1995),85.
