Though it validates religion, mysticism also tends to escape the fetters of organized religion
Mysticism (Encyclopaedia Britannica Article)
in general, a spiritual quest for hidden truth or wisdom, the goal of
which is union with the divine or sacred (the transcendent realm).
Forms of mysticism are found in all major world religions, by analogy
in the shamanic and other ecstatic practices of nonliterate cultures,
and in secular experience.
In the 20th century mysticism ("The treasure hidden in the centres of
our souls") has undergone a renewal of interest and understanding and
even a mood of expectancy similar to that which marked its role in
previous eras. Such a mood stems in part from the feeling of
alienation that many persons experience in the modern world. Put down
as a religion of the elite, mysticism (or the mystical faculty of
perceiving transcendental reality) is said by many to belong to all
men, though few use it. The British author Aldous Huxley has stated
that"A totally unmystical world would be a world totally blind and
insane," and the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore has noted that"Man
has a feeling that he is truly represented in something which exceeds
himself.”
Nature and significance
The goal of mysticism is union with the divine or sacred. The path to
that union is usually developed by following four stages: purgation
(of bodily desires), purification (of the will), illumination (of the
mind), and unification (of one's will or being with the divine).
If"The object of man's existence is to be a Man, that is, to re-
establish the harmony which originally belonged between him and the
divinized state before the separation took place which disturbed the
equilibrium" (The Life and Doctrine of Paracelsus), mysticism will
always be a part of the way of return to the source of being, a way
of counteracting the experience of alienation. Mysticism has always
held—and parapsychology also seems to suggest—that the discovery of a
nonphysical element in man's personality is of utmost significance in
his quest for equilibrium in a world of apparent chaos....
There is obviously something nonmental, alogical, paradoxical, and
unpredictable about the mystical phenomenon, but it is not,
therefore, irrational or antirational or"religion without thought.”
Rather, as Zen (Buddhist intuitive sect) masters say, it is knowledge
of the most adequate kind, only it cannot be expressed in words. If
there is a mystery about mystical experience, it is something it
shares with life and consciousness. Mysticism, a form of living in
depth, indicates that man, a meeting ground of various levels of
reality, is more than one-dimensional. Despite the interaction and
correspondence between levels—"What is below is like what is above;
what is above is like what is below" (Tabula Smaragdina," Emerald
Tablet," a work on alchemy attributed to Hermes Trismegistus)—they
are not to be equated or confused. At once a praxis (technique) and a
gnosis (esoteric knowledge), mysticism consists of a way or
discipline.
The relationship of the religion of faith to mysticism ("personal
religion raised to the highest power") is ambiguous, a mixture of
respect and misgivings. Though mysticism may be associated with
religion, it need not be. The mystic often represents a type that the
religious institution (e.g., church) does not and cannot produce and
does not know what to do with if and when one appears. As William
Ralph Inge, an English theologian, commented," institutionalism and
mysticism have been uneasy bedfellows.”Although mysticism has been
the core of Hinduism and Buddhism, it has been little more than a
minor strand—and, frequently, a disturbing element—in Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam....
The founders of religion may have been incipient or advanced mystics,
but the inner compulsions of their experience have proved less
amenable to dogmas, creeds, and institutional restrictions, which are
bound to be outward and majority oriented. There are religions of
authority and the religion of the spirit. Thus, there is a paradox:
if the mystic minority is distrusted or maltreated, religious life
loses its sap; on the other hand, these"peculiar people"do not
easily fit into society, with the requirements of a prescriptive
community composed of less sensitive seekers of safety and religious
routine. Though no deeply religious person can be without a touch of
mysticism, and no mystic can be, in the deepest sense, other than
religious, the dialogue between mystics and conventional religionists
has been far from happy. From both sides there is a constant need for
restatement and revaluation, a greater tolerance, a union of free
men's worship. Though it validates religion, mysticism also tends to
escape the fetters of organized religion....
Prayer and worship may form part of mysticism, but they are viewed as
means and not as essence; also, they are usually continuations of
sensory experience, whereas mysticism is a pure unitary
consciousness, or a union with God....
Mysticism, among the many forms of experience, confirms the claims of
religion and is viewed as providing a foretaste of the life after
death.
"mysticism.”Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Online. 11 Aug. 2007
Shri Adi Shakti: The Kingdom Of God
Since November 1993 the spiritual experiences of children witnessing the mystical Kingdom of God thousands of times over the years have been recorded. All have independently corroborated and irrefutably identified Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi as the incarnation of the Divine Feminine sent to deliver God Almighty's Divine Message to humanity.
"From the early biblical prophets who walked alone in the desert to fast and pray for divine revelation to Native Americans setting out in the wilderness to search for a vision, the pursuit of an inner world beyond everyday physical reality is one of mankind's oldest traditions. For thousands of years humans have retreated into solitude to find answers to life's questions and to gain spiritual wisdom. Though many of the old ways have been forgotten, there are still a means by which anyone can step through the crack between the two worlds and enter the mystical dimensions. This retreat, this quest, is an ancient rite of passage; it is a journey to the center of your soul.” (Denise Linn and Meadow Linn, Vision Quest)
In this Golden Age of the Last Judgment and Resurrection humans will break free of centuries of false religious dogmas, destructive indoctrinations, and absurd ideas about the Divine. The decadent foundations of materialistic society and divisive religious regimes crumble. The Last Judgment and Resurrection is not the signal of the apocalyptic end of the world. On the contrary the Dark Age of death, delusion and destruction humanity has endured for millennia ends. We awaken to a new dawn of genuine spiritual rebirth and daily experience of truth, consciousness and bliss (Sat-Chit-Anand).
Already people think, dream and work towards a world in harmony, a world at peace. We no longer want to be tied up by international boundaries, religious barriers or class chains. We now seek the unification of all peoples and nations, and concern ourselves more with humanity in general than with ourselves. In concerning ourselves with all, we care for everyone in order to make our world a more considerate, benevolent and accepting place. We seek spiritual paths beyond the limitation of religion and mind. We are souls in search of the meaning of life and freedom, only transient travelers to this world to gain vision and purification, before moving on to other worlds.
https://adishakti.org
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