Implications of psychedelic research for the contemporary study of comparative mysticism. Sacred and the profane the nature of religion by mircea eliade translated from the french by willard r. The perverse use of eastern thought, sheed and ward. By these researches he has been led to discriminate real spiritual communion from its. Mysticism is an attempt to commune experientially with god or some life force and to find spiritual understanding beyond words and ideas through various means and practices. It is closely related to mysticism but lays sole emphasis on the experiential aspect, be it spontaneous or induced by human behavior, whereas mysticism encompasses a broad range of practices aiming at a.
This includes cell phones and laptops which must be. Mysticism sacred and profane paperback january 1, 1973 by r. An inquiry into some varieties of preternatural experience no electronics. Zaehner, professor of oriental religions and ethics at the. An inquiry into some varieties of praeternatural experience 1957. Zaehner proceeds to analyze huxleys experience pointing out the variety of mystical experiences in different traditions, and reasons, why certain experience catalyzed by a psychedelic, may not be what connection with divinity truly is. Zaehner 1974, notably in his work on mysticism, as in his mysticism sacred and profane. The doors of perception project gutenberg selfpublishing. Zaehner, 1961, oxford university press edition, in english.
Read the fulltext online edition of mysticism, sacred and profane. Anis malik thoha 184 it is clear that, according to both al. Zaehner, on the other hand, labelling sankaras mysticism profane and sharply distinguishing it from the fuller, or sacred, mysticism of the theist. The position taken in one of the most forwardlooking volumes of theological essays to have appeared in recent years 1 accepts r. Mysticism sacred and profane by robert charles zaehner. This page was last edited on 6 decemberat the appendices to mysticism sacred and profane include three accounts of mescaline experiences, including those pwrcezione zaehner himself. Mysticism sacred and profane galaxy books 9780195002294. Huxley was particularly fond of the shop and the large variety of products available there in stark contrast to the much smaller selection in english chemists shops. During his years as spalding professor at oxford university, zaehner. Mysticism in the worlds religions this book is both universal in its scope and discriminating in its approach, and may be recommended unreservedly to any serious enquirer. He understood the original language of many sacred texts, e. Robert charles zaehners mysticism sacred and profane 1957 was one of these responses. Comparative mysticism and the psychedelic evidence psychedelics and mysticism.
Huxley admitted to having changed the fabric as maria thought he should be better dressed for his readers. Zaehners mysticism sacred and profane as having fully examined and refuted the religious claims for mescaline which aldous huxley sketched in the doors of perception. Zaehner expanded on these criticisms in his book mysticism sacred and profane 1957, which also acts as a theistic riposte to what he sees as the monism of huxleys the perennial philosophy. Xviii256 zaehner probes deep into some items of modern psychologic experience in the light of the comparative history of religions. Zaehner proceeds to analyze huxleys experience pointing out the. Larson, mystical man in india,journal for the scientific study of religion, vol. Reflection on zen and christian mysticism, was authored. Contrary to zaehner, huston smith draws attention to evidence suggesting that these drugs can facilitate theistic mystical experience. And lastly, for a treatment of mysticism which does place it properly within the history of human consciousness, a task beyond the abilities of zaehner, see the corresponding chapter in f m cornford s book from religion to philosophy. See all 8 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Evelyn underhill was an english writer and pacifist known for her many works on religion and spiritual practice, in particular christian mysticism. Amiri and zaehner, in order for the comparative study of religions to be credible and commendable, it must fulfill the requirements of representation adequately. Zaehner, mysticism sacred and profane, oxford university press.
An inquiry into some varieties of praternatural experience oxford, clarendon press, 1957, pp. Principally, zaehner says that the praeternatural experience is not typical of mescaline. The books conversational style delivers clarity and wisdom on a difficult subject, and along the way are found many. These three types zaehner relates to one another in terms of christian theology and jungian psychology. The typology that zaehner employs here is slightly different from that of mysticism sacred and profane. Zaehner clearly does not agree with staces argument for the universal core, and n mysticism, sacred and profane argues against such a view.
Mysticism is a major element of the mystery of iniquity. Earlier, starting in world war ii, he had served as an intelligence officer in iran. Western mysticism a timeline philosophical explorations. In his mysticism, sacred and profane 1957 he vehemently criticized. Do psychedelics disclose genuine mystical insights. Although systematic reasoning is important, direct perception has intrinsic value too. Pdf mysticism, historical and contemporary researchgate. Zaehners was a definitely christian approach rather than a scientificdescriptive one, and his concern was to distinguish between theistic and other forms of mysticism, such as monistic mysticism as found, according. Robert charles zaehner 191974 was a british academic whose field of study was eastern religions. The complete works of chuang tzu richard wilhelm, translator.
Pdf an evident experience of gods presence is the basis for all religion. Zaehner, many years ago in connection with aldous huxleys famous experiments with mescalin. University of oxford, is wellknown for his researches in. Sacred and profane 1957 was his first published on another subject. They are captured by lies under the guise of truth. The pervezione to mysticism sacred and profane include three accounts of mescaline experiences, including those of zaehner himself. This includes cell phones and laptops which must be off and out of sight during class. Therefore some old writers referred to the trash or poison of mysticism and others spoke of its vagueness or crude. Contents introduction 8 chapter i sacred space and making the world sacred 20 chapter i1 sacred time and myths 68 chapter ill the sacredness of nature and cosmic religion. On the varieties of mystical experience springerlink. I found two written sources quite helpful in understanding mysticism, buddhist and christian. Jul 03, 2014 mircea eliade, the sacred and the profane, trans. At oxford university his first writings had been on the zoroastrian religion and its texts.
Mysticism and drugs religious studies cambridge core. Drawn from the monastic tradition francis kline, ocso mw an introduction to christian mysticism. It followed his assumption of the spalding chair at all souls college, oxford. An inquiry into some varieties of praeternatural experience. Dec 05, 2011 the fraudulence of the easy way was confirmed by the oxford scholar of comparative religion, r. We see, for example, eliot deutsch defending as philosophically intelligible and as significant sankaras nondualistic interpretation of the mystics experience. By these researches he has been led to discriminate real spiritual communion from its out. Robert charles zaehner s mysticism sacred and profane 1957 was one of these responses. Apr 04, 2020 zaehner 1974, notably in his work on mysticism, as in his mysticism sacred and profane. Zaehner argues for a difference between theistic and monistic nature mysticism, the latter of which is induced by among other things drugs. Lest anyone think that all the pages in between are also a. The oneness is experienced as a sacred objective reality, in a feeling of.
Profaniteit, mystiek, godsdiensten, mysticism, hallucinogenic drugs and. While the fourth sort of mysticism he distinguishes here corresponds to theistic mysticism, and the third sort corresponds to monistic mysticism, he has broken down nature. Schedule of classes week 12 introduction a working description of mysticism the worlds religions the academic and the personal. Towards a reconciliation of mysticism and dualism religious. We might begin by noting that in the early 1960s a wide. After zaehner s initial works on zoroastrianism, mysticism. Introduction 11 when the sacred manifests itself man becomes aware of the sacred because it itself, shows itself, as something wholly differ ent from the profane. The immediate occasion for his book has been provided by. Although he acknowledged the importance of the doors of perception as a challenge to people interested in religious experience, 64 he pointed out what. Zaehner s mysticism sacred and profane as having fully examined and refuted the religious claims for mescaline which aldous huxley sketched in the doors of perception. Reardon theological analysis of zaehners theory of.
Since the 19th century, mystical experience has evolved as a distinctive concept. For a true understanding of gnosticism, which zaehner mentions briefly and misrepresents, see jonas and rudolph. She was one of the most widely read writers on such matters in the first half of the twentieth century. The fraudulence of the easy way was confirmed by the oxford scholar of comparative religion, r. Practical mysticism by evelyn underhill free pdf download. Mystical experience, religious doctrine and philosophical analysis. The interdependence of faiths, being the gifford lectures on natural religion at st. Initiation into the monastic tradition 3 thomas merton. Zaehner quotes at length from martin buber on mystical experience, at 1718. In this thesis, any specific discussion will be limited to.
Zaehner identifies the entire hindu religious traditions with the. Mar 08, 2012 robert charles zaehners mysticism sacred and profane 1957 was one of these responses. Following are three fundamental, interrelated characteristics of mysticism. Through mysticism men are drawn toward satan and his program under the guise of spirituality. An inquiry into some varieties of praeternatural experience by r. It is quite absurd, for example, to quote the late philosophic mystic, ibn alaraby, as an authentic exponent of the muslim tradition since he has been. Zaehner, the author of mysticism, sacred and profanetheir deliberate percezionee is regarded as immoral.
Mysticism sacred and profane sveto in profano v misticizmu je zanimivo delo, v katerem je zaehner obravnaval naravo in vedenje mistikov ter uporabo meskalina, opojne naravne substance, ki jo je uporabljalo veliko mistikov, tudi zaehner sam. Mysticism sacred and profane 1961 edition open library. May 19, 2020 this article is about the book by aldous huxley. Robert charles zaehner wikipedija, prosta enciklopedija. Scholarly approaches to mysticism include typologies of mysticism and the explanation of mystical states. Jul 14, 20 i found two written sources quite helpful in understanding mysticism, buddhist and christian. Robert charles zaehner project gutenberg selfpublishing. An inquiry into some varieties of praeternatural experience, clarendon zaehner, r.
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