Five Ways Leading to the Mystical Union - Assignment Example

Five ways leading to the mystical union and provide thorough and abundant examples from the readings from each of the stages. Introduction. According to Evelyn Underhill, mysticism is the state off union with reality. No one description can be said to be right, but in order for mysticism to occur there has to be change in an individual’s life, after the experience beyond human description. Prominent medieval figures such as Bernard of Clairvaux were for practices that may result into mystical experiences. In the process of uniting with God, a mystic has to go through several stages. Various scholars offer several stages to achieve that union. The five stages commonly used are the Western and Eastern .Apart from the five fold path, there are other common paths to mystical union which include the three fold path, which has three paths; purgative, illuminative and unitive, which is common in Western churches. The five fold path is described below, given by Evelyn Underhill. 1) The awakening of self. This is a stage much higher than religious conversion. A person moves from a stage of physical limitations, placed on them by the world and moves to a state of greater revelation. People find meaning to life. According to Omram Mihael, this stage is where there is a total change in the way man perceives things and their outlook on life is never the same. This change usually takes place through divine intervention and is usually abrupt. A good example is in the bible where St. Paul on the way to Damascus saw light, which represents closeness to God. Basically, what happens in this stage is the viewing of mans spiritual consciousness of God, usually in two directions of comprehending reality. For example God seems so close yet so far. The reaction of the mystic is that of awe to the opposites that present themselves. Only one perception presents itself in the first breakthrough. 2) Purgation of self. The awakened parson goes higher, on the slow spiritual journey in order to arrive at a higher consciousness of reality. The path involves shedding off older, evil self of the world and embracing God. Acquisition of all things godly has to be made a priority. The awakened person has to view pain and suffering with pleasure. After awakening most people enjoy physical and mental suffering. St. Teresa said let me suffer or die. They look at their old selves with disgust. In raising oneself to purity one has to be ready, for example poverty is common, so one has to endure pain and suffering. This phase has two components; mortification and detachment. The later refers to voluntary poverty, which according to the Catholic Church is chastity where, there is cleansing of the soul from all personal desires. Finally one must obey the voice and teachings of God. A good example is the biblical beatitude that says, blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall receive the kingdom of God. The mystic must detach from all material stuff and aim for purity, because God is pure. Mystics here choose to associate with only clean creatures. Material possessions usually cloud our aim for reaching purity. According to St. John of The Cross, we are nothing; we have nothing and therefore lack nothing. Mortification on the other hand is purification, to ensure the death of old habits of the old self, which prevents oneself from becoming a new being. Any necessary physical and mental torture is required to free oneself from earthly pleasures and satisfaction. It can only stop when one has shed selfhood. Love of all people and creatures, plus service to humanity is important. Old days had the step of physical torture, which included several ways of crucifying oneself. 3) Illumination. This stage transfers self centeredness into a God-centered world. Once detached from earthly attathchments, the mystic is sure of the existence of God. The mystic and the superior being are not yet one, the relationship can be compared to betrothal but not marriage. There is consciousness of the presence of God; therefore there is joy and pleasure. It is a state of the ultimate experience. Everything that exists according to the mystic is filled with God. Upon experiencing the presence of God, the mystic is determined to go ahead to the turbulent waters of the dark night. 4) The dark night of the soul. Here there is purification of the spirit, before it merges with the absolute. There is no joy but fatigue, deprivation and darkness. Old temptation of mystics’ desire for earthly desires creeps in, due to exhaustion and seclusion from friends and family. They feel like they have forsaken by God. There is generally a feeling of unknowing. This stage takes away all the childish joys of illumination in order to prepare the soul, to the ultimate union with the absolute. The soul sinks into nothingness. 5) The unitive life. This stage comes after years of destruction of selfhood. The old self is replaced by the divine self, therefore, the mystic has the ability to exhibit amazing strength, calmness and power to deal with all then circumstances. One becomes a partaker of God-like properties. They are ready to take on eternal life with superhuman abilities. There is coupling between the love and beloved, leading to a kind of spiritual marriage. They love nature and all creatures, just like they are newborn babies, song come out of their lips and they live serene lives. Mystics, who have reached this, are viewed like superheroes and accorded a lot of respect by institutions, such as sainthood, by the Catholic Church. 2) Write an essay comparing Hildegard of Bigen and Bernard of Clairvaux. How does gender help in understanding their texts? Hildegard of Bigen was a German noble woman; a daughter of a knight. A woman of many talents, she wrote medical, theological and botanical texts. She was sickly from birth and experienced visions from an early age. She was put under the care of an older lady, called Juta, at a tender age, who was a visionary herself. Hildegard experienced all visions in the light of God, through all the five sense; smell, touch, hearing, touch and sight. She had a struggle to write what she had experienced, causing her great physical and mental suffering. She writes about her suffering in her first theological text, known as Scivics (Know the ways). She is one of medieval greatest composers of classical music. Scholars such as Fassler point out that, the close connection between her music and text, a rare thing during that century. Feminists assert the link between her music and the female form, therefore, a close connection between her and the history of female rhetorians. She was theologian who held the belief that her monastery should not allow novices who hailed from a different class from nobility. According to Hildegard, woman may be from man, but no man can be made without woman. She broke limitations placed on women, by participating in the interpretation of the scripture during her time. She went against societal norms by preaching in and out of the monastery (New York: Routledge, 2001). Hildegard had fanatic followers who wrote her letters, in addition to influencing monastic women during her time and in subsequent centuries. She was in constant communication with popes, statesmen, emperors and notable individuals, such as Bernard of Clairvaux. Most scholars attribute her success to breaking existing patriarchal system in the church to two factors. One is belittling her and fellow women by referring to women as the weaker sex, and owing all her visions to divine intervention. She was exceptional because her work brings together art, religion and science together. Bernard of Clairvaux. He was a French abbot and theologian, a son of nobility, his father a Lord. Bernard is believed to be the founding abbot of Clairvaux, Abbey in Burgundary, and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order. It was during his time that the role of Virgin Mary as an intercessor grew. Bernard was a peacemaker, mystic and advisor. One of his most notable mediation was the healing of papal schism, which arose in 1130, after the election of Anacletus. In addition he was crucial in combating heresy, most notably brought forward by Henry of Lausanne. He was open in defending the rights of the church from encroachment by kings and provincial rulers. Bernard faced many challenges including, rebellion within his monastery and, failure to succeed in the second crusade. He was so important, that he was an advisor to five popes and influenced the papal holders. Conclusion. There are several similarities; both were born in the same century and had visions from an early age. In addition they were founders of monasteries which were very successful, besides being very close to the leaders of the Catholic Church at the time. It should be noted that Bernard is the one who convinced the pope Eugenius to allow Hildegard, to publish her visions. This means, that her texts and compositions may not be in existence if it were not for him. Another similarity was that they both championed against human injustices, and were not afraid to oppose the position of the church. These are two people of different genders, who greatly influenced the direction the Catholic Church took. References Underhill, Evelyn. Mystics of the Church. Pennsylvania: Marehouse Publishing, 1925. Print. Read More