Mystical Awakening (Yaqzah) and Being-Mindfulness: Towards a Comparative Understanding of the Mystical Relevance of the Ontological Philosophies of Heidegger and Sadra

Abstract

Sadra and Heidegger share a common fundamental concern, i.e. the retrieve of the question of Being. Their whole philosophical career in one sense has been devoted to the accomplishment of this single task. They belong to different philosophical traditions and have lived in different worlds and have had different spiritual and intellectual ideals. However, their ontological concern have numerous points of similarity and can be comparatively assayed. The mystical dimension of the philosophical discourses of these two philosophers of the Truth of Being is one of the significant comparative issues that can be studied in view of a certain set of mystical concepts. One of the key mystical concepts is Yaqzah or mystical awakening that refers to the existential awareness that occurs in the mystic following a Divine enlightenment. The current essay seeks to comparatively study the mystical relevance of the notion of Being-Mindfulness of Sadra and Heidegger in view of the mystical concept of Yaqzah. It has been shown that despite undeniable differences we can discern significant similarities in both notions and take a constructive step for more integrative understanding of human condition as a whole.