Mystical Knowledge Research Articles

Amitav Ghosh’s The Living Mountain: A Tale of Green Imperialism

Amitav Ghosh’s The Living Mountain: A Fable for Our Times (2022) is a kind of ecotopian speculative fiction that posits a cryptic study of human-environment relationship in the form of a fable. This novella offers a critical insight into the harsh reality of the present anthropological capitalism and its pernicious impacts on ecology as a whole. It criticizes the growing insensitivity of human towards nature in the clamour for material advancement. Ghosh envisions a caveat against the eco-colonial hegemony. Flummoxed by the injustices meted out to the nature by men, Ghosh implores the human race to get aware of the repercussions of environmental degradation and eco-colonialism. The novella, in a form of a dream tale, tells about how the predator nations expropriate the land and loot the bountiful resources of the prey nations. In the process of gaining upper-hand, they force the native people to disclose their mystic knowledge of their ancestors making it easier for them to encroach their land and natural resources. Obliged by a pressing need to awaken the entire human race from the delusions of grandeur and its aftermath, Ghosh pens down the narrative as a commentary on the rapidly growing exploitation of nature’s treasures on an unprecedented scale and its dire consequences. Ghosh has masterfully mingled history, myth, and fiction to unmask the hegemony and hierarchy percolating through the human society and how the malice of human has disturbed harmonious cohabitation of the natives and their environment. The paper aims at exploring the detrimental effects on the environment of the land of the colonised by the colonisers. At its root, it examines how the colonizers abuse not only the natives, their land, resources but even devalue their traditional knowledge. The anthropomorphic view of the colonizers has endangered the natural resources, and if not cured, may invite an ecological crash.

Supremasi Pemerintahan di bawah Agamawan: Menilik Strategi Diskursif Ruhulloh M. Khomeini dalam Revolusi Islam Iran

Abstract: Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was a multifaceted revolutionary figure. His engagement with various scholarly discourses, prophetic historicity, and the political realities of his era profoundly influenced him. The synthesis of these influences eventually formed the new Khomeini, characterized by a pragmatic socio-political outlook. This outlook was manifested in his mission to oppose the secular regime of Reza Shah and establish an Islamic government. Based on this phenomenon, this research aims to discuss academic questions regarding Khomeini’s strategy in founding an Islamic government. It concludes that Khomeini’s political involvement in Iran was closely linked to the political realities he faced and the horizontality of Shia theology. His primary strategy was non-military, involving the integration and reinterpretation of various ideas, including monotheism, Shia theological doctrines, ‘irfani (mystical knowledge), Islamic law, and the texts of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s hadiths. This religio-political strategy effectively toppled the Pahlavi regime, leading to the establishment of an Islamic government

Fraught with Tension: The Question of the Unity of the Corpus Dionysiacum

Abstract: There is debate about whether the Corpus Dionysiacum consists of two parts or offers a coherent position. One group of scholars presents a divisionist position, distinguishing one group of treatises dominated by the idea of hierarchical mediation from a second concentrating on the idea of individual and mystical knowledge of God. The second scholarly interpretation supports a holistic view and underlines the unity of the Corpus . I argue that the Corpus is a unity fraught with tension. Dionysius presents, I argue, a comprehensive view of human beings and their place in the world that offers different—and maybe at times competing—paths to understanding and to the ascent to the divine. The mystical, metaphysical, and meditative path and the sacramental path are not merely parallel ways, one for monks and the other for the bishops and laity. They are connected through the communal theological work presented in the fiction of a theological correspondence between the author and various members of the hierarchy.

To Reveal the Hidden Kingdom of Eld: Andrew Chumbley, the Cultus Sabbati, and Imaginal Space in Cornwall

English occultist and magician Andrew Chumbley, founder of the Cultus Sabbati and author of grimoires such as The Azoëtia and One: The Grimoire of the Golden Toad, is well-known for his association with the Essex region. Very few people know of Chumbley’s time in Cornwall, which he visited during the early 2000’s as part of the activities of the Cultus Sabbati and shortly before his death in 2004. For example, Chumbley’s pivotal mystical poem Qutub was written on the train from Essex to Falmouth. Chumbley’s little-known Cornwall period coincided with some of the most elaborate magical operations of the first incarnation of the Cultus Sabbati, as well as Chumbley’s composition of the most imaginative works of his late period. Moreover, Chumbley’s time in Cornwall is associated with the most intensely mystical influences of his work, including his fascination with the direct mystical knowledge promised by the Gnostics. Cornwall’s unique history of magic, as well as the power of its haunted landscapes, converged to reveal new depths in Chumbley’s eclectic aspirations toward a pan-British vision of witchcraft, as expressed in a group of landscape-based rites called the Cucullati workings. In turn, these workings were part of a larger vision of the Trivagantus: three points in the British isles (Wales, Essex, and Cornwall as well as a central point in Glastonbury) with associated native witchcraft traditions. This article will explore the physical sites that Chumbley visited in Cornwall and their relationship to the concealed, superimposed Otherworld of imaginal space, which he referred to in the Dragon Book of Essex as “the hidden kingdom of Eld.” Drawing upon collaboration between a scholar and a practitioner, this article will reveal the currents of traditional witchcraft that converged in Cornwall at a crossroads of art, psychogeography and gnosis to energise some of Chumbley’s most powerful work.

PHILOSOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL IDEAS ON THE TERRITORY OF UKRAINE IN THE XVI-XVII CENTURIES: A HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS

The article examines the philosophical and theological heritage of the period of the XVI-XVII centuries on the territory of Ukraine. It was concluded that at this time there was a rethinking of philosophical thought, a shift from knowledge of God to emphasizing the importance of knowing a person and recognizing his self-worth. In particular, a school of traditionalism emerged with its roots in the Orthodox Byzantine-Ancient Russian tradition, which acted as an opposition to Latinized Catholicism. The author makes a philosophical analysis of the views of Vasyl Surazky-Malyushytskyi and Ivan Vyshenskyi. The first emphasizes the unattainability of God and emphasizes mystical knowledge, the second sees God in the inner essence of the human soul and defines the path to self-improvement through self-knowledge. Additional concepts are presented by hegumen Jov Pochaivskyi, Jov Kniagynytskyi, Isakiy Boryskovich and Vitaly of Dubno, who emphasize the importance of spiritual development through prayerful silence and an ascetic lifestyle. Stefan Zyzanii expresses rationalist views on eschatology, rejecting the existence of purgatory and other afterlife realities. Kasiyan Sakovich views the soul as an act of the physical body interacting with the divine essence through grace and godlikeness. In general, in the 16th-17th centuries Orthodoxy observed tendencies to preserve the religious-mystical tradition and distinguish the external and internal aspects of a person. The main emphasis was on the vision of the key element of the path to salvation in monastic asceticism.

Indonesian Javanese Cosmology and its Transformation in Social Tradition and Built Environment

The research focuses on how the teaching of different faiths was blended into Javanese-Nusantara culture and has created a culture with a peaceful and moderate Islamic image that is different from radical Islam which has generated Is-lamic phobias in many countries. This research examines how Javanese cosmology (syncretism of Hindu - Buddha - Islam) had been translated in social space and built-environment. The second is to describe how the system in Java successfully harmonized different faiths into Javanese culture. This study was a purposeful qualitative study that focused on traditional communities and two prominent existing Kingdoms of Surakarta and Yogyakarta in Java. Observation, in-depth interviews, and reviews on literature and documents of classical authors in Islamic Sufism were conducted to collect and compile data. The results show that the cultural process of Javanese prefers similarities rather than emphasizing differences between faiths. Converting faith from Hindu or Buddha to Islam did not necessarily cause conflicts and hostilities. The study underlined that the Javanese’s understanding of cosmology at the micro and macro level, orientation or qiblah, and spiritual axis found similar mystical knowledge between Islam and the pre-Islam (Hindu-Buddha). This syncretism process created Kejawen culture and moderate Islam in Nusantara. Islam Nusantara is recently used as a paradigm by the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia

Metaphors as Knowledge in Mystical Writings

Writers anchored in the Christian mystical tradition generally present their spiritual experience as loaded with cognitive content bearing on things divine. The nature of this mystical knowledge, the way they receive it, and its effect on their existence can be fruitfully approached only by elucidating the way their language and discourse make use of metaphors. Accordingly, starting with references to the early modern period, this article investigates a set of classical mystical metaphors so as to gain insight into the unique mode of metaphorical cognition, highlight the epistemological status proper to mystical experience, and distinguish the latter from other theological cognitive modes. Metaphors borrowed from daily life endow the mystical experience—of which the object is described as being beyond senses and reason—with a perceptible, comprehensible, and communicable configuration. At the same time, metaphors should not be regarded as being merely an approximate expression of an ineffable experience. Through the “gestalt” or structure of a metaphor, mystical experience locates itself and develops in spacetime, thus laying out the path of the spiritual journey. The way various metaphors naturally associate allows the expression, intensity, and self-understanding of spiritual experience to “grow” from one image to another. Thanks to the metaphorical operation, mystics are able to describe their journey and give spiritual direction, providing disciples and readers with concrete directions for reforming and renewing their lives. Furthermore, the connection that metaphor establishes between everyday routines and things divine allows for a two-way exchange of meanings: the objects or events met in daily life are “sanctified” as they become metaphors that convey spiritual understanding and allow an ever-growing number of people to “seek and find God in all things”.

The Eye with Which I See God is the Same Eye with Which God Sees Me: Meister Eckhart on Divine Awareness

ABSTRACT This essay seeks to elicit the complexity, profundity, and subtlety at work in the title, so as to gain a more genuine understanding of what constitutes mystical knowledge and divine awareness for Eckhart. In part one I explore what Eckhart means by this line, and in the process disclose what he does not mean. In part two I explore the mystical implications of the line’s meaning. Throughout I draw from Eckhart’s own sermons and treatises, as well as scripture and works that have influenced his thinking. I also incorporate examples from other mystical traditions as analogies that help us to grasp what Eckhart is saying. My aim is to show the varying ways in which the mystical can be understood in Eckhart, and the extent to which these ways are significant to him. To conclude, I elucidate what Eckhart’s famous line in essence says and what it achieves.

LES SIGNIFICATIONS DU NOM ȘOAPTĂ DANS LA POÉSIE DE TRAIAN DORZ

This paper aims to discuss some meanings of the noun șoaptă/ ‘whisper’ (derived by backformation), as reflected in the confessional poetry of Traian Dorz - a contemporary Romanian author whose work is undoubtedly the fruit of the spiritual experiences that have decisively marked his existential route. In fact, the relationship of the human being with God (in the earthly sphere, but also from the perspective of eternity) remains a constant theme of this work dedicated to the astonishing feeling of His unmistakable love, in connection with which everything is situated, more than once, within the coordinates of the unspeakable: it is a special kind of “verbalization,” which offers the opportunity to live in a true spiritual discipline, substituting (and suppressing) any other form of confession through ordinary words. In addition to simply illustrating such expressive valences that contribute to the achievement of the textual construction, the meanings of the above-mentioned noun highlight the deep feelings of the authorial ego, always ascending on the path of mystical knowledge, and are placed on a positive semantic direction, as a special way of inner “speech”, in the absence of which communication would be inconceivable.

Philip of the Blessed Trinity on Mystical Knowledge

This study concerns the theory of mystical knowledge advanced by the practically unknown seventeenth-century Carmelite author Philip of the Blessed Trinity in his work Summa Theologiae Mysticae. Philip introduces “a new kind” of spiritual species representing the intellectibilia to describe how individuals are granted mystical knowledge, and in doing so distinguishes between three kinds of species. Philip’s notion of mystical knowledge is closely related to the topic of contemplation and is profoundly influenced by The Interior Castle of St. Teresa of Avila. The analysis presented here, therefore, represents an original contribution to the ongoing scholarly study of species, (mystical) knowledge, and Teresian spirituality.

Implications of Students’ Misperceptions about Philosophy on the Development of Philosophical Foundations of Education Teaching Materials

This research aims to describe students’ misperceptions about philosophy as a hindrance to learning the philosophical foundations of education and its implications for the development of teaching materials in the Foundations of Education course. The research was conducted using a descriptive method, with 81 PGSD students from the Faculty of Education at UPI as the research subjects. Result of this research collected through survey, questionnaires, and interviews and processed through the following steps: data reduction, data classification, data interpretation, analysis of implications, and drawing conclusions. The research results indicate the existence of students’ misperceptions about philosophy as an obstacle to learning the philosophical foundations of education. Various perceptions that emerged include: 1) Philosophy is seen as an uncommon knowledge system in everyday life, as strange knowledge, or even as mysterious or mystical knowledge; 2) Philosophy is considered difficult to learn; 3) Philosophy is perceived as dangerous, as it may lead people to disbelief; therefore, it is unnecessary to study; 4) Philosophy is deemed unnecessary because its benefits in life are unclear; 5) Philosophy is seen as useless because it doesn’t provide technical guidance for solving life’s problems. Regarding the implications for the development of teaching materials for the philosophical foundations of education, before students study the educational foundations from various philosophical perspectives, they need to be facilitated in building the right perceptions about the nature of philosophy. The teaching material should include: the definition of philosophy, characteristics of philosophy, a comparison of philosophy with science, religion, and art, and the role and benefits of philosophy in life. As a result, misperceptions about philosophy can be overcome, making it no longer a hindrance to learning the philosophical foundations of education in the Foundations of Education course.

Memory as a women’s space in the novel “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” by O. Zabuzhko

The subject of the research is the conceptualization of memory as a female sphere in the novel “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” by O. Zabuzhko. The key problem of the study is the interpretation of the image of women in the novel in the context of national and generational memory. The objective of the research is to explore the female domains associated with the space of memory and to highlight the peculiarities of the image of women as keepers of memory. The descriptive, hermeneutic, and intertextual analysis methods have been employed to achieve the objective. The novelty of the research lies in the examination of female images in the novel from the perspective of the burden of representation (N. Yuval-Davis) and considering the conceptual positions of O. Zabuzhko outlined in the essay “A Woman Author in Colonial Culture, or Necessities for Ukrainian Gender Mythology”. As a result, it was established that the sphere of memory in the novel “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” is associated with such female domains as: special female creativity (artistic transformation of destroyed household items in the works by Vladyslava Matusevych); girls’ game of “secrets”; the private space of home, which is opposed to the space of “official truth”; intimate relationships and pregnancy. Women appear as keepers of national memory and reproducers of the nation itself (through their ability to give birth), as well as bearers of mystical knowledge about the past. The study traces the anti-colonial discourse of “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” in a distinct synthesis of gender and national issues. The woman in O. Zabuzhko’s novel is “burdened” with the burden of representation — her bodily being represents the national dignity of her country. Accordingly, the mistake in choosing a man is perceived as a tragic mistake of the heroine (Olena Dovhan), which her heiress (Daryna Hoshchynska) must atone for. The image of Olena Dovhan is seen as a variant of the iconic image of Kateryna, which embodies colonised Ukraine. In contrast, we observe in the image of Daryna Hoshchynska a distinct type of heroine whose intimate life is a space of decolonisation. In the intimate relationship between Daryna and Adrian, the reconstruction of family memory takes place, which reflect collective memory — the memories of the Holodomor and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army’s liberation struggle. The culmination of this relationship is Daryna’s pregnancy, which represents the liberation of Ukraine-woman from the rule of foreigners and gives hope for victory in the war against the coloniser. The study of the gender aspect of postcolonial memory allows for broad prospects within feminist literary studies, literary memory studies, and other fields.

Teorijski sufizam i šerijatski propisi

Sharia means formal regulations on legal and ethical issues, that is, God's commandments and prohibitions that a Muslim should follow in the everyday contexts of his physical life. If someone does not thoroughly implement the Sharia regulations, such as the regulations on prayer or fasting, he will not be able to properly approach the sphere of spirituality and it will even be meaningless to talk about the results of his spiritual and mystical development. Therefore, he will not have credible intuitive power and the most refined ontological and metaphysical secrets of the universe, which are discussed in theoretical Sufism, will not be revealed to him. The most prominent representatives of theoretical Sufism assure us that Islamic jurisprudence and ethics are a necessary introduction to valid mystical experiences and that it is necessary to adhere to all Sharia regulations because they are a condition for success both at the beginning and in all later stages of the mystical journey. They warn that the slightest neglect of the importance of God's precepts in the form of Sharia will be the cause of the mystic's spiritual downfall. By analyzing the content of the reference works of the members of Ibn ʻArabī's school of theoretical Sufism, we will see that Sharia plays the role of the guardian of the mystic's intuitive experiences. The guardian will not allow the spiritual traveler in the protected area to be endangered and will protect his pure mystical knowledge from being discredited and distorted. We will also realize that all formal Sharia regulations actually hide deep spiritual secrets. If we approach the analysis of Sharia regulations in their esoteric layers with a grounded mystical methodology, we will understand that the original mystical teachings of Islam are hidden in the Sharia itself and at the heart of the Sharia rituals in which the Muslim affirms his ontological need to repentantly obey and serve the absolute being of God.

Binyat ar-Ramz al-Lugawiyyah fī at-Tafsīr aṣ-Ṣūfī

This research aimed to demonstrate the distinctive and comprehensive scholarship of the Sufi knowledge structure. The descriptive method and comparative analysis were used in this literature study. Meanwhile, the data were obtained through a review of the literature, which included books, journals, and academic writings with both primary and secondary references. Through in-depth readings, the researchers found that Sufi thought tends to be symbolic and unconventional. They exist in a sort of semantic intensity that is organized by open spiritual experience, which by nature is in alignment with various symbolic objects and their various manifestations by a strong spiritual sense, equipped with imagination and intuition that emanates from the depths of their being. There are numerous sign systems used in the Sufi language that, in terms of functionality, go beyond those used in conventional language. The study's findings suggest that symbols have the following qualities in the intuitive dimension: First, mystical knowledge produces symbols (Gnosticism). The foundation of sufi symbols is the integration of mental, emotional, and spiritual intelligence. Second, the symbolism that Sufis understand is very extensive. The Sufi is endowed with the power to reveal different secrets and inner truths when he reaches the state of mukafah and muhadah. He is capable of understanding sign language's symbolic expressions. Third, symbols offer a wide range of possible interpretations. Symbolism is based on an approach to interpretation that, by accurately reproducing meaning, broadens thought. This talent shows how the Sufi's spiritual level evolved from the sensory level to the level of infinite totality.

Doctrine of Love in Writings of 14th-Century Persian Mystic Mahmud Kashani

The article is devoted to the work of Mahmud Kashani (d. 735/1334-35), who was a sheikh of the Suhravardiya Sufi order and the author of several significant works. The object of analysis was one of the parts of his most famous work — the prose treatise “The lamp that indicates the true path, and the key to a sufficient amount [of mystical knowledge]”. The article deals with the religious views and scientific heritage of Mahmud Kashani. A commented translation of part of the first section “On Love” from the tenth chapter “Explanation of mystical states” of the specified work is proposed. Since Mahmud Kashani is also credited with the poem “Treasures of Secrets and Symbols of the Righteous”, dedicated to the psychological aspects of mystical love, we have also translated one of its chapters. Comparison of fragments of these works shows significant discrepancies in the explanation of love, which may be due to the fact that the author expounds the concept of love of ascetic Sufism in the first essay, and Sufism “based on love” in the second. The second direction goes back to the composition of the “Revelation of Love” by the Persian mystical philosopher Ahmad Ghazali. It is also possible that ‘Izz ad-Din Mahmud is not the author of the poem “Treasures of Secrets…”.

Spiritual Legacy, Sufi Identity, and Mystical Knowledge in Taṣliya formulae

Abstract The tradition of taṣliya texts and practices in Sufism constitute an important source of Muslim intellectual and religious history. Previous studies have argued that these texts were more than mere cultural expressions of devotion to Prophet Muḥammad. Following this line of thought, this article seeks to deepen our grasp of the significance of taṣliya formulae in Sufi contexts. Emphasis will be placed on their role in popularizing various mystical-philosophical teachings and prophetical doctrines that shaped Muslims’ imaginations of the Prophet throughout the centuries.

The emerging Nazi capitalist anti-intellectualism and the role of scientific, philosophical, artistic, and mystical knowledge as critical and creative resistance in the social diffusion of knowledge

It is a reflection of the emerging phenomenon of the anti-intellectualism ideology that has become the hegemonic political narrative of the extreme right worldwide at the present time and, particularly in Brazil, it has gained a space that has taken over the discourse of established power, which requires a careful and polylogical investigation of the genesis of the political use of social networks that propagate the Nazi capitalist discourse and promote what can be called “psychopower” and “psychopolitics”, according to the philosopher Byung-Chul Han, seeking to thereby unmask the devices for the production of truths based on a dogmatic denial of science and traditional and available human knowledge. The text follows the flow of a provocative and questioning oral exposition based on the radical critique of any reduction of reality to monological and negationist discourses in relation to publicly examined and recognized knowledge. The unveiled character of what has been called here integrated world Nazi capitalism requires an attitude of combating any reduction of reality to the perspective of the absolute sovereign, which also means a radical critique of the anti-intellectualism that has been growing disproportionately in the power discourse of those who are not yet human beings, but machines desiring necropower and in favor of eliminating and destroying the "others", contrary to what makes the human being a polyethic curator of the world of life in its totality, and in which nothing is left out, nothing can be excluded.

Carcarlara İlişkin Bir Literatür Değerlendirmesi ve Rus Türkolog V. A. Gordlevskiy’nin Konu İle İlgili Tespitleri

Bu makale, Abdallar arasında “Carcar” olarak isimlendirilen bir topluluğu ele almaktadır. Carcar ifadesinin, harfî ve etimolojik anlamları etrafında Horasan marifetiyle bağlantısı kurulmuştur. Buna göre “Car” sözcüğünün istemek ve talep etmek anlamı bulunmaktadır. Başta tasavvuf olmak üzere her alanda kullanılmaktadır. Bu uygulamayı yürüten kişiler, yardım isteyerek ellerindeki bir tas, torba veya keşkül ile aldıklarını topladıklarından dolayı onların yaptıkları iş “cere çıkmak” olarak bilinmektedir. Carcar adlandırması Konya ve Beyşehir şehir merkezinde birer mahalle ve bu mahallede oturan toplulukların ismidir. Abdal topluluklarının Konya ve Beyşehir’de yaşayanlarına Carcar adı verilmektedir. Carcarlar, Abdal topluluklarının bağlı olduğu Pir ocaklarından Yağmur Ocağına bağlıdır. Yağmur Ocağı ise mürşit olarak Hacı Bektaş Veli Ocağına bağlıdır. Günümüzde de Carcar mahallelerinde Abdallar yaşamakta ve Carcar isimlendirmesini de bilmektedirler. Zaman içerisinde Abdal’ın anlamının kazandığı olumsuzluk gibi Carcar da benzeri şekilde olumsuz bir biçimde yorumlanmasından dolayı kullanılmaz olmuştur. Bir süre sonra şehir tarihi açısından hem mahalle hem de toplulukların bu adlandırması unutulmuş ve ne için kullanıldığına dair de bir açıklama yapılamaz hale gelmiştir. Carcarlar hakkında müstakil ilk çalışmayı Rus Türkolog V. A. Gordlevskiy yapmıştır. O, “Konya’da Carcarlar” isimli makalesini Konya’da yaptığı alan araştırmasına dayanarak yazmış ve ilk kez 1927 yılında yayınlamıştır. Gordlevskiy, Bektaşilik, Alevilik, Kızılbaşlık konularında yürüttüğü araştırmalarıyla şarkıyatçılar arasında ayrıcalıklı bir yere sahiptir. Fakat araştırmalarının önemine rağmen hatalar yapmış ve yanlış bilgilere de çalışmalarında yer vermiştir. Kaynak kişilerin verdiği bilgileri tetkik etmeden çok ağır değerlendirme ve dedikodulara yer vererek çalışmasının konu hakkındaki ilk oluşunu netameli hale getirmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Carcar, Abdal, Gordlevskiy, Konya, Beyşehir, Yağmur Ocağı, Hacı Bektaş Veli.

John Gerson and the Foundations of Mystical Theology

Among other contributions, Jean Gerson (1363-1429) has played a decisive role in establishing spiritual theology as an experimental science, the foundation and process of which are independent from the ones of dogmatic theology, even if their results need to eventually coincide. Based, as all works in the field, on Pseudo-Dionysius, Gerson’s De theologia mystica (written between 1402 and 1423) developed an epistemology of mystical knowledge, itself grounded upon an anthropology describing how humankind’s cognitive and affective powers operate together. Gerson’s work played a major role in the development of French, and more largely, modern approach to mysticism.

Existential Foundations of the "Mystical Experience"

In the existing philosophical interpretations of mystical experience (constructivism, essentialism, etc.), its essence is usually seen in the features of "mystical knowledge". At the same time, the value-semantic foundations of mystical experience and its existential aspect remain in the shadows. In this article, the mystical experience is analyzed from the standpoint of the theories of the subject's objective activity - the theory of activity (developed in Russian psychology), enactivism, and the concept of the "life world". It is shown that the essence of mystical experience is manifested not in cognitive, but in value-semantic, existential attitude to the world, which is represented by two groups of value-semantic viewpoints. In the first, the dependence of the subject on the sacred object of mystical experience is expressed, in the second - the volitional focus of the subject on overcoming such dependence, "mastering", "acquiring" the sacred object. These attitudes reflect the duality of the need-motivational sphere of consciousness, which gives the activity of the subject, on the one hand, activity, energy, and on the other, meaning. In mystical experience, the subject of active "development", "acquisition" (which can be both real and virtual) is an imaginative "otherworldly reality". The analysis allows us to conclude that mystical experience is one of the forms of motivational states of consciousness. Its peculiarity is that it is aimed at realizing the need for the harmonization of the subject's relations with the natural and social environment, the subject's finding the meaning of the "existence of his self" in an always open to the future, incomplete life world. It is the motivational basis that gives the mystical experience an improvisational character, as well as a creative, renewing potential (within the boundaries of the sensory-emotional experience of the world by the subject). The article also analyzes the concept of semantic reality. It is shown that the semantic foundations of mystical experience reflect the individually unique aspects of human life, are the result of the interactions of many factors of socio-cultural, individual-personal nature (psychological, medical, pharmacological, gender, psychiatric, etc.).