mysticism
perennial philosophy (philosophia perennis), a way of thought that is
basically the same and universal. Smart makes a distinction between the
unitive experience itself and the mystic’s interpretation of this experi-
ence in his/her writings. The distinction between experience and interpre-
tation is not, however, very explicit because of the degree of ramification,
which can be high or low depending on the concepts used by the mystic
to describe the experience.
In response to the perceived need to typologize mystical experience, it
can be affirmed that there is no pure mystical experience because every
mystic is a product of his/her past religious experience, which includes
the belief system, symbols, and rituals of his/her religious tradition.
Thus every mystical experience is preconditioned by the mystic’s reli-
gious history, the social structure of his/her culture, and by the expecta-
tion about what will be experienced, whether this is God, nirvāÏa, or
Brahman. Not only is the experience of the mystic preconditioned by his/
her history and culture, but it is also shaped by the language of the mys-
tic by which he/she attempts to interpret and express his/her experience.
Mystical language is often erotic by describing unitive experiences in
terms of sexual ecstatic states or orgasm.
Historian Bernard McGinn calls into question the scholarly emphasis
on experience of consciousness because he views such modes of spiritu-
ality as encounters with the presence of a living God. By emphasizing
presence, McGinn moves from the subjective experience to the objective
reality despite its transcendence that the mystic seeks. In brief, the mystic
is a product of his/her religious culture, which does not mean that there
is not room for uniqueness and creativity.
In addition to defining mysticism according to its type and stressing
the unitive experience, the path of the mystic tends to be neglected by
scholars. There are exceptions to this such as the work of Evelyn
Underhill, who identifies five phases of the mystical path: (1) awakening
or conversion; (2) self-knowledge or purgation; (3) illumination; (4) sur-
render or the dark night of the soul; and (5) union. These five phases are
more accurately applied to Western forms of mysticism, but they need to
be modified when applied to Eastern forms of mysticism. A preliminary
form of such a modification notes a preliminary step taken by the aspiring
mystic to turn away from or break with society. A particular mystic path
is grounded in a regime of ascesis or self-discipline. The mystic path
includes the following fivefold structure: (1) purification; (2) spiritual
crisis or drama; (3) threshold experience; (4) symbolic death; and (5)
unitive or ultimate experience. As a point of clarification, drama means
the personal spiritual conflict and struggle that occurs within the indi-
vidual. By participating in the drama, the mystic discovers his/her own