Riprock has said several times around here that the ultimate goal of religion should be the quest for the mystical experience. I’m not sure I agree. On the other hand, I’m not sure I disagree either.
But I do have some thoughts on the matter, and this being my blog and all, I feel like it’s entirely appropriate to voice them.
It has been said that the real goal of religion is the mystical experience, and I think there’s something to that. The direct experiecne of the Divine seems like it would be the ultimate, well, experience. What could be more meaningful and fulfilling than directly encountering God, after all? In the end, isn’t that what everyone’s spiritual yearnings are all about? The desire to know God, to touch God, to be one with God?
But that’s where the problem begins. Once you’ve felt the presence of God, then what? Does it really change your life? It seems to me that powerful spiritual and/or mystical experience has an effect that is fleeting at best. It may fulfill you for the moment, and it may fillyou with a sense of direction for the moment, but the high goes away after awhile, and it can be hard to get back. With drugs, at least you can go buy more. Mystical experiences, on the other hand, don’t seem to be as readily forthcoming. They certainly don’t manifest on demand.
Is the mystical experience an end unto itself? That seems unlikely. Mystical experiences by themselves don’t seem to really lead you anywhere. On their own, they’re not transformational, at least not in a way that is permanent or even lasting. Maybe the trick is to have more and more powerful mystical experiences, to work on connecting with the Sacred until it comes naturally and more or less all the time, until you are in a constant state of union with the Divine, a living apotheosis, like being a Bodhisattva or something.
But I’m skeptical. I see a lot of value in what C. S. Lewis said on the subject- the quote I used in my post about Quakerism. In fact, you should go and read that post, since Quakerism really is a religion built more or less solely around seeking direct mystical experiences. While I think Quakerism deserves some serious investigation, I’m not sure it’s really the answer. it seems to me that for mystical experiences to really have a lsting effect, they need a concrete faith-framework. A religious framework gives the mystic not only a guide to interpret his experiences, but it also gives a better understanding of what the next step is supposed to be. Mystical experiences are a big deal, but it’s faith and religion that answer the question of “I’ve had a mystical experience; so what?”
The other problem with mystical experiences is their inherent untrustworthiness. How do you differentiate the real experience of the Divine from wishful thinking, or from a natural and ultimately mundane emotional experience? As someone who grew up in a religious system where personal revelation is extremely important (Mormonism), I can speak from experience and say that it’s easy to get caught up in the moment and think you’re touching the face of God, but later on you might not be so sure. Mystical experiences are hardly ever as clear as full-blown Biblical-style visions, and even when they are, how do you know that it wasn’t just something you ate?
I think mystical experiences are important, don’t get me wrong. But I just am not sure that they are the be-all end-all of religion. They’re part of it, sure. But they’re not it.
Sailing to Byzantium 
There’s a Zen saying about the mystical experience called Enlightenment: “First the mountain is a mountain. Then the mountain is no longer a mountain, and, in the end, the mountain is a mountain again.”
Clinging to that Mystical moment is to miss the point.
Interesting quote and comment. However, it doesn’t fully answer the question. If clinging to the Mystical moment is to miss the point, then what indeed are you supposed to do with the Mystical moment?
As someone who has had a couple of what I’d call “mystical moments,” I’d have to say I pretty much agree with your post.
The mystical experiences I’ve had has strengthened my belief/faith in the Divine. Yes, they could have been delusional, but then, so if could belief in God be delusional.
And the unity I’ve experienced has helped me to look at the world and the universe in a new way. Seeing that God “shines through” (as Thomas Merton said) everything, and that everything is connected is amazing.
“If clinging to the Mystical moment is to miss the point, then what indeed are you supposed to do with the Mystical moment?”
An excellent question. I don’t have any certain answer to it.
I don’t think that the Mystical moment is something you need to “do” anything with, though…It comes and goes, and – now this is certainly showing my buddhist “bent” – clinging to anything at all (trying to GET the mystical moment, worry about what to do WITH the mystical moment) will hold you “back.”
I know it sounds like I’m answering in a way that dismisses any sort of rational discussion. I don’t mean to. Just thinking out loud.
Also, any discussion on mysticism would be incomplete without mention of what is sometimes called “Islamic mysticism,” Sufism. If you have a chance to get the poetry of Rumi (a Sufi) sometime, it’s some astonishing work on the “Beloved.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi
Good call. I know that Sufism exists and i’ve always been interested in it, although I have never really had a chance to look into it.
how do you know that it wasn’t just something you ate?
LOL
“You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There’s more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!” – E. Scrooge
I treasure the “mystical moments” I have had, both in synagogue and in a pagan context – but they also don’t weigh as the single most important element in my religious journey. Such a moment is a data point, and a valuable one, but in the end it’s only a moment.
That Scrooge rant was exactly what I was referring to! Thanks for the quote.
[…] been at least mildly interested in Sufism for a long time, but a comment made by Cricket on my Mysticism post reminded me to take another […]