Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Evelyn Underhill and the Mystic Path
Evelyn Underhill and the Mystic Path
Once deep Kundalini awakens, one is launched on a true mystic path. The mystic is one who discovers deep inner connection with a reality so profound it cannot in truth be described or shared. One is in many ways suddenly alone with that which convinces by its manifestation, but which is too vast to be accurately defined. Though Kundalini itself is usually connected with Eastern traditions, the stages of the journey are much the same in all spiritual traditions.
Perhaps the greatest writer on the stages of the Mystic Path is Evelyn Underhill, whose great work, entitled simply “Mysticism,” is (in my view) an outstanding guide for all serious seekers. Written some years ago, this classic text focuses on the western mystics,but its descriptions apply to mystics of all traditions.
This book is not an easy read. It is a very weighty, highly profound exploration of the mystic experience in all of its aspects. It is a volume to be read and reread, pondered and reflected on, until its message comes clear, or at least clearer.
This guidebook helped me immeasurably in my experience. True, the map is not the territory, but it can be immensely helpful.
If you wish to read it, remember to start with Part Two, The Mystic Way, rather than the first part, which is primarily analytical and philosophical. In Part Two she outlines immediately the stages of the journey, stressing that this is an overall pattern which will not apply in all of its aspects to any one individual’s experience. Everyone is on a unique path, one tailored to and reflective of his/her own temperament, personality, past experience, and various other influences. Sometimes the stages arise in the expected order, and sometimes they overlap, or perhaps hardly appear at all until there is some reversion at a later stage. There is no way to predict what will be “next” in the practitioner’s experience. Kundalini awakening is a life event which will involve every cell, every emotion, every feeling, every memory, every experience that one has ever had. It is the Big One, total transformation, the “real deal.” This trip is not for the faint hearted.
Underhill posits five states:
1. Awakening or Conversion
2. Self-knowledge or Purgation
3. Illumination
4. Surrender or the Dark Night
5. Union
I will not attempt to discuss these in any detail, since her presentation is extremely complex and challenging. However, here are a few highlights which have always caught my attention:
The mystic path is not one continuous excursion into ever deepening realms of bliss. It is (at least according to the accounts of those who have taken the journey to its goal, such as the saints of the Western tradition) a constant oscillation between states of pleasure and pain. In this regard, it certainly resembles life itself, with its hills and valleys, its peaks of joy and pits of despair.
Sometimes I have a different interpretation from hers (and so also you should feel free to accept or reject based on your own inner wisdom). When she discusses “Purgation,” she bases her discussion mainly on the mystics and saints, who sometimes drew on practices of mortification or self-denial, in order to bring the soul to perfection. These models talked of sins which needed to be expunged, and character flaws needed to be expelled.
I strongly believe that for most of us today, it is not sin but unresolved psychological issues (or perhaps societal or family strictures) which present the major stumbling block. Hence, it is important to keep working on these continuing concerns, even after one has been “awakened,” or lifted to some higher level of knowing. And, since most of us are imperfect, we must, every one, keep on struggling, seeking to gain more insight into what has shaped our lives and made us what we are.
One of the surprises of her discussion is that the famous “Dark Night of the Soul” is not merely the period of despair or lostness which may precede the initial plunge into the new stage of awareness, but rather it is the vast sense of loss which may come sometime after the initial experience. After one encounters joy or even rapture, a deep sense of connection with the divine, it can be totally devastating if that feeling diminishes or disappears. Often, pain, perhaps in the guise of old wounds or remembered losses, will come forward. The suffering is intensified by the fear that one is somehow “unworthy,” that one is, in fact, “doing it wrong.” No. This “awakening to old losses” is a common experience, one of the needful stages on the long progress up the mountain. The practitioner needs to deal with unfinished business, and Kundalini will see to it that such transactions occur. But, once these challenges are confronted and overcome, the pilgrim will be much stronger for the continuing climb.
This book is not for the casual dabbler, or the superficial spiritual seeker. It is strong stuff, but it will offer one ample rewards, if one gives it the attention it demands. For me, it was the guidebook, the “Bible” if you will, the place where I could turn and learn, always, more and more about what was happening. It is was source of encouragement and revelation, just knowing that others had trod this path and found their way forward toward the intended goal.
I recommend it as a guide and reference book which will serve you in good stead.
Once deep Kundalini awakens, one is launched on a true mystic path. The mystic is one who discovers deep inner connection with a reality so profound it cannot in truth be described or shared. One is in many ways suddenly alone with that which convinces by its manifestation, but which is too vast to be accurately defined. Though Kundalini itself is usually connected with Eastern traditions, the stages of the journey are much the same in all spiritual traditions.
Perhaps the greatest writer on the stages of the Mystic Path is Evelyn Underhill, whose great work, entitled simply “Mysticism,” is (in my view) an outstanding guide for all serious seekers. Written some years ago, this classic text focuses on the western mystics,but its descriptions apply to mystics of all traditions.
This book is not an easy read. It is a very weighty, highly profound exploration of the mystic experience in all of its aspects. It is a volume to be read and reread, pondered and reflected on, until its message comes clear, or at least clearer.
This guidebook helped me immeasurably in my experience. True, the map is not the territory, but it can be immensely helpful.
If you wish to read it, remember to start with Part Two, The Mystic Way, rather than the first part, which is primarily analytical and philosophical. In Part Two she outlines immediately the stages of the journey, stressing that this is an overall pattern which will not apply in all of its aspects to any one individual’s experience. Everyone is on a unique path, one tailored to and reflective of his/her own temperament, personality, past experience, and various other influences. Sometimes the stages arise in the expected order, and sometimes they overlap, or perhaps hardly appear at all until there is some reversion at a later stage. There is no way to predict what will be “next” in the practitioner’s experience. Kundalini awakening is a life event which will involve every cell, every emotion, every feeling, every memory, every experience that one has ever had. It is the Big One, total transformation, the “real deal.” This trip is not for the faint hearted.
Underhill posits five states:
1. Awakening or Conversion
2. Self-knowledge or Purgation
3. Illumination
4. Surrender or the Dark Night
5. Union
I will not attempt to discuss these in any detail, since her presentation is extremely complex and challenging. However, here are a few highlights which have always caught my attention:
The mystic path is not one continuous excursion into ever deepening realms of bliss. It is (at least according to the accounts of those who have taken the journey to its goal, such as the saints of the Western tradition) a constant oscillation between states of pleasure and pain. In this regard, it certainly resembles life itself, with its hills and valleys, its peaks of joy and pits of despair.
Sometimes I have a different interpretation from hers (and so also you should feel free to accept or reject based on your own inner wisdom). When she discusses “Purgation,” she bases her discussion mainly on the mystics and saints, who sometimes drew on practices of mortification or self-denial, in order to bring the soul to perfection. These models talked of sins which needed to be expunged, and character flaws needed to be expelled.
I strongly believe that for most of us today, it is not sin but unresolved psychological issues (or perhaps societal or family strictures) which present the major stumbling block. Hence, it is important to keep working on these continuing concerns, even after one has been “awakened,” or lifted to some higher level of knowing. And, since most of us are imperfect, we must, every one, keep on struggling, seeking to gain more insight into what has shaped our lives and made us what we are.
One of the surprises of her discussion is that the famous “Dark Night of the Soul” is not merely the period of despair or lostness which may precede the initial plunge into the new stage of awareness, but rather it is the vast sense of loss which may come sometime after the initial experience. After one encounters joy or even rapture, a deep sense of connection with the divine, it can be totally devastating if that feeling diminishes or disappears. Often, pain, perhaps in the guise of old wounds or remembered losses, will come forward. The suffering is intensified by the fear that one is somehow “unworthy,” that one is, in fact, “doing it wrong.” No. This “awakening to old losses” is a common experience, one of the needful stages on the long progress up the mountain. The practitioner needs to deal with unfinished business, and Kundalini will see to it that such transactions occur. But, once these challenges are confronted and overcome, the pilgrim will be much stronger for the continuing climb.
This book is not for the casual dabbler, or the superficial spiritual seeker. It is strong stuff, but it will offer one ample rewards, if one gives it the attention it demands. For me, it was the guidebook, the “Bible” if you will, the place where I could turn and learn, always, more and more about what was happening. It is was source of encouragement and revelation, just knowing that others had trod this path and found their way forward toward the intended goal.
I recommend it as a guide and reference book which will serve you in good stead.
