Mysticism

This article is about the question whether or not human religiousness can be interpreted and explained by evolution. First four concepts of evolution are introduced and discussed (general, teleological, functional, Darwinian). It turns out that a purely functional understanding of evolution proves to be to narrow. It is argued that only a combination between an essentialist and functionalist understanding of religion is sustainable. From this perspective a taxonomy of religions is developed to classify them. The core of the argument is that religion can be understood as a continuing process of selftranscendence. Thus the aspects of rite, myth, mysticism can be understood as results of this process of selftranscendence. Finally the relation between human religiousness and Christian belief is being discussed.

This paper provides an initial, multidimensional map of the complex relationships among consciousness, mind, brain and the external world in a way that follows both the contours of everyday experience and the findings of science. It then demonstrates how this reflexive monist map can be used to evaluate the utility and resolve some of the oppositions of the many other “isms” that currently populate consciousness studies. While no conventional, one-dimensional “ism” such as physicalism can do justice to this web of relationships, physicalism, functionalism, dualism, neutral monism, and dual-aspect monism can all be seen to provide useful ways of understanding different aspects of the relationships among consciousness, mind, brain and the external world when these are viewed in either a first- or a third-person way from within this web of relationships by sentient creatures such as ourselves. For example, physicalism and functionalism provide a useful understanding of consciousness, mind, brain and external world when viewed from a third-person perspective, while neutral monism provides a useful way of understanding first- versus third-person views of external phenomena. On the other hand, dual-aspect monism provides a useful way of understanding first- versus third-person views of mind, including Eastern versus Western views of mind.  Dual-aspect monism also provides a useful understanding of the “unconscious ground of being” that gives rise to, supports and embeds all these observable phenomena. For an integrated understanding one needs to understand how these phenomena and relationships combine into an integrated whole.

This critical Arabic text edition of Salwat al-ʿārifīn wa-uns al-mushtāqīn, a manual of early Sufism by Abū Khalaf al-Ṭabarī (d. ca. 470/1077), is based on a very old manuscript preserved in Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣrīya of Cairo, Egypt and copied in 459/1067. It is introduced by a detailed analytical study of the author and his work. Salwat al-ʿārifīn forms an integral part of Sufi literature and reflects Islamic developments in Nishapur in northeastern Iran. This crucial Arabic text, published for the first time, is especially valuable because of its great philological accuracy and sound textual tradition. It represents an essential source for the intellectual history of Islam during the middle of the 4th/10th to the middle of the 5th/11th century.

The fourth century writers Gregory of Nyssa, Evagrius of Pontus and Pseudo-Macarius draw on apocalyptic traditions of heavenly ascent as they reinterpret Moses’ experience on Mount Sinai and Ezekiel’s chariot vision. Alexander Golitzin has coined the phrase ‘the interiorization of apocalyptic’, arguing that for Evagrius and Pseudo-Macarius, ‘the ascent to heaven, the vision of the throne of the glory, the initiation into the mysteries of God’s purposes: all of these now reside within the soul’. It is often assumed that the same is true for Gregory of Nyssa, with Life of Moses presenting the Jewish leader as a
model of the soul’s spiritual journey to God. This article argues, however, that Gregory does not travel as far as Evagrius and Macarius along the route of interiorisation. In Gregory’s portrayal, Moses does not arrive inside himself, but is given a vision of the tabernacle not made with hands, a type of Christ. This is esoteric knowledge of theological verities which are not to be questioned, brought back to the people waiting below by a privileged authority figure. Gregory, a bishop mired in theological controversy, follows Clement and Origen in appropriating apocalyptic imagery for Christianity; it is the monastic leaders Pseudo-Macarius and Evagrius who interiorise it.

Abraham Abulafia (1240–1290) is considered to be one of the most significant Jewish mystics and is one of the few who taught a comprehensive system of meditative practices designed to induce ecstatic religious experiences. At the heart of Abulafia’s meditation techniques lies the coordination of breath and body while pronouncing the Hebrew letters of the Name of God. Specifically, Abulafia instructs the practitioner to empty and stop the breath, paralleling a technical breathing practice in Yogic Pranayama called “Kumbhaka”. The Islamic polymath Al-Biruni’s (973–1048) Arabic translation of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is proposed as one possible transmission vector for this Yoga technique across radically different cultures and geographies into Abulafia’s method, which then profoundly influenced major Jewish personalities down to our day.

In order to better cope with the pressures and stresses of the current day, modern psychology is anxiously seeking to find new therapies to address the increasing disorders within the human psyche. In the process new fields of research, such as humanistic and transpersonal psychology, curiously appear to borrow more and more from the wisdom of the ages. This volume, containing eighteen articles by noteworthy expositors of the perennial philosophy such as Huston Smith, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and Frithjof Schuon, presents the spiritual psychology of the wisdom traditions as a much-needed antidote to the current impasse in modern psychology.

Some Endorsements for Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy:

“[Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy] is more than an anthology. It is a wisely crafted collection of classic and contemporary scholarship noting that what many are seeking is what has always been, a perennial philosophy, that remains foundational. As one of the authors, Tage Lindbom, properly notes, ‘Secularization is a fish in troubled waters.’ This book claims the waters and is essential reading for all those who may have forgotten or are simply ignorant of the rich foundation provided by the perennial philosophy.”
—Ralph W. Hood, Professor of Psychology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, past president of the Psychology of Religion division of the American Psychological Association, co-founder of The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion and co-author of The Psychology of Religion

“A necessary and bracing critique of the assumptions and limitations of contemporary Western psychology, this generous volume is also a passionate call and learned guide towards a truer perspective that embraces man's spiritual nature.”
—Gabor Maté, M.D., and author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction

“Knowing the nature of the mind is perhaps the most difficult undertaking, especially in today’s world. To comprehend the nature of mind one needs to turn to the domain of religion and spirituality. Yet the truth of the mind and its complexity cannot explicitly be defined in words. Inner or transcendent wisdom sees the mind’s own nature without the duality of the seer. Suchness (tathatā) of mind is only experiential and not expressible. The words used to describe thought are themselves a product of thought, which is conditioned and limited. Thus, differences and contradictions are unavoidable. Therefore, a comparative study of different viewpoints and commentaries is immensely important to awaken the inner intelligence to see the mind as it is. Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy: Studies in Comparative Religion edited by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos is an outstanding effort in this direction.”
—Samdhong Rinpoche, former Prime Minister (Kalon Tripa) of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, author of Uncompromising Truth for a Compromised World: Tibetan Buddhism and Today’s World

“The rise of psychology has impacted the study and practice of spirituality, the experiences and attitudes relevant to ultimate human values that transcend ordinary behavior. Each chapter of this remarkable book demonstrates this interaction in a unique and provocative way. But rather than using psychology to reduce and ‘psychologize’ spiritual topics, its authors demonstrate how directives from the spiritual traditions can enhance and even illuminate the enduring importance of psychology in the 21st century.”
—Stanley Krippner, Saybrook University, co-author of Spiritual Dimensions of Healing

“The work at hand is a thinking and debating man’s delight. If you have any interest at all in attempting to include an educated and enlightened view of man’s higher functions in your purview of the world, you will learn from and enjoy this collection of essays. If you already have some knowledge in this area, brace yourself: you may see some of your favorites sharply criticized. A thought-provoking work.”
—Bruce W. Scotton, University of California, San Francisco, co-editor of Textbook of Transpersonal Psychiatry and Psychology

“This book, superbly edited by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos, is a masterful critique of the field of psychology and its loss of the sacred ground in which it once was rooted. It offers depth psychologists an opportunity to contemplate timeless truths echoed through the centuries by perennial philosophers who have always claimed psyche is subordinate to Spirit. Although ignored in depth psychology’s early years due to prejudice and lack of understanding, this is a message today’s psychotherapists must take seriously. Human beings need a deeper and wider transpersonal vision of who and what we are, which the saints and sages of the world’s spiritual traditions have always pointed to. In psychotherapy with a therapist committed to such a vision, patients penetrate into their unconscious depths and not infrequently awaken to the Ground of all Being. Their suffering itself occurred because they had turned away from Spirit. Above all, this volume passionately calls upon depth psychology to remember its origin in the perennial wisdom at the core of the great religions. There is something of a polemic in these pages. It deserves to be considered by depth psychologists of all persuasions.”
—Bryan Wittine, Transpersonal psychologist and Jungian psychoanalyst

“This anthology from Samuel Bendeck Sotillos is a must reference for anyone who is interested in psychology and its relationship to spirituality, and in developing an inclusive dialogue between disciplines that favor an integral outlook on the person and his or her potential. Selections in this anthology will inspire us to reexamine the metaphysical underpinnings of psychology, and remind us how important it is to rise above science’s attempt to reduce the human being to an epistemic object.”
—Sangeetha Menon, National Institute of Advanced Studies (Bangalore, India), Board Member of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA), author of The Beyond Experience: Consciousness in Bhagavad Gita

“This anthology has some of the most discerning essays and reviews on spirituality and psychology, which provide much-needed care and caution to all those engaged in bringing them together or who wish to do so in future. Therefore, it is a must-read for all those who teach, research, consult, or study in such frontier areas as transpersonal psychology, states of consciousness, mind-body relation, holistic health, Indian psychology, and so on. It will be an invaluable textbook for courses in these and other related areas. I congratulate the editor of the book.”
—Kiran Kumar K. Salagame, University of Mysore (India), Board Member of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA), author of The Psychology of Meditation: A Contextual Approach

“One of the finest collections of essays on the Perennial Philosophy—a must-read for all psychologists who are engaged with spirituality and transpersonal psychology. The essays which critique modern psychology (including transpersonal psychology, and the framework of Carl Jung), in the light of the Perennial Philosophy are a revelation and make compelling reading. The book serves as a corrective to the excesses of modern psychology, and to this end Sotillos has done a commendable job. I for one will include the book in some of the graduate courses that I teach.”
—Suneet Varma, University of Delhi, co-editor of Foundations of Indian Psychology

“To its credit modern science by-and-large is becoming more cognizant of the essential connection between spirituality and psychological health and well-being and most of all its positive implications within the field of psychology. While there is ample data to document this in a plethora of academic journals and books, this new book Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy adds a novel contribution to the dialogue between psychology and spirituality, which captures many nuances that for the most part go unnoticed within these discussions, and last but not least, it provides a keen eye of discernment to understand this intricate relationship on a deeper level that is crucially needed. This work will be a valuable asset to students and long term mental health practitioners and professors alike who seek to better understand the relationship between psychology and spirituality.”
—Harold G. Koenig, Duke University, Director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, co-author of The Handbook of Religion and Health

PROLOGUE of this paper is an extreme detail analysis of Chartres Cathedral's the symbolism embedded into the three Rose Windows. The whole purpose of this paper is to illustrate how Ezekiel's Merkabah is symbolized by the North and South Rose Windows. This analysis will demonstrate the pivotal esoteric teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. The history of Chartres will be discussed along with some of its sculpture. This is the second paper in a three part series on the analysis of Ezekiel's Merkabah. Part-One of the series will be on Ezekiel's Merkabah in the first chapter of Genesis and Part Three will be on Ezekiel's Merkabah laid out symbolically in the Sistine Chapel. Part-Two of the series is published first; because, I was well into writing it and; because, I had already written a paper on Ezekiel's Merkabah in the first chapter of Genesis; however, that second version has to be revised to incorporate other interpretations of the texts of the first chapter of Genesis in order for the initiate to envisage the symbolism laid out in Chartres Cathedral and the Sistine Chapel.

The paper examines the dominancy of narrative in Hasidic religious life through the discourse of narrative ethics and its implications for theology, specifically feminist theology, and for religion in general.
I claim that the centrality of storytelling in Hasidism reflects and constructs an essential attitude toward religious life. This attitude directs one to narrative and contextual thinking, which focuses on the specific person, circumstances, emotions, as opposed to law, norm, and abstract determination. This centrality of storytelling is connected to a deep Hasidic awareness of the restriction of normative religious life, a finite facet of the infinite paths to God

This article presents a manuscript that significantly enriches the textual corpus of ›Helfta Mysticism‹ with a series of hitherto unknown writings. Aside from this, it contains what is by some distance the oldest copy of the ›Legatus divinae pietatis‹, in the form of a ›special edition‹ that consists of excerpts from the known text as well as new material. This is preceded by a prologue and a florilegium which is marked in an epilogue as Gertrude’s own work. We argue that the epilogue of the florilegium, the prologue and the ›special edition‹ itself were probably composed by ›Sister N‹ of Helfta herself. The article provides a full description of the manuscript (Ms 827), a breakdown of the new ›special edition‹ of the ›Legatus‹-text, and an edition, translation, and close reading of the prologue.

Im Folgenden soll eine Handschrift vorgestellt werden, die die Textbasis der Helftaer Mystik mit einer Reihe von bislang unbekannten Schriften bereichert. Außerdem enthält sie die mit Abstand älteste Abschrift des ›Legatus divinae pietatis‹ in Form einer ›Sonderausgabe‹, die aus Exzerpten aus dem bekannten Textcorpus und aus weiterem bislang nicht bekanntem Material besteht. Dieser geht eine Vorrede und ein im Epilog als Gertruds Werk ausgewiesenes Florilegium voraus, Texte, die wie die ›Sonderausgabe‹ selbst von Schwester N von Helfta stammen dürften. Die vorliegende Studie bietet eine Beschreibung von Ms 827, die Aufschlüsselung der ›Sonderausgabe‹ des ›Legatus‹ sowie Abdruck, Übersetzung und inhaltliche Analyse der Vorrede.

Öz: Aşk, İslam filozof ve sûfîlerinin önemli bir kısmının hem varlığın kökeni hem de varoluş âleminin nesneleri arasındaki ilişkiyi açıklamada başvurdukları önemli bir konudur. Bu çalışmada aşkın ontolojik ve varoluşsal anlamları, biri 13. yüzyıl Konya'da diğeri 17. yüzyıl Cizre'de ortaya çıkmış iki büyük sûfî olan Mevlânâ Celaleddin Rûmî'nin ve Melâyê Cizîrî'nin eserleri üzerinden ele alınacaktır. Bu iki mutasavvıfın düşüncelerinde ve özellikle varlık felsefelerinde aşk kavramının yeri ortaya konulacaktır. Abstract: Love is an important issue that a significant part of the Muslim philosophers and Sufis refer to in order to explain both the origin of existence and the relationship between the objects of the realm of existence. In this study, the ontological and existential meanings of love will be discussed depending on works of Mawlana Jalal Al-Dîn Al-Rûmî (13th century) lived in Konya and Mullah Ahmad Al-Jazarî (17th century) lived in Cizre. In these Sufis' thoughts and particularly in their philosophy of existence, the place of the concept of love will be revealed.

The mystical technique of imagery, i.e. visualizing an imaginary picture, found already in the earliest stages of Kabbalah, reached its peak in the teachings of R. Kalonymous Kalman Shapira, the Rebbe of Piazecna (1889-1943). Academic interest in exploring mystical phenomena solely within their historical, social and political contexts has increased in recent years. This article challenges the exclusive quest for historicization in the study of Jewish mysticism, using R. Shapira's remarkable mystical-imagery techniques as a case study. Through employing the concepts of “empowerment” and “intensification” as a lens for the study of mysticism in world religions, this article argues that R. Shapira used imagery techniques as a method for empowerment in ritual, both nomian and anomian, in order to transform normative religious acts into mystical experiences. These imagery exercises are not simply one technique among many. Nor do they just function as an alternative to the experiences made possible by secularism in the early twentieth century, as have been claimed in studies based on historical readings of his works. Historical research that negates a phenomenological perspective impedes the scholar from observing a variety of important insights. R. Shapira used imagery techniques as a powerful tool for intensifying all religious practices, transforming ordinary rituals into encounters with the Divine.

‘[A] valid concept of “Islam” must denote and connote all possible “Islams,” whether abstract or “real,” mental or social’ (104)... Ahmed seeks to avoid two major pitfalls: (1) making Islam into a static essence or a category within an essentialist framework – such as proscription/prescription, ‘religion’,‘civilization’, ‘culture’, ‘orthodoxy’, etc., and (2) rendering Islam into a totally incoherent concept by conceding that there are as many islams as there are communities or individuals. Ahmed’s thesis (presented in Chapter 5) is that Islam is best conceptualized as a process of meaning-making or hermeneutical engagement in which the human agent engages with the Divine Revelation granted to Muhammad in one or more of this Revelation’s hierarchical dimensions – Pre-Text, Text, and Con-Text – in order to constitute meaning for himself."

Attributed to Master Heinrich of Constance, a sculpture of the Visitation from the convent of St. Katharinenthal in the Lower Rhine Valley (ca. 1310­20) portrays Mary and her cousin Elizabeth with two quartz cabochons inserted into their torsos, rock crystal representations of their wombs, which nurture the fetal Christ and John the Baptist. These crystals make the ​Visitation a strikingly unique devotional object in the eyes of the modern viewer, but when considered in the context of the fourteenth­century German Dominican convent, they also provide insight into the devotional practices of their users, cloistered nuns. In this thesis, I explore the nature and function of this unique object of devotion in the context of the Katharinenthal convent specifically in addition to the wider Middle High German spiritual milieu, particularly Rhenish Mysticism. ​I take a multidisciplinary approach to the study of this medieval artwork by making use of a wide range of sources: works from this same period found at Katharinenthal and other convents around the Rhine valley, theological treatises concerning the Incarnation (and, therefore, the Marian womb) the visionary accounts of Henry Suso and other Rhineland mystics, and the work of such medieval art historians as Jeffrey Hamburger, Caroline Walker Bynum, and Jacqueline Jung. Jung in particular describes the bodies of Mary and Elizabeth in the ​Visitation as “exuberant,” “thrusting the evidence of [their] virtues outward toward beholders and rendering them visible through the body’s materiality rather than through any internal motifs.” (“Crystalline Wombs and Pregnant Hearts,” p. 234). In this thesis, I use Jung’s analysis of the sculpture as a starting point to propose a new, though not mutually exclusive, model for interpreting the function of these crystal wombs.
In the first main section of the thesis, I examine the convent of Katharinenthal itself, a highly enclosed and communal female monastic environment, together with many of the surviving devotional objects from the convent around 1300 that formed Katharinenthal’s visual and material culture. The following section examines in closer detail the crystal wombs of the Visitation, considering both their theological connotations and their significance to medieval perception of the female body. The final section addresses the devotional function of Mary and Elizabeth’s crystal wombs by placing the ​Visitation within the context of both late medieval Euc​haristic theology and Rhenish mysticism. I conclude that the ​Visitation’s crystal wombs functioned as meditational foci, serving as “windows” into the visionary experience. These wombs, with their emphasis on transparency and interiority in their enclosed, conventual context, ultimately serve as a catalyst for mystical union with the divine.

Published in Knut Jacobsen, ed., The Theory and  Practice of Yoga: Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson  ( Leiden: Brill, 2005): 143-180.

In this essay I utilize Abhinavagupta’s fourfold system of mystical practice (upāya-catuṣṭayam) as a heuristic for critiquing certain Western assumptions about the mind/body relationship. Specifically, I examine the hermeneutical limitations one encounters when applying W. T. Stace’s model of comparative mysticism--which gives a Cartesian privilege to the ‘introvertive’ mystical experience of mental inwardness over its ‘extrovertive’ counterpart--to Abhinavagupta’s eleventh-century
Trika-Kaula system. Abhinavagupta’s own discourse on mystical states of consciousness inverts Stace’s model and ultimately collapses the distinction between introvertive and extrovertive. In the preparatory stages of Trika-Kaula practice, the adept harnesses an inward, regressive power (visarga-śakti) in pursuit of an introvertive mystical experience with eyes closed (nimīana-samādhi ). In the later stages, however, the same regressive power is inverted to reveal its progressive side and the Tantric thereby attains an extrovertive experience with eyes opened
(unmīlana-samādhi ). At the culmination of his or her practice the Tantric attains a state of consciousness in which the inner and outer become united in the singular continuum of consciousness. At this ‘no-path’ stage of transcendent experience (bhairavīmudrā) the Self within and the world without are one.

"Atunci când venim la Spovedanie, venim să ne întâlnim faţă către faţă cu un prieten. Nu venim pentru a fi judecaşi şi condamnati. Nu venim înfricosati de ceea ce urmeaza sa se întâmple. Venim la Cel care, Dumnezeu fiind, dincolo de suferinta, dincolo de moarte, a ales din iubire pentru noi sa devina om, sa ia asupra Sa firea noastra omeneasca si sa-Si dea viata pentru noi. Viata Sa, moartea Sa sunt pentru noi dovada ca suntem într-atât de mult iubiţi de Dumnezeu încât putem veni la El fie că suntem buni, fie că suntem rai, si El ne va primi cu bratele deschise; dacă este cineva gata sa plânga pentru pacatele noastre, pentru nevrednicia noastră acela este El, din compasiune, din mila, din iubire – cu acea disponibilitate pe care am vazut-o în viata unui sfânt, caruia Hristos i-a spus ca şi un singur păcătos dacă ar mai fi în lume, S-ar întrupa şi ar muri din nou pentru acesta, fiindca El nu poate răbda gândul că există vreun om care piere.

Acesta este Dumnezeul, Hristosul la Care venim atunci când ne apropiem de scaunul de Spovedanie – la Cel Care ni Se dăruieşte cu întreaga Sa viaţă si moarte; Cel Care ne aşteaptă să venim ca să aflam vindecare, alinare, sprijin – nu osândă, nu judecată."
Mitropolitul Antonie de Suroj

תיקון שבתי צבי / יונתן מאיר. ההרצאה מבקשת להציג תמונה מורכבת ביחס לשבתי צבי, מכתיבתו הקבלית של נתן העזתי על המשיח הנפוּל, דרך ניסיונות תיקון נשמתו בידי הבעש"ט, ועד לשילובו בנרטיב הלאומי בידי זלמן שז"ר וחוקרים שבאו אחריו. יהא זה ניסיון למשוך קו במחשבה ובהיסטוריוגרפיה היהודית העומד מנגד לתפיסת הצרה בדבר "משיח שקר"

Analyzing the intersection between Sufism and philosophy, this volume is a sweeping examination of the mystical philosophy of Muḥyī-l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 637/1240), one of the most influential and original thinkers of the Islamic world. This book systematically covers Ibn al-ʿArabī’s ontology, theology, epistemology, teleology, spiritual anthropology and eschatology.

While philosophy uses deductive reasoning to discover the fundamental nature of existence and Sufism relies on spiritual experience, it was not until the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī that philosophy and Sufism converged into a single framework by elaborating spiritual doctrines in precise philosophical language. Contextualizing the historical development of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s school, the work draws from the earliest commentators of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s oeuvre, Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī (d. 673/1274), ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī (d. ca. 730/1330) and Dawūd al-Qayṣarī (d. 751/1350), but also draws from the medieval heirs of his doctrines Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī (d. 787/1385), the pivotal intellectual and mystical figure of Persia who recast philosophical Sufism within the framework of Twelver Shīʿism and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī (d. 898/1492), the key figure in the dissemination of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s ideas in the Persianate world as well as the Ottoman Empire, India, China and East Asia via Central Asia.

Lucidly written and comprehensive in scope, with careful treatments of the key authors, Philosophical Sufism is a highly accessible introductory text for students and researchers interested in Islam, philosophy, religion and the Middle East.

Luke, D., & Spowers, R. (Eds.)(2021). DMT entity encounters: Dialogues on the spirit molecule. Rochester, VT: Park Street Press.

Available on Kindle from 2nd November, with paperback launches on 30th November (USA) and 9th December (UK). there will also be an audiobook version out shortly after...

With contributions from the late Ralph Metzner, Chris Bache, Whitley Strieber, Jefrey Kripal, Angela Voss, Bill Richards, Chris Timmermann, Michael Winkelman, Luis Eduardo Luna, Anton Bilton, Bernard Carr, Daniel Pinchbeck, Dennis McKenna, Ede Frecska, David Luke and many more...


https://www.innertraditions.com/books/dmt-entity-encounters

The Seven Seals of medieval Islamic magic, which are believed to constitute the Greatest Name of God, also feature in Jewish Kabbalah from the same period. While many Seal symbols make sporadic appearances in early Islamic amulets bearing Kufic script, the source of the symbols and their eventual ordering remains a matter of legend. As this topic was first – and last – examined systematically by Dr. Hans Winkler in 1930, a wider-ranging and more modern review is long overdue. The present survey focuses on potential sources for the symbols rather than on their exegesis. It first examines the possibility that a precedent for the Seal series exists in an undecipherable “seven signs repeated seven times” inscribed on a Late Babylonian amulet. It then considers the possibility that the Seals’ origins lie in other cuneiform symbols from ancient Mesopotamia; in Egyptian hieroglyphs or scripts; in paleo-Hebrew characters or the letters of ancient South Arabian scripts; in Libyco-Berber or Tifinagh letters from North Africa; or in the symbol repertoire of Late Antique magic, including the highly potent seven Greek vowels. The review also explores the possibility that at least some of the symbols originated in numerological ciphers or religious emblems, canvassing sources as diverse as Indian Hinduism and Byzantine Christendom. The article concludes by considering the recent suggestion that the Seal series may have acquired its privileged status because its symbols reflect “shape archetypes” that are hard-wired into the human nervous system.

This review essay on Jewish "traditionalism" (Hasidism, musar, Orthodoxy,etc.) argues that, notwithstanding a past tendency among historians to magnify secularist trends within modern East European Jewry, several new works suggest a revitalization of traditionalism in the region during the modern era.

Raccoons, Bayous and Bar House Stools, I
(Taken From Chapter 5)

Cajun Spirituality must have evolved primarily in nature. As I see it the primary spiritual concern of any Cajun is to put food on the table and to have a good time in life. Of course in the mind of the Cajun people, there is no better place to have fun than outside. Outside could be in the woods, the swamp, the Gulf of Mexico or the Mermentau River. Usually, the Cajun has his dog with him in the case he runs into a wild Raccoon which he needs to run up a tree or across the Pine forest floor. No real Cajun will leave his home without his dog. Even when he goes to the bar, he makes sure his Coon Dog, or Retriever is near him. If he can't bring him into the establishment he will leave him in his truck and sure to bring him a fresh brew every once in a while depending upon how long the Cajun will sit in the establishment he visits. One thing I've noticed over the years is the close emotional ties a Cajun has with his dog. Cajun Spirituality is about the Cajun and his Dog.

I've never seen a Cajun bring his dog INTO the Church, but that doesn't mean that he bring him TO the Church. When a Cajun is praying, he always knows he should also be praying for his best friends too, and that means his Dog. A Cajun believes God loves all creatures and besides his Cows, Turkeys, Pigs, Sheep and Chickens, his Dog is his best friend. To a Cajun, the Church is a sacred place, but he doesn't see it just for humans. The sign outside of the Church, which he understands as "House of God," he interprets as "all God's creatures." He takes that seriously because any Cajun without as many creatures around him as possible is just ain't worth much since he can't get much work done without them. The Cajun believes that even if he doesn't have any dogs, chickens, sheep or horses, God will give him plenty to help him. And you will see that plenty on the Cajun farm. When he goes out to tend his crop, he'll have loads of God's creatures around him: Dove, Quail, Wild Turkey, Raccoon, and Skunks. He even will see other animals like: Bobcats (some Fox if he's real lucky), Rabbitts, Geese, Ducks, Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, and Cardinals. Depending upon the season he will also see Robins, and different flying, crawling, and four-footed carnivorous or vegetarian creatures. I guess I've made my point clear about the love the Cajun has for animals, especially his Dog.

One last thing, a Cajun always names his Dog with great respect. He often begins at the beginning of the alphabet and moves onwards from there. Names like Alfred, Arnold, Bobby, Baker, Barney and Clyde are familiar. A Cajun has great respect for his Dog and may name him after some great historical figure like Constantine, Napoleon, Eisenhower or Matthew. If a Cajun has more than one Dog, he gives each one a different name so that he can show respect for each dog he owns. If they are twin dogs or worse still triplets he still gives them each a name commensurate with their standing. A Cajun will never call his Dog Mutt, Hey You, Critter, No Good, Dog, Do Nothing since he would see that as a sign of disrespect. The last thing a Cajun wants to do is to have his neighbor's tell him he has lost his sense of respect for animals among his neighbors since the word may get around town and that is familiar to newcomers, and he would feel shame-faced among his neighbors.

When a Cajun' dog dies, he gives him a decent burial and a unique site for his final resting place. The Cajun is thinking more about making it easy for any of his friends, relatives or acquaintances to come and visit his grave than anything else. The Cajun wants to know that anyone who has known his "best friend" (now in his eternal resting place) will be able to come and say his "thank you's," "goodbyes," or concerns to the deceased "best friend."

"Swami Med­hananda’s Swami Vivekananda’s Vedāntic Cosmopolitanism (Oxford University Press) is an extraordinary achievement. A brilliant, deep and searching exploration of Swami Vivekananda, this may also be the best book in English on philosophical debates in modern Hinduism, and philos­ophy of religion more generally."
  -- Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Princeton University

*** The South Asian edition of the book is now available for purchase in India and Bangladesh through Amazon.in and Advaita Ashrama:
https://shop.advaitaashrama.org/product/swami-vivekanandas-vedantic-cosmopolitanism/