SV: Mystics and Missionaries

[Vanbakkam Vijayaraghavan]

On Sat, 10 Feb 2001 18:24:11 +0100, Lars Martin Fosse <lmfosse at ONLINE.NO> wrote:

>Shrinivas Tilak [SMTP:shrinivast at HOTMAIL.COM] skrev 10. februar 2001 16:19:
>>     The recent flurry of exchanges between Aditya Mishra and Stephen
>Hodge
>> points to a deeper issue that I think warrants further discussion--the
>> varying ways and patterns in which mysticism is connected with organized
>> religion. Mystics affiliated with a given religion, for instance, may be
>> recruited to attract newcomers and to "soften up" their initial
>resistance.
>> Missionaries then take over and complete the job of formal conversion.
>>     S.Tilak
>
>Isn't this a rather "conspiratorial" view of mysticism? As far as I can
>see, most religions have their mystics,

This discussion puts mysticism only in a religious context. There can also
be "secular" mysticism. Concepts like race, blood, language, history , etc can
take the place of zazen or other ultimate objects of mystical cintemplation.
Hitler was also a mystic with race as the ultimate good .