Christianity
Islam
Judaism
Hinduism
Buddhism
Mysticism & Direct Experience
Beyond doctrine and ritual lies the quest for direct encounter with the divine. Christian mystics, Sufi masters, Kabbalists, Hindu yogis, and Zen practitioners all pursue unmediated experience of ultimate reality, often in ways that transcend the boundaries of their own traditions.
Across the World's Religions
Christianity
- Practice
- Christian mysticism — union with God (theosis)
- Key Text
- 2 Peter 1:4; John 17:21; 1 John 3:2
Islam
- Practice
- Tasawwuf (Sufism) — pursuit of divine closeness (qurb)
- Key Text
- Quran 50:16, 2:186
Judaism
- Practice
- Kabbalah — mystical tradition; Sefirot; devekut (cleaving to God)
- Key Text
- Ezekiel 1 (Merkabah); Song of Songs; Zohar
Hinduism
- Practice
- Yoga and Samadhi — direct experience of Brahman
- Key Text
- Yoga Sutra 1.2-3; Bhagavad Gita 6:20-23
Buddhism
- Practice
- Jhana (meditative absorption); direct insight (vipassana)
- Key Text
- MN 10 (Satipatthana Sutta); DN 2