What is Mysticism

JUNE 23 What is Mysticism The concept of spiritualism or mysticism has existed in the world for thousands of years. It has many schools of thought, which must be dealt here, albeit briefly, in order that the Islamic concept of spiritualism can come out clearly vis-à-vis other schools of spiritualism. Three basic concepts are worth mentioning here. According to the first concept, spiritualism means to establish contact with one’s own inner personality. To them man’s inner existence is akin to a mysterious ocean, which remains, under normal circumstances, undiscovered for man. Like the iceberg in the oceans, a tiny part of his existence comes under the grip of his consciousness, while the greater part remains hidden under the subconscious. Now the goal of spiritualism is for man to be able to relate his conscious part to the unconscious. By accomplishing which man achieves the stage of mental or spiritual development. He perfects his mental existence at the conscious level. There is partial truth in this concept. It is true that the potential of man’s own existence are far more than that which comes under the perception of conscious in normal circumstances. However this is not the answer to man’s actual quest. Taking both the conscious and the unconscious, man is no doubt in a state of limited existence, and discovering something limited in nature can never be the answer man seeks to find. Man’s quest, from the respect of actual reality is a quest of his own completion, rather than simply one concerning his own discovery. Man by his very nature cannot remain content with limitations. Man from every respect is a limited being. Now he wants to find the limitless in order to compensate for his limitations. According to the above concept what is possible is only that the limited succeeds in finding the limited. This can never be the answer to man’s actual quest, that is why such an answer leaves him unsatisfied as before. This issue is in principle a matter concerning the perception of reality, rather than simply a matter of discovering one’s own self. If man were a perfect being he would never have the psychology of quest embedded within him. The psychology of quest is part of man’s subconscious, so, if the subconscious is a