Mysticism

[Robert Zydenbos]

On May 2, 2012, at 1:53 PM, Dipak Bhattacharya wrote:

> 2 5 12
> According to Vācaspati Miśra’s explanation occurring in his comments on the first verse of the Sāṅkhyakārikās the term ādhyātmika means ‘relating to self - mentally or physically’. [...] The term adhyātmayoga is used very generally in the Gītā for spiritual practice. The Kannaḍ usage might have its influence.

Yes, I think that this is the basis for the Kannada neologism (perhaps found in other languages too?) which I mentioned. Sometimes new words that look Sanskritic are coined in modern Indian languages and are introduced in what actually are intercultural academic discussions, with the risk of creating the impression that the alien concept which the Sanskritic neologism supposedly denotes is also found in older Indian thought. I see this occasionally in modern Indian writing about literary criticism and aesthetics which attempts to express notions from Western poetics in Sanskritic-looking terms.

Similarly, the initial question in this discussion ("what is the best Sanskrit word for mysticism?") is rather problematic. The comparatively crude English / European term "mysticism" carries a deal of European cultural weight which, as far as I can see, does not exist in classical Indian thought; and in my humble opinion, the Sanskrit vocabulary that covers the phenomena which are lumped together in the word "mysticism" is so much more subtle and differentiated that it may be impossible to satisfactorily answer that initial question.

RZ

-----
Prof. Dr. Robert J. Zydenbos
Institute of Indology and Tibetology
Department of Asian Studies
University of Munich
Germany
Tel. (+49-89-) 2180-5782
Fax (+49-89-) 2180-5827
Web http://www.lrz-muenchen.de/~zydenbos