Antiquity
94-557: The Charyapada (চর্যাপদ) is a collection of mystical poems, songs of realization in the Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism from the tantric tradition in Assam , Bengal , Bihar and Odisha . It was written between the 8th and 12th centuries in various Abahattas that were ancestral to the modern Assamese , Bengali , Bhojpuri , Odia , Magahi , Maithili , Kurmali and many other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages. A palm-leaf manuscript of
188-492: A form of prayer distinguished from discursive meditation in both East and West. This threefold meaning of "mystical" continued in the Middle Ages . According to Dan Merkur, the term unio mystica came into use in the 13th century as a synonym for the "spiritual marriage", the ecstasy, or rapture, that was experienced when prayer was used "to contemplate both God's omnipresence in the world and God in his essence." Mysticism
282-648: A broad spectrum of religious traditions, in which all sorts of esotericism , religious traditions, and practices are joined together. The term mysticism was extended to comparable phenomena in non-Christian religions, where it influenced Hindu and Buddhist responses to colonialism, resulting in Neo-Vedanta and Buddhist modernism . In the contemporary usage "mysticism" has become an umbrella term for all sorts of non-rational world views, parapsychology and pseudoscience. William Harmless even states that mysticism has become "a catch-all for religious weirdness". Within
376-609: A few days later on the 17th of August 1947. After India's independence in August 1947, Sankrityayan returned to India, leaving Russia, despite his deep ties and contributions there. Although he could not stay in Russia permanently due to visa issues and his family couldn't settle in India, his experiences there solidified his commitment to communism and Indian nationalism. Back in India, he remained active in literature and politics, becoming president of
470-666: A few months, he again left and arrived in Ayodhya . In October 1914, he returned to his home in Azamgarh with his family and it seemed that he had now abandoned his desire to become a sadhu. It was during this period that he was introduced to the Arya Samaj , a Hindu reform movement. Once again, in 1915, he left his home and travelled to the Ārya Musafir Vidyālaya in Agra where he was allowed to study free of cost and also trained to deliver lectures on
564-425: A form of mysticism, in which the world of spirits is accessed through religious ecstasy . According to Mircea Eliade shamanism is a "technique of religious ecstasy ". Shamanism involves a practitioner reaching an altered state of consciousness in order to perceive and interact with spirits, and channel transcendental energies into this world. A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in,
658-581: A fortnight. He had hoped to visit the Russian Indologist, Fyodor Shcherbatskoy however the latter was based in Leningrad and Sankrityayan was not permitted to travel there. His next visit to Russia was in 1937 when he was invited by the Soviet Academy to teach Sanskrit at Leningrad University . During this time, he met Ellena Narvertovna Kozerovskaya and began to teach her Sanskrit. They soon developed
752-514: A great influence on medieval monastic religiosity, although it was mostly a male religiosity, since women were not allowed to study. It was influenced by Neo-Platonism , and very influential in Eastern Orthodox Christian theology . In western Christianity it was a counter-current to the prevailing Cataphatic theology or "positive theology". In the 1400s, leading theologian Jean Gerson wrote several books on "mystical theology" which
846-561: A limited definition, with broad applications, as meaning the aim at the "union with the Absolute, the Infinite, or God". This limited definition has been applied to a wide range of religious traditions and practices, valuing "mystical experience" as a key element of mysticism. Since the 1960s scholars have debated the merits of perennial and constructionist approaches in the scientific research of "mystical experiences". The perennial position
940-442: A phenomenological de-emphasis, blurring, or eradication of multiplicity, where the cognitive significance of the experience is deemed to lie precisely in that phenomenological feature". Mysticism involves an explanatory context, which provides meaning for mystical and visionary experiences, and related experiences like trances. According to Dan Merkur, mysticism may relate to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness, and
1034-467: A relationship and married on the 22nd of December 1937. Due to this marriage, he had to discard the robes of a Buddhist monk and instead became a lay Buddhist practitioner ( Upāsaka ). His son, Igor, was also born in 1938 in Russia. After returning from Russia in 1938, Sankrityayan rejoined the peasant movement and became a member of the Congress Socialist Party . He was also a founding member of
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#17328548688901128-443: A religious framework. Ann Taves asks by which processes experiences are set apart and deemed religious or mystical. Some authors emphasize that mystical experience involves intuitive understanding of the meaning of existence and of hidden truths, and the resolution of life problems. According to Larson, "mystical experience is an intuitive understanding and realization of the meaning of existence." According to McClenon, mysticism
1222-525: A sense of unity, but of nothingness , such as Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and Meister Eckhart . According to Merkur, Kabbala and Buddhism also emphasize nothingness . Blakemore and Jennett note that "definitions of mysticism [...] are often imprecise." They further note that this kind of interpretation and definition is a recent development which has become the standard definition and understanding. According to Gelman, "A unitive experience involves
1316-460: A spirit world, and is associated with New Age practices. Rahul Sankrityayan Rahul Sankrityayan (born Kedarnath Pandey ; 9 April 1893 – 14 April 1963) was an Indian author, essayist, playwright, historian, scholar of Buddhism who wrote in Hindi and Bhojpuri . Known as "father of Hindi travel literature", Sankrityayan played a pivotal role in giving Hindi travelogue a literary form. He
1410-490: A transcendental reality. An influential proponent of this understanding was William James (1842–1910), who stated that "in mystic states we both become one with the Absolute and we become aware of our oneness." William James popularized this use of the term "religious experience" in his The Varieties of Religious Experience , contributing to the interpretation of mysticism as a distinctive experience, comparable to sensory experiences. Religious experiences belonged to
1504-734: Is Volga Se Ganga ( A journey from the Volga to the Ganges ) – a work of historical fiction concerning the migration of Aryans from the steppes of the Eurasia to regions around the Volga river ; then their movements across the Hindukush and the Himalayas and the sub-Himalayan regions; and their spread to the Indo-Gangetic plains of the subcontinent of India . The book begins in 6000 BC and ends in 1942,
1598-408: Is "the doctrine that special mental states or events allow an understanding of ultimate truths." According to James R. Horne, mystical illumination is "a central visionary experience [...] that results in the resolution of a personal or religious problem." According to Evelyn Underhill, illumination is a generic English term for the phenomenon of mysticism. The term illumination is derived from
1692-686: Is attributed in a religious way, mysticism as "enlightenment" or insight, and mysticism as a way of transformation, "mysticism" can be found in many cultures and religious traditions, both in folk religion and organized religion . These traditions include practices to induce religious or mystical experiences, but also ethical standards and practices to enhance self-control and integrate the mystical experience into daily life. Dan Merkur notes, though, that mystical practices are often separated from daily religious practices, and restricted to "religious specialists like monastics, priests, and other renunciates . According to Dan Merkur, shamanism may be regarded as
1786-521: Is human transformation, not just experiencing mystical or visionary states. According to McGinn, personal transformation is the essential criterion to determine the authenticity of Christian mysticism. In the Hellenistic world, 'mystical' referred to "secret" religious rituals like the Eleusinian Mysteries . The use of the word lacked any direct references to the transcendental. A "mystikos"
1880-415: Is looking at, gazing at, aware of divine realities." According to Peter Moore, the term "mysticism" is "problematic but indispensable". It is a generic term which joins together into one concept separate practices and ideas which developed separately. According to Dupré, "mysticism" has been defined in many ways, and Merkur notes that the definition, or meaning, of the term "mysticism" has changed through
1974-488: Is more accurate than "union", since not all mystics spoke of union with God, and since many visions and miracles were not necessarily related to union. He also argues that we should speak of "consciousness" of God's presence, rather than of "experience", since mystical activity is not simply about the sensation of God as an external object, but more broadly about "new ways of knowing and loving based on states of awareness in which God becomes present in our inner acts." However,
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#17328548688902068-699: Is now "largely dismissed by scholars", most scholars using a contextualist approach, which considers the cultural and historical context. "Mysticism" is derived from the Greek μύω , meaning "I conceal", and its derivative μυστικός , mystikos , meaning 'an initiate'. The verb μύω has received a quite different meaning in the Greek language, where it is still in use. The primary meanings it has are "induct" and "initiate". Secondary meanings include "introduce", "make someone aware of something", "train", "familiarize", "give first experience of something". The related form of
2162-508: Is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute , but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ultimate or hidden truths, and to human transformation supported by various practices and experiences. The term "mysticism" has Ancient Greek origins with various historically determined meanings. Derived from
2256-452: Is popularly known as union with God or the Absolute. In the 13th century the term unio mystica came to be used to refer to the "spiritual marriage", the ecstasy, or rapture, that was experienced when prayer was used "to contemplate both God's omnipresence in the world and God in his essence." In the 19th century, under the influence of Romanticism, this "union" was interpreted as a "religious experience", which provides certainty about God or
2350-509: Is prevalent in many dialects in modern Bangla (even certain situations in standard Bangla) as well as middle Bangla; Instrumental case ending – case ending -e ; Conjunctive indeclinable - ia ; Conjunctive conditional - ite ; Passive - ia- Substantive roots ach and thak . Future the -iva suffix: haiba; kariba. Ekaso (100), Padama (Padma:Lotus), Chausatthi (64), Pakhudi (petals) Tahin (there, in that), Charhi (climb/rise), nachai (dances), Dombi (a Bengali woman belonging to
2444-517: Is used in Middle Bengali; Present indefinite verb -ai that transformed into -e in modern Bangla; Second Person Suffix -asi/si that transformed into -is in modern Bangla; Incomplete verb forms of participles – suffixes -i and -iya used in modern poetry and Early and Middle Bangla both Post-positional words like majha , antara , sanga ; Past and future bases - il- , -ib- ; Nominative case ending – case ending in e
2538-557: The -iva suffix: haiba (5); kariba (7). Nominative case ending – case ending in -e : kumbhire khaa , core nila (2). Dative-Accusative case ending – case ending in -aka : ṭhākuraka pariṇibittā (12), nāsaka thāti (21). Instrumental case ending – case ending -e and -era : uju bate gela (15); kuthare chijaa (45). Genitive case ending – case ending in -ara : sasara siṁge (41). Locative case ending – case ending in -ata , e : māṅgata caṛhile (8), bāṭata milila (8), bājai bīranāde (11). The vocabulary of
2632-593: The Charyapada with Assamese , Odia , Bengali , and Maithili . Luipa was from Kamarupa and wrote two charyas . Sarahapa, another poet, is said to have been from Rani, a place close to present-day Guwahati . Some of the affinities with Assamese are: Negatives – the negative particle in Assamese comes ahead of the verb: na jãi (No. 2, 15, 20, 29); na jivami (No. 4); na chadaa , na jani , na disaa (No. 6). Charya 15 has 9 such forms. Present participles –
2726-633: The Charyāpada was rediscovered in the early 20th century by Haraprasad Shastri at the Nepal Royal Court Library. The Charyapada was also preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist canon. The rediscovery of the Charyapada is credited to Haraprasad Shastri , a 19th-century Sanskrit scholar and historian of Bengali literature who, during his third visit to Nepal in 1907, chanced upon 50 verses at
2820-438: The Greek word μύω múō , meaning "to close" or "to conceal", mysticism came to refer to the biblical, liturgical (and sacramental), spiritual, and contemplative dimensions of early and medieval Christianity . During the early modern period , the definition of mysticism grew to include a broad range of beliefs and ideologies related to "extraordinary experiences and states of mind". In modern times, "mysticism" has acquired
2914-1079: The Maha Bodhi Society to act as religious messengers. Sanrkityayan returned after only a few months despite requests from the society to promote Buddhism in other European countries and the United States of America . The reason he gave for this is: "I find the capitalist life very dreary. I have observed and understood what I wanted to (in London); there are similar things in America; so I do not want to waste my time." In 1933, Sankrityayan spent his time writing and also visiting new places in Patna , Ladakh and Lahore . Between 1934 and 1938, he also visited Tibet three times as well as Burma , Korea and Japan among others. He brought back more than eighty Sanskrit Buddhist works of which he translated and published many. Sankrityayan first visited Russia in 1935 where he spent
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3008-628: The Mahasiddhas (750 and 1150 CE), or Siddhacharyas, whose names are mentioned at the beginning of each pada (except the first pada). Some parts of the manuscripts are lost; however, in the Tibetan Buddhist Canon, a translation of 50 padas is found, which includes padas 24, 25, and 48, and the complete pada 23. Pada 25 was written by the Siddhacharya poet Tantripāda, whose work was previously missing. In his commentary on pada 10, Munidatta mentions
3102-403: The "personal religion", which he considered to be "more fundamental than either theology or ecclesiasticism". He gave a Perennialist interpretation to religious experience, stating that this kind of experience is ultimately uniform in various traditions. McGinn notes that the term unio mystica , although it has Christian origins, is primarily a modern expression. McGinn argues that "presence"
3196-600: The 7th of October to the 14th of December of 1930, he wrote a new book entitled the Buddha caryā . He was finally granted permission to leave on 15th December 1930 at which point he left for Chapra . He also visited other places including the historical sites in Sindh and Sarnath . He returned to the monastery in Sri Lanka on the 28th of November 1931. In July of 1932, he and Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan visited London as representatives of
3290-515: The 9th of April, 1893. His ancestral village was Kanaila Chakrapanpur, Azamgarh district , in Eastern Uttar Pradesh . His mother tongue was Bhojpuri . For the previous seven generations his family had been landowners who earned their livings as farmers. His early education was arranged by his maternal grandfather, Ramsharan Pathak who had him educated in the Urdu language as at the time, Urdu
3384-404: The Absolute, the Infinite, or God—and thereby the perception of its essential unity or oneness—was claimed to be genuinely mystical. The historical evidence, however, does not support such a narrow conception of mysticism. Under the influence of Perennialism , which was popularised in both the west and the east by Unitarianism , Transcendentalists , and Theosophy , mysticism has been applied to
3478-651: The All India Hindi Literary Conference. His strong advocacy for Hindi and opposition to Urdu as the national language led to his dismissal from the Communist Party. Late in life, he married Kamala Sankrityayan , who was an Indian writer, editor and scholar in Hindi and Nepali. They had a daughter Jaya Sankrityayan Parhawk, one son, Jeta. Jeta is a professor of Economics at North Bengal University. Sankrityayan’s health declined over time, especially with
3572-714: The Arya Samaj and the beginning of his activities as part of the Indian independence movement . On the 31st of January 1922, he was arrested while chairing a meeting of the District Congress Committee in Chhapra and sent to Buxar jail for six months. However, even after being released, he continued his political activities. He also began to campaign for the Mahabodhi temple to be handed over to Buddhist control as part of his role in
3666-591: The Arya Samaj movement. During this time, as well as studying about the Arya Samaj, he also engaged with the Arabic language as well as various other religions of the world. After two years in Agra, he later moved to Lahore which was a centre of the Arya Samaj movement, to study at the Dayanand Anglo Vedic school. From Lahore, he would frequently travel to spread Arya Samaj doctrine in other locations. The teachings of
3760-775: The Bihar Communist Party. He was jailed for a few months for organising a Satyagraha at Amvari. In 1940, he presided over a peasant's meeting in Motihari and was rearrested for a provocative speech for which he spent two years in jail in Hazaribagh . During this period of imprisonment, he wrote several influential works including Volga Se Ganga , "Viśva kī rūprekhā" (Outline of the World), and "Vaijñānik bhautikvād" (Scientific Materialism), among others. After his eventual release, in his third stay in Russia from 1945 to 1947, Sankrityayan
3854-547: The Charyapada dates back to an even earlier time. He maintained that it was likely to have been composed between 7th and 11th century. Rahul Sankrityayan thought that the Charyapada was probably written between 8th and 11th century. Haraprasad Shastri , in his introduction to the Charyacharya-vinishchaya, referred to the enigmatic language of its verses as " twilight language " (Sanskrit: Sandhya-bhasha ), or Alo-andhari (half-expressed and half-concealed) based on
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3948-580: The Charyapada poems to be an early form of Maithili. The beginnings of Odia poetry coincide with the development of Charya Sahitya, the literature thus started by Mahayana Buddhist poets. Before each song in the manuscript, a Rāga is given to which it is to be sung. The complete set of rāga used in the Charyapada is list below. While some of these Rāgas are extinct, the names of some of these Rāgas may actually be variant names of popular Rāgas we know today. Mystical Medieval Early modern Modern Iran India East-Asia Mysticism
4042-401: The Charyapada, conjectured that it was written during the 10th century. However, according to Suniti Kumar Chatterji , it was composed between 10th and 12th century. Prabodh Chandra Bagchi upholds this view. Sukumar Sen , while supporting this view, also states that the Charyapada could have been written between the 11th and 14th centuries. However, Muhammad Shahidullah was of the opinion that
4136-536: The Charyapadas includes non- tatsama words which are typically Assamese, such as dala (1), thira kari (3, 38), tai (4), uju (15), caka (14) etc. A large number of the Siddhacharyas who wrote the verses of Charyapada were from Bengal . The affinities with Bengali language are: Genitive -era , -ara ; Locative -te , -e/A ; Nominative -Ta ; Present participles – the suffix -ante and -anta
4230-593: The Divine as residing within human, an essence beyond the varieties of religious expressions. The 19th century saw a growing emphasis on individual experience, as a defense against the growing rationalism of western society. The meaning of mysticism was considerably narrowed: The competition between the perspectives of theology and science resulted in a compromise in which most varieties of what had traditionally been called mysticism were dismissed as merely psychological phenomena and only one variety, which aimed at union with
4324-620: The Eucharist. The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God. Until the sixth century, the Greek term theoria , meaning "contemplation" in Latin, was used for the mystical interpretation of the Bible and the vision of God. The link between mysticism and the vision of the Divine was introduced by the early Church Fathers , who used the term as an adjective, as in mystical theology and mystical contemplation. Theoria enabled
4418-458: The Fathers to perceive depths of meaning in the biblical writings that escape a purely scientific or empirical approach to interpretation. The Antiochene Fathers, in particular, saw in every passage of Scripture a double meaning, both literal and spiritual. Later, theoria or contemplation came to be distinguished from intellectual life, leading to the identification of θεωρία or contemplatio with
4512-675: The Gaya Congress. He was later jailed for further incidents and by 1927 he had spent a total of 2 and half years in jail. It was during this stay in Bihar that Sankrityayan turned from politics and the Arya Samaj to Buddhism. He took up a teaching position in Sanskrit at the Vidyālaṅkāra Pariveṇa in Sri Lanka in 1927 and he stayed there for a total of nineteen months where he immersed himself in
4606-470: The Latin illuminatio , applied to Christian prayer in the 15th century. Comparable Asian terms are bodhi , kensho , and satori in Buddhism , commonly translated as "enlightenment" , and vipassana , which all point to cognitive processes of intuition and comprehension. Other authors point out that mysticism involves more than "mystical experience". According to Gellmann, the ultimate goal of mysticism
4700-655: The Royal library of the Nepalese kings. At that time, Shastri was a librarian of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta, and was engaged in a self-assigned mission to trace and track ancient Bengali manuscripts. His first and second trips to Nepal in 1897 and 1898 met with some success, as he was able to collect a number of folkloric tales written in Pali and Sanskrit . However, after he rediscovered
4794-411: The Sanskrit commentary of Munidatta. Vidhushekhara Shastri, on the basis of evidence from a number of Buddhist texts, later referred to this language as 'Intentional Language' (Sanskrit: Sandha-bhasha ). The padas were written by poets from different regions, and it is natural that they would display linguistic affinities from these regions. Different scholars have noted the affinities of the language of
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#17328548688904888-553: The Tibetan city of Lhasa . In Tibet, he learned the local language while also collecting manuscripts. He also compiled an unpublished dictionary entitled the Bhot-Sanskrit śabdkoś which contained 16,000 words. He returned to Sri Lanka in 1930 where he was finally ordained as a monk and given the monastic name, Rahul Sankrityayan. The head monk of the monastery, Mahapad Nayak Mahastavir, initially did not allow Sankrityayan to leave so from
4982-503: The Western Himalayas for pilgrimages. He travelled to Haridwar , Rishikesh , Badrinath and Kedarnath with the intention of studying Vedanta . His grandfather learned about his travels and tried to retrieve him but met with little success. Afterwards, Sankrityayan went to Varanasi and started his studies there in 1911. Due to his time spent travelling across India, Sankrityayan had no formal education or university degree and
5076-524: The academic study of religion the apparent "unambiguous commonality" has become "opaque and controversial". The term "mysticism" is being used in different ways in different traditions. Some call to attention the conflation of mysticism and linked terms, such as spirituality and esotericism, and point at the differences between various traditions. Based on various definitions of mysticism, namely mysticism as an experience of union or nothingness, mysticism as any kind of an altered state of consciousness which
5170-411: The ages. Moore further notes that the term "mysticism" has become a popular label for "anything nebulous, esoteric, occult, or supernatural". Parsons warns that "what might at times seem to be a straightforward phenomenon exhibiting an unambiguous commonality has become, at least within the academic study of religion, opaque and controversial on multiple levels". Because of its Christian overtones, and
5264-415: The allegorical interpretation of the bible, and condemned Mystical theology, which he saw as more Platonic than Christian. "The mystical", as the search for the hidden meaning of texts, became secularised, and also associated with literature, as opposed to science and prose. Science was also distinguished from religion. By the middle of the 17th century, "the mystical" is increasingly applied exclusively to
5358-402: The dead becomes known as βάκχος . Such initiates were believers in the god Dionysus Bacchus who took on the name of their god and sought an identification with their deity. Until the sixth century the practice of what is now called mysticism was referred to by the term contemplatio , c.q. theoria . According to Johnston, "[b]oth contemplation and mysticism speak of the eye of love which
5452-423: The founder of the Arya Samaj, Dayananda Saraswati emphasised elements of social reform and these same teachings carried over to Sankrityayan. This also led to his first engagements with Buddhism as he would travel around to spread Arya Samaj ideals. Among some of the locations he would visit include Kushinagar , Sarnath , Lumbini and Bodh Gaya . The year 1921 marked the end of Sankrityayan's engagement with
5546-414: The hidden wills of humans, but is more often used for the hidden will of God. Elsewhere in the Bible it takes the meaning of the mystic or hidden sense of things. It is used for the secrets behind sayings, names, or behind images seen in visions and dreams. The Vulgate often translates the Greek term to the Latin sacramentum ( sacrament ). The related noun μύστης (mustis or mystis, singular) means
5640-460: The idea of "union" does not work in all contexts. For example, in Advaita Vedanta, there is only one reality (Brahman) and therefore nothing other than reality to unite with it—Brahman in each person ( atman ) has always in fact been identical to Brahman all along. Dan Merkur also notes that union with God or the Absolute is a too limited definition, since there are also traditions which aim not at
5734-461: The ideas and explanations related to them. Parsons stresses the importance of distinguishing between temporary experiences and mysticism as a process, which is embodied within a "religious matrix" of texts and practices. Richard Jones does the same. Peter Moore notes that mystical experience may also happen in a spontaneous and natural way, to people who are not committed to any religious tradition. These experiences are not necessarily interpreted in
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#17328548688905828-433: The initiate, the person initiated to the mysteries. According to Ana Jiménez San Cristobal in her study of Greco-Roman mysteries and Orphism , the singular form μύστης and the plural form μύσται are used in ancient Greek texts to mean the person or persons initiated to religious mysteries. These followers of mystery religions belonged to a select group, where access was only gained through an initiation. She finds that
5922-434: The institutional/historical, the intellectual/speculative, and the mystical/experiential. For Erasmus , mysticism subsisted in contemplating the deep secrets contained in the Bible, notably the startling personality of Christ. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century mysticism came to be used as a substantive. This shift was linked to a new discourse, in which science and religion were separated. Luther dismissed
6016-563: The lack of similar terms in other cultures, some scholars regard the term "mysticism" to be inadequate as a useful descriptive term. Other scholars regard the term to be an inauthentic fabrication, the "product of post-Enlightenment universalism". Richard Jones notes that "few classical mystics refer to their experiences as the union of two realities: there is no literal 'merging' or 'absorption' of one reality into another resulting in only one entity." He explicates mysticism with reference to one's mode of access in order to include both union of
6110-476: The mystic with some transcendent reality and the non-sensory revelation of that reality. The mystic experience can be defined by the mystic's purported access to "realities or states of affairs that are of a kind not accessible by way of ordinary sense-perception structured by mental conceptions, somatosensory modalities, or standard introspection." Whether or not such an experience is veridical remains undecided. Deriving from Neo-Platonism and Henosis , mysticism
6204-472: The name of Charyacharyavinishchayah . This manuscript is presently preserved at the National Archives of Nepal. Prabodhchandra Bagchi later published a manuscript of a Tibetan translation containing 50 verses. The Tibetan translation provided additional information, including that the Sanskrit commentary in the manuscript, known as Charyagiti-koshavrtti, was written by Munidatta. It also mentions that
6298-417: The name of another Siddhacharya poet, Ladidombipāda, but no pada written by him has been discovered so far. The names of the Siddhacharyas in Sanskrit (or its Tibetan language equivalent), and the raga in which the verse was to be sung, are given prior to each pada. The Sanskrit names of the Siddhacharya poets were likely assigned to each pada by the commentator Munidatta. Haraprasad Shastri, who rediscovered
6392-475: The onset of diabetes. Nonetheless, he continued his literary work, dictating several works, including the award-winning History of Central Asia. In 1959, he moved briefly to Sri Lanka to lead a philosophy department but returned due to poor health. In December 1961, he suffered memory loss and was taken to Russia for treatment without improvement. On April 14, 1963, he died in Darjeeling . Various ideals influenced
6486-514: The original text was translated by Shilachari and its commentary by Munidatta was translated by Chandrakirti or Kirtichandra. The poets and their works as mentioned in the text are as follows: The manuscript of the Charyapada discovered by Haraprasad Shastri from Nepal consists of 47 padas (verses). The title-page, the colophon , and pages 36, 37, 38, 39, and 66 (containing padas 24, 25, and 48 and their commentary) were missing in this manuscript. The 47 verses of this manuscript were composed by 22 of
6580-501: The personal philosophy of Rahul Sankrityayan including the critical examination of religion, and the advocacy of social justice . Sankrityayan approached Buddhism primarily as a cultural and intellectual heritage rather than as a religion. He regarded the Buddha not merely as a religious figure but as a profound thinker and a symbol of India’s philosophical achievements. To him, Buddhism epitomized India’s contribution to global civilization and
6674-415: The religious realm, separating religion and "natural philosophy" as two distinct approaches to the discovery of the hidden meaning of the universe. The traditional hagiographies and writings of the saints became designated as "mystical", shifting from the virtues and miracles to extraordinary experiences and states of mind, thereby creating a newly coined "mystical tradition". A new understanding developed of
6768-623: The root word of the English term "mystery". The term means "anything hidden", a mystery or secret, of which initiation is necessary. In the New Testament it reportedly takes the meaning of the counsels of God, once hidden but now revealed in the Gospel or some fact thereof, the Christian revelation generally, and/or particular truths or details of the Christian revelation. According to Thayer's Greek Lexicon,
6862-488: The scheduled caste, Domi/Domni), Bapuri (a Bengali word for 'poor fellow'; 'বাপুর, বাপুড়া') Several scholars have noted the affinities of the Charyapadas with Bihari languages like Maithili , Magahi and Bhojpuri . Rahul Sankrityayan in his Puratatv Nibandhawali noted that most of the Siddhas who composed the poems were from Bihar and the language used was an early form of Magahi. The historian, K. P. Jayaswal deemed
6956-571: The study of Buddhist texts and the Pali language . He eventually earned the title of Tripiṭakācārya which indicates that he had become a master of the Tripitaka which is an ancient collection of Buddhist texts. He left Sri Lanka for Tibet at the end of 1928. This was not an easy journey and he had to travel by land through the Kathmandu valley to reach his destination. The journey took one year, six months, and twenty days in total before he finally reached
7050-451: The suffix -ante is used as in Assamese of the Vaishnava period: jvante (while living, No. 22); sunante (while listening, No. 30) etc. Incomplete verb forms – suffixes -i and -iya used in modern and Early Assamese respectively: kari (3, 38); cumbi (4); maria (11); laia (28) etc. Present indefinite verb forms – -ai : bhanai (1); tarai (5); pivai (6). Future –
7144-506: The term μυστήριον in classical Greek meant "a hidden thing", "secret". A particular meaning it took in Classical antiquity was a religious secret or religious secrets, confided only to the initiated and not to be communicated by them to ordinary mortals. In the Septuagint and the New Testament the meaning it took was that of a hidden purpose or counsel, a secret will. It is sometimes used for
7238-544: The terms were associated with the term βάκχος ( Bacchus ), which was used for a special class of initiates of the Orphic mysteries. The terms are first found connected in the writings of Heraclitus . Such initiates are identified in texts with the persons who have been purified and have performed certain rites. A passage of Cretans by Euripides seems to explain that the μύστης (initiate) who devotes himself to an ascetic life, renounces sexual activities, and avoids contact with
7332-779: The tools necessary to implement the changes envisioned in Buddhist thought, particularly in the realms of economic and social reform. Rahul Sankrityayan’s intellectual life was marked by transitions, reflecting his quest for philosophical frameworks that aligned with his evolving worldview. From his early association with the Arya Samaj to his later commitments to Buddhism and communism, Sankrityayan consistently sought ideas that could address India’s cultural and socio-political challenges. Sankrityayan understood several languages , including Bhojpuri (his mother tongue), Hindi , Sanskrit , Pali , Magahi , Urdu , Persian , Arabic , Tamil , Kannada , Tibetan , Sinhalese , French and Russian . He
7426-417: The treasure manuscripts in 1907, he published this collections in a single volume in 1916. The original palm-leaf manuscript of the Charyapada, or Caryācaryāviniścaya , spanning 47 padas (verses) along with a Sanskrit commentary, was edited by Shastri and published from Bangiya Sahitya Parishad as a part of his Hajar Bacharer Purano Bangala Bhasay Bauddhagan O Doha (Buddhist Songs and Couplets) in 1916 under
7520-515: The verb μυέω (mueó or myéō) appears in the New Testament . As explained in Strong's Concordance , it properly means shutting the eyes and mouth to experience mystery. Its figurative meaning is to be initiated into the "mystery revelation". The meaning derives from the initiatory rites of the pagan mysteries. Also appearing in the New Testament is the related noun μυστήριον (mustérion or mystḗrion),
7614-470: The world of benevolent and malevolent spirits , who typically enters into trance during a ritual , and practices divination and healing . Neoshamanism refers to "new"' forms of shamanism , or methods of seeking visions or healing, typically practiced in Western countries. Neoshamanism comprises an eclectic range of beliefs and practices that involve attempts to attain altered states and communicate with
7708-409: Was a source of national pride. Sankrityayan emphasised Buddhist values such as compassion, atheism, and economic equality, which he believed offered a robust foundation for humanistic ideals. Central to his philosophy was the integration of Buddhism with Indian cultural nationalism. He sought to revive India’s historical and cultural prominence by reconnecting with its Buddhist legacy. This commitment
7802-460: Was also an Indologist , a Marxist theoretician, and a creative writer. He started writing during his twenties and his works, totaling well over 100, covered a variety of subjects, including sociology, history, philosophy, Buddhism , Tibetology , lexicography , grammar , textual editing, folklore , science, drama, and politics. Many of these were unpublished. He translated Majjhima Nikaya from Prakrit into Hindi . One of his Hindi books
7896-456: Was also manifested in various sects of the time such as the Waldensians . Under the influence of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite the term mystical theology came to denote the investigation of the allegorical truth of the Bible, and "the spiritual awareness of the ineffable Absolute beyond the theology of divine names." Pseudo-Dionysius' Apophatic theology , or "negative theology", exerted
7990-635: Was an antidote the "self-aggrandizing hyper-inquisitiveness" of Scholasticism and was attainable even by simple and uneducated people. The outcome of affective mysticism may be to see God's goodness or love rather than, say, his radical otherness. The theology of Catherine of Sienna was analysed in terms of mystical theology by Baron Friedrich von Hügel in The Mystical Element of Religion as Studied in St. Catherine of Genoa and Her Friends (1908). Von Hügel proposed three elements of religious experience:
8084-408: Was an initiate of a mystery religion. In early Christianity the term "mystikos" referred to three dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely the biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative. The biblical dimension refers to "hidden" or allegorical interpretations of Scriptures. The liturgical dimension refers to the liturgical mystery of the Eucharist, the presence of Christ in
8178-426: Was any theology (or divine-human knowledge) that occurred in the affective (relating to the will including the emotions) realm rather than the intellective. This kind of mysticism was a general category that included the positive knowledge of God obtained, for example, through practical "repentant activity" (e.g., as part of sacramental participation), rather being about passive esoteric/transcendent religious ecstasy: it
8272-507: Was awarded the 1958 Sahitya Akademi Award for his 2 volume "Madhya Asia ka Itihaas" (History of Central Asia). The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan , the country's third-highest civilian award, in 1963. He died the same year, aged 70. Rahul Sankrityayan was born as Kedarnath Pandey, the eldest child in a Brahmin family in the village of Pandaha in Azamgarh district on
8366-572: Was deeply rooted in its philosophical and cultural dimensions rather than in religious orthodoxy. This critical perspective extended to his exploration of other ideologies, including the Arya Samaj and later communism, each of which he engaged with before moving toward Marxism. In Marxism , Sankrityayan found a practical philosophy that complemented the ethical and philosophical principles of Buddhism. He identified shared ideals in their critique of dogmatism and their advocacy for equality and societal transformation. Sankrityayan argued that Marxism offered
8460-485: Was evident in his extensive efforts to retrieve lost Buddhist manuscripts from Tibet and his advocacy for the restoration of ancient centers of learning, such as Nalanda . For Sankrityayan, Buddhism symbolized the intellectual and moral grandeur that India once represented on the world stage. Despite his admiration for Buddhism, Sankrityayan maintained a critical stance toward organized religion, which he viewed as an impediment to societal progress. His embrace of Buddhism
8554-702: Was invited to take up a professorship at Leningrad University. His expertise in Buddhology was highly regarded, as noted by Professor Stcherbatsky, who praised him as an authoritative figure in the subject. During this period, Sankrityayan made numerous audio recordings of texts in Sanskrit and Prakrit. His family joined him in Leningrad, and he later documented his experiences in Russia in his work, "Rūs mẽ paccīs mās" (Twenty-five Months in Russia), published in 1951. Following India's independence in 1947, Sankrityayan returned to India
8648-551: Was largely self-taught on various topics. In 1912, he travelled to Chhapra in Bihar where he was initiated as a sadhu and given the new name, Ramudar Das. He was to become the heir of a mahant of an ashram belonging to the Vaishnava tradition. Eventually, he found himself becoming bored and fled Chapra later that same year for South India where he stayed at the Uttarārdhī monastery. After
8742-718: Was one of the most widely travelled scholars of India , spending forty-five years of his life on travels away from his home in locations like Russia , Tibet , China , Central Asia , etc. Knowing around 30 languages including English, Hindi, Bhojpuri, Tibetan, Sanskrit, Pali, Russian, Arabic, etc., Sankrityayan almost always wrote in Hindi. The honorific mahapandit ("Great scholar" in Hindi) has been applied before his name since his lifetime. Sankrityayan wrote extensively, his collection of works spanning more than 100 books on various subjects like Indology, Communism, Buddhism, and philology as well as various short stories, novels and plays. He
8836-855: Was seen as the language of the court and an essential language for one to know if they intended to work in any administrative job in British India . In 1899, he also briefly attended a Hindu school in Badauda where he learnt the Devanagari script. Around 1902, Sankrityayan began to study Sanskrit with his uncle, Mahadev Pandit, a well-known scholar of the language. In 1909, after completing middle school, his grandfather intended for him to start receiving an English-medium education however Sankrityayan resisted this as he wished to be able to continue studying Sanskrit. He also termed English an "alien language. Sankrityayan's travel history began in 1910 when he set out for
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