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49-507: Tajalli literally means "manifestation", "revelation", "disclosure" or " epiphany / theophany ". Mystics use the term to refer to the manifestation of divine truth in the microcosm of the human heart and the macrocosm of the universe, interrelated in God's creation and constituting a reflection of the majesty of his Tawhid or indivisible oneness. The concept is used five times in the Quran , including in

98-518: A Goddess and a Horned God , thereby being generally dualistic . In traditional Wicca, as expressed in the writings of Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente , the emphasis is on the theme of divine gender polarity, and the God and Goddess are regarded as equal and opposite divine cosmic forces. In some newer forms of Wicca, such as feminist or Dianic Wicca , the Goddess is given primacy or even exclusivity. In some forms of traditional witchcraft that share

147-412: A urinal as a fountain ), simply by presenting them in a way no one had thought to do before; the result was intended to induce an epiphany of "what art is" or is not. Epiphanies can come in many different forms, and are often generated by a complex combination of experience, memory, knowledge, predisposition and context. A contemporary example of an epiphany in education might involve the process by which

196-463: A belief in the divine potential of humanity; Smith taught a form of divinization where mortal men and women can become like god through salvation and exaltation . Lorenzo Snow succinctly summarized this using a couplet , which is often repeated within the LDS Church: "As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be." Wiccan views of divinity are generally theistic , and revolve around

245-560: A deity or being of their faith. In Hinduism, for example, epiphany might refer to Arjuna 's realization that Krishna (incarnation of God serving as his charioteer in the " Bhagavad Gita ") is indeed representing the Universe. The Hindu term for epiphany would be bodhodaya , from Sanskrit bodha "wisdom" and udaya "rising". Or in Buddhism, the term might refer to the Buddha obtaining enlightenment under

294-436: A passenger would not be able to tell the difference between the weightlessness of falling, and the weightlessness of space – a thought which allowed him to generalize his theory of relativity to include gravity as a curvature in spacetime. A similar flash of holistic understanding in a prepared mind was said to give Charles Darwin his "hunch" (about natural selection ), and Darwin later said he always remembered

343-428: A process of significant thought about a problem. Often they are triggered by a new and key piece of information, but importantly, a depth of prior knowledge is required to allow the leap of understanding. Famous epiphanies include Archimedes 's discovery of a method to determine the volume of an irregular object (" Eureka !") and Isaac Newton 's realization that a falling apple and the orbiting moon are both pulled by

392-434: A quality has two distinct usages: Overlap occurs between these usages because deities or godly entities are often identical with or identified by the powers and forces that are credited to them—in many cases, a deity is merely a power or force personified—and these powers and forces may then be extended or granted to mortal individuals. For instance, Jehovah is closely associated with storms and thunder throughout much of

441-400: A realization of the truth to such a degree that those attributes he personally embodies shine forth as reflections of The Divine Attributes within his very being. The spiritual wayfarer discovers this through the ascetic or Sufi conduct during his spiritual journey inward to attain to God Consciousness, which he unleashes within himself into the world as a kind of divine charisma. Some mystics of

490-511: A streetcar home, he looked behind him at the receding clocktower in Bern and realized that if the car sped up (close to the speed of light) he would see the clock slow down; with this thought, he later remarked, "a storm broke loose in my mind," which would allow him to understand special relativity. Einstein had a second epiphany two years later in 1907 which he called "the happiest thought of my life" when he imagined an elevator falling, and realized that

539-416: A student arrives at some form of new insight or clarifying thought. Despite this popular image, epiphany is the result of significant work on the part of the discoverer, and is only the satisfying result of a long process. The surprising and fulfilling feeling of epiphany is so surprising because one cannot predict when one's labor will bear fruit, and our subconscious can play a significant part in delivering

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588-423: Is shams , the sun of truth, and the other is the mirror of the heart. According to the symbolical language of mysticism, the sun is a password of Truth and the mirror is the key to the universe and the heart. According to epistemological semantics, truth manifests itself in the heart of the human being on a mystical journey. Consequently, by means of divine manifestation within one's self, the mystic could attain to

637-641: Is in accordance with the will of God. The doctrine of the divine right of kings was introduced as late as the 17th century, proposing that kings rule by divine decree; Japanese Emperors ruled by divine mandate until the inception of the Japanese constitution after World War II . Less politically, most faiths have any number of people that are believed to have been touched by divine forces: saints , prophets , heroes , oracles , martyrs , and enlightened beings, among others. Saint Francis of Assisi , in Catholicism,

686-601: Is often used instead. Polytheistic and animistic systems of belief make no such distinction; gods and other beings of transcendent power often have complex, ignoble, or even incomprehensible motivations for their acts. Note that while the terms demon and demonic are used in monotheistic faiths as antonyms to divine , they are in fact derived from the Greek word daimón (δαίμων), which itself translates as divinity . There are three distinct usages of divinity and divine in religious discourse : In monotheistic faiths,

735-445: Is said to have received instruction directly from God and it is believed that he grants plenary indulgence to all who confess their sins and visit his chapel on the appropriate day. In Greek mythology, Achilles ' mother bathed him in the river Styx to give him immortality, and Hercules —as the son of Zeus —inherited near-godly powers. In religious Taoism , Laozi is venerated as a saint with his own powers. Various individuals in

784-505: Is that epiphany is simply another word for (usually spiritual) vision . Actually, realism and psychology make epiphany a different mode as distinguished from vision, even though both vision and epiphany are often triggered by (sometimes seemingly) irrelevant incidents or objects. In Christianity, the Epiphany refers to a realization that Christ is the Son of God. Western churches generally celebrate

833-722: Is this: Colossians 2:9 The word "divine" in the New Testament is the Greek word θείας ( theias ), and is the adjective form of "divinity". Biblical examples from the King James Bible are below: The most prominent conception of divine entities in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is the Godhead , a divine council of three distinct beings: Elohim ( the Father ), Jehovah (

882-449: Is used by different belief systems . Under monotheism and polytheism this is clearly delineated. However, in pantheism and animism this becomes synonymous with concepts of sacredness and transcendence . The root of the word divinity is the Latin divus meaning of or belonging to a God ( deus ). The word entered English from Medieval Latin in the 14th century. Divinity as

931-617: The Old Testament . He is said to speak in thunder, and thunder is seen as a token of his anger. This power was then extended to prophets like Moses and Samuel , who caused thunderous storms to rain down on their enemies. Divinity always carries connotations of goodness , beauty , beneficence, justice , and other positive, pro-social attributes. In monotheistic faiths there is an equivalent cohort of malefic supernatural beings and powers, such as demons , devils , afreet , etc., which are not conventionally referred to as divine; demonic

980-758: The Visit of the Magi as the revelation of the Incarnation of the infant Christ, and commemorate the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Traditionally, Eastern churches, following the Julian rather than the Gregorian calendar, have celebrated Epiphany (or Theophany ) in conjunction with Christ's baptism by John the Baptist and celebrated it on January 19; however, other Eastern churches have adopted

1029-404: The bodhi tree, finally realizing the nature of the universe, and thus attaining Nirvana . The Zen term kensho also describes this moment, referring to the feeling attendant on realizing the answer to a koan . Divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity . What is or is not divine may be loosely defined, as it

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1078-638: The Buddhist faith, beginning with Siddhartha , are considered to be enlightened, and in religious forms of Buddhism they are credited with divine powers. Christ in the Bible is said to be God's Son and is said to have performed divine miracles. In general, mortals with divine qualities are carefully distinguished from the deity or deities in their religion's main pantheon . Even the Christian faith, which generally holds Christ to be identical to God, distinguishes between God

1127-633: The Father and Christ the begotten Son. There are, however, certain esoteric and mystical schools of thought, present in many faiths— Sufis in Islam, Gnostics in Christianity, Advaitan Hindus, Zen Buddhists , as well as several non-specific perspectives developed in new age philosophy—which hold that all humans are in essence divine, or unified with the Divine in a non-trivial way. Such divinity, in these faiths, would express itself naturally if it were not obscured by

1176-588: The Son , or Jesus ), and the Holy Spirit . Joseph Smith described a nontrinitarian Godhead, with God the Father and Jesus Christ each having individual physical bodies, and the Holy Spirit as a distinct personage with a spirit body . Smith also introduced the existence of a Heavenly Mother in the King Follett Discourse , but very little is acknowledged or known beyond her existence. Mormons hold

1225-556: The Sufi path recognize this charisma as a divine presence and regard it as sufficient reason to conclude that the Divine is manifest in the heart of the charismatic. Alternatively, Tajalli is also use to denote a removal of the conceptual veils which occult the truth of The Divine Manifestation - namely every thing that veils Creation's True End, which is to act as a Revelation of God's Divine Attributes. Mystics have many levels to achieve intuitive knowledge of God: According to ontological sense,

1274-574: The Western Calendar and celebrate it on January 6. Some Protestant churches often celebrate Epiphany as a season, extending from the last day of Christmas until either Ash Wednesday , or the Feast of the Presentation on February   2. In more general terms, the phrase "religious epiphany" is used when a person realizes their faith, or when they are convinced an event or happening was really caused by

1323-461: The absolute truth manifests itself in the universe like the appearing of the sun of truth in the mirror of universe in the heart of the Mystic. The absolute manifests itself in multitude forms in different beings. Epiphany (feeling) An epiphany (from the ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια, epiphanea , "manifestation, striking appearance") is an experience of a sudden and striking realization. Generally

1372-587: The audience into states of catharsis or kenosis , respectively. In modern times an epiphany lies behind the title of William Burroughs ' Naked Lunch , a drug-influenced state, as Burroughs explained, "a frozen moment when everyone sees what is at the end of the fork." Both the Dadaist Marcel Duchamp and the Pop Artist Andy Warhol would invert expectations by presenting commonplace objects or graphics as works of fine art (for example

1421-438: The career, the ramifications of which were worked out in detail over the following years. For example, allegedly Albert Einstein was struck as a young child by being given a compass, and realizing some unseen force in space was making it move. Another, perhaps better, example from Einstein's life occurred in 1905 after he had spent an evening unsuccessfully trying to reconcile Newtonian physics and Maxwell's equations. While taking

1470-466: The conventional workings of the world; from the subtle redressing of minor personal wrongs to such large-scale havoc as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah or the biblical Great Flood . Other faiths are even more subtle: the doctrine of karma shared by Buddhism and Hinduism is a divine law similar to divine retribution but without the connotation of punishment: our acts, good or bad, intentional or unintentional, reflect back on us as part of

1519-405: The definite article—are sometimes used to denote 'god(s) or certain other beings and entities which fall short of absolute Godhood but lie outside the human realm. As previously noted, divinities are closely related to the transcendent force(s) or power(s) credited to them, so much so that in some cases the powers or forces may themselves be invoked independently. This leads to the second usage of

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1568-506: The divinity of the faith has a profound but unknowable plan always unfolding in the world. Unforeseeable, overwhelming, or seemingly unjust events are often thrown on 'the will of the Divine', in deferences like the Muslim inshallah ('as God wills it') and Christian ' God works in mysterious ways '. Often such faiths hold out the possibility of divine retribution as well, where the divinity will unexpectedly bring evil -doers to justice through

1617-535: The faiths derived from those in the Caribbean, to Native American beliefs—hold that ancestral or household deities offer daily protection and blessings . In monotheistic religions, divine intervention may take very direct forms: miracles , visions , or intercessions by blessed figures. Transcendent force or power may also operate through more subtle and indirect paths. Monotheistic faiths generally support some version of divine providence , which acknowledges that

1666-741: The first to believe." ( 7. Al-Araf : 143) Theologians interpreting the Quran understand tajalli as appearance. They emphasize the concept of seeing God ( Arabic : رؤيا , romanized :  ruʾyā ). Ash'ari Sunnis use the Quranic concept to argue for the possibility of seeing God. To the contrary, the Muta'zila Sunni and the Shia interpret this verse to prove the impossibility of seeing God. Divine self-manifestation has an important role in epistemology and ontology for mystics. Two concepts are important to Tajalli; one

1715-474: The following verse: When Musa [Moses] arrived at our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said: "O Lord, reveal Yourself to me that I may behold You." "You cannot behold Me," He said. "But look at the mountain: If it remains firm in its place you may then behold Me." But when his Lord appeared on the mountain, making it crumble to a heap of dust, and Musa fell unconscious. When he recovered, he said: "All glory to You. I turn to You in repentance, and I am

1764-399: The fragment Stephen Hero (published posthumously in 1944). For the philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas , epiphany or a manifestation of the divine is seen in another's face (see face-to-face ). In traditional and pre-modern cultures, initiation rites and mystery religions have served as vehicles of epiphany, as well as the arts. The Greek dramatists and poets would, in the ideal, induct

1813-428: The mind – the manifestation being out of proportion to the significance or strictly logical relevance of whatever produces it". The author used epiphany as a literary device within each entry of his short story collection Dubliners (1914); his protagonists came to sudden recognitions that changed their view of themselves and/or their social conditions. Joyce had first expounded on epiphany's meaning in

1862-494: The natural working of the universe . Philosophical Taoism also proposes a transcendent operant principle—transliterated in English as tao or dao , meaning 'the way'—which is neither an entity nor a being per se, but reflects the natural ongoing process of the world. Modern western mysticism and new age philosophy often use the term 'the Divine' as a noun in this latter sense: a non-specific principle or being that gives rise to

1911-546: The next one. Crucially, epiphany cannot be predicted, or controlled. Although epiphanies are only a rare occurrence, crowning a process of significant labor, there is a common myth that epiphanies of sudden comprehension are commonly responsible for leaps in technology and the sciences. Famous epiphanies include Archimedes' realization of how to estimate the volume of a given mass, which inspired him to shout " Eureka !" ("I have found it!"). The biographies of many mathematicians and scientists include an epiphanic episode early in

1960-520: The same force. The word epiphany originally referred to insight through the divine . Today, this concept is more often used without such connotations, but a popular implication remains that the epiphany is supernatural , as the discovery seems to come suddenly from the outside. The word's secular usage may owe much of its popularity to Irish novelist James Joyce . The Joycean epiphany has been defined as "a sudden spiritual manifestation, whether from some object, scene, event, or memorable phase of

2009-540: The sea) who raised the storms that blew Odysseus 's craft off course on his return journey, and Japanese tradition holds that a god-sent wind saved them from Mongol invasion. Prayers or propitiations are often offered to specific gods to garner favorable interventions in particular enterprises: e.g. safe journeys, success in war, or a season of bountiful crops. Many faiths around the world—from Japanese Shinto and Chinese traditional religion, to certain African practices and

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2058-598: The social and physical worlds we live in; it needs to be brought to the fore through appropriate spiritual practices . In the New Testament the Greek word θεῖον ( theion ) in the Douay Version , is translated as "divinity". Examples are below: The word translated as either "deity", "Godhead", or "divinity" in the Greek New Testament is also the Greek word θεότητος ( theotētos ), and the one verse that contains it

2107-441: The solution; and is fulfilling because it is a reward for a long period of effort. A common myth predicts that most, if not all, innovations occur through epiphanies. Not all innovations occur through epiphanies; Scott Berkun notes that "the most useful way to think of an epiphany is as an occasional bonus of working on tough problems." Most innovations occur without epiphany, and epiphanies often contribute little towards finding

2156-521: The spot in the road where his carriage was when the epiphany struck. Another famous epiphany myth is associated with Isaac Newton's apple story, and yet another with Nikola Tesla's discovery of a workable alternating current induction motor. Though such epiphanies might have occurred, they were almost certainly the result of long and intensive periods of study those individuals had undertaken, rather than an out-of-the-blue flash of inspiration about an issue they had not thought about previously. Another myth

2205-451: The term is used to describe a scientific breakthrough or a religious or philosophical discovery, but it can apply in any situation in which an enlightening realization allows a problem or situation to be understood from a new and deeper perspective. Epiphanies are studied by psychologists and other scholars, particularly those attempting to study the process of innovation . Epiphanies are relatively rare occurrences and generally follow

2254-464: The third usage, extensions of divinity and divine power are credited to living, mortal individuals. Political leaders are known to have claimed actual divinity in certain early societies—the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs being the premier case—taking a role as objects of worship and being credited with superhuman status and powers. More commonly, and more pertinent to recent history, leaders merely claim some form of divine mandate , suggesting that their rule

2303-417: The word divine (and less common usage of divinity ): to refer to the operation of transcendent power in the world. In its most direct form, the operation of transcendent power implies some form of divine intervention . For monotheistic and polytheistic faiths this usually implies the direct action of one god or another on the course of human events. In Greek legend , for instance, it was Poseidon (god of

2352-496: The word divinity is often used to refer to the singular God central to that faith. Often the word takes the definite article and is capitalized— "the Divinity" —as though it were a proper name or definitive honorific. Divine —capitalized—may be used as an adjective to refer to the manifestations of such a Divinity or its powers: e.g. "basking in the Divine presence..." The terms divinity and divine —uncapitalized, and lacking

2401-470: The world, and acts as the source or wellspring of life . In these latter cases, the faiths do not promote deference, as happens in monotheisms; rather each suggests a path of action that will bring the practitioner into conformance with the divine law: ahimsa —'no harm'—for Buddhist and Hindu faiths; de or te —'virtuous action'—in Taoism; and any of numerous practices of peace and love in new age thinking. In

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