Religious experience – terminological problems

The huge number of interpretations and approaches to religious experiences makes discourse in the scientific studies of religion on the scope and significance of these phenomena extremely difficult. Especially misleading is the identification of them with mystical experiences, as well as attempts to depreciate these types of experience that are alien to researchers. A possible solution is the introduction of a differentiated scale of religious experiences in which mystical experiences constitute their „climactic”, emotionally and cognitively most intensive form. Acknowledging Otto’s definition of sensus numinis, the content of the experience and its cognitive, motivational and physiological components become a problem. In this situation most promising is on the one hand the classical conception of Joachim Wach, which orders the discourse and proposes recognising research on religious experiences with one of the main disciplines of religious studies, and on the other Abraham Maslow’s concept of „peak experiences”and „plateau experiences”. Therefore, (1) religious experience is graded; (2) it is not exclusively the sense itself (sensus numinis), since it brings cognitive and volitional effects, (3) it need not have a personal character and (4) experiencing it usually leads to various, more or less successful attempts to express it, and this then happens by means of symbols and is organised in the form of myths.

Ecstasy or insanity? Is it possible to differentiate between „normal” and „pathological” religious behaviour?

This article presents the cultural factors which contribute to understanding psychological health and pathology. The definitions of understanding psychological health and ways of approaching treatment were analysed, with particular emphasis on the role of religion. Understanding health and pathology was analysed from the perspective of the distinction between illness and disease. Four academic disciplines tackling this topic –psychology of religion, cultural psychology, indigenous psychology and clinical psychology –were presented as specific ways of approaching a conceptualisation of the above problems.

Ecstatic aspects of the cult of yogini in Kaula traditions

In the scientific study of religion the concept of ecstasy is connected to many phenomena, among them Shaman initiation journeys, ritual intoxication, the state of possession, as well as erotic and aesthetic rapture. All of these are present in the ritual practice and beliefs of the Indian school Yoginīkaula, developing in the sphere of the tantric Shaktist-Shaivist (śaktāśajva) currents. The core of the ritual-mythical system of the Kaulas was the cult of the yogini –threatening goddesses bestowing disciples with knowledge and power.

Searching for the origin and nature of the phenomenon of ecstasy in the religions of Bengal

In the religions of Bengal ecstasy is the culmination and test of religious maturity and the state of adulthood, the external expression of unio mystica and the effect of possession by a deity. Ecstasy confirms and provides meaning to religious practices, and the exceptional bodily states that accompany it provide religion with the marks of authenticity –one might say that ecstasy is the actualisation of the myth and model of the perfect person that can be found in Bengali culture. The ecstatic usually fulfils the function of guru –the verification of the authenticity of his bhava (ecstatic state) works as a legitimisation of his status as a religious teacher. Ecstasy can be induced by ritual means, asceticism and discipline –such ecstasy can be called ritual. In the other case it has the nature of spontaneous experience, and in this case it is perceived as a sign of the particular blessing of the deity. This understanding of the phenomenon of ecstasy is convergent with the concept of religion as a mystical state providing meaning as well as offering a person exceptional visionary experiences that are not present in ordinary life. In this way ecstasy would be the realisation of the innate human potential to enter altered states of consciousness (ASC), which constitute an integral component of traditional cultures. Such states are experienced by the participants of a given community in accordance with the model operating in that culture, and are the legitimisation of the knowledge passed on according to tradition. On the other hand, these states continually verify that model, and sometimes go beyond it, introducing new elements into the culture and specific religious tradition.

Possession (akom) as sign of calling and method of services of traditional Ashanti priests

The Ashanti people of Ghana call the phenomenon of spiritual possession akom. This fulfils the role of sign of calling and authentication of the function of specialist in rituals. The possession of a person by the spirit of his/her ancestor or a deity is at the foundations of his/her fulfilment of the cultic mission of medium, bringing others closer to the will of supernatural beings. It is therefore perceived as a positive and expected phenomenon. It must be correctly recognised and exploited, however. Akom makes divinative and healing practices possible. Possession is perceived by the Ashantis as individual as well as collective, prophylactic and therapeutic cultic activity. It becomes an occasion for integration of the community and renewal of the social order through unification, song and dance. The ecstasy of the traditional priest, which most often takes place during rituals, reflects and fulfils the dependence, connection and communication of the person with supernatural beings.

Enthralled elements. Panchabhuta [five elements] in the ecstatic experiences of yoga

This text presents the concept of the five (and not, as in European tradition, four) elements in Indian thought, concentrating in particular on the philosophy and practices of yoga, whose aim is to use the elements on a path ultimately meant to lead to liberation. Earth (prithiwi), water (ap), fi re (agni), air (wata), ether (akasha), known in Sanskrit as bhuta or mahabhuta (terms which only overlap to a limited degree with the English terms like „element”), come from original materials, and mix together in given proportions. In this way they not only become the basis of the existence of the reality surrounding us, but also form, describe and to a certain degree determine the nature and functioning of the person. These fundamental elements, although they remain concealed and are not available for direct understanding, manifest their existence in many various ways: thanks to these it is possible for the five senses to work, constituting a determinant of the division of the human body into five parts, are at the basis of the five pranas of life and the so-called humours of the body (dosha). Lastly, they are manifested in the various chakras, the concept of which is so often invoked and even more often deformed in popular Western literature. Thanks to these subtle manifestations, it is possible for the various elements to be influenced in a given way, controlled, until complete enthralment –and this is not only in the microcosmic dimension (the person) but also macrocosmic (reality). The gradual enthralment of the elements designates the various degrees of the ecstatic journey towards ultimate liberation. The article is opened by a short description of the individual elements, and then the following are shown: the mechanism, selected ascetic-mystical practices (asana, pranayama, meditation of elements), the effects of transformation of elements and their role in achieving ecstatic states.

Some remarks on the ecstasy of Plotinus – the interpretation of Enneads IV 8[6],1,1–11

The starting point of the article is a critical analysis of the possible interpretations of the famous excerpt of Enn. IV 8[6],1,1–11, on the basis of which the image of the ecstasy of Plotinus as a momentary rapture, which Plotinus apparently experienced a certain number of times in his life, was formed. In the next part of the article this analysis becomes a pretext for considering, on the one hand, the elements which show the closely philosophical, rational character of the Plotinian system, yet on the other hand the irrational elements appearing in the text of Enneads. The author also tackles the problem of the continuity of the irrational component of Neoplatonic tradition. In this way she tries to answer the question whether Postplotinian Neoplatonism –sinking to irrationalist positions –broke with the rationalist premises of the philosophy of Plotinus, or, on the contrary, has its basis in certain philosophical assumptions which develop Plotinus’views.

Experiences of visions and ecstasy in the writings of the Desert Fathers

In this article the author, based on selected early-monastic texts (apophtegmata, biographies of monks and historical/travel reports), analyses issues of visions and ecstasy at the beginning of early Christian monasticism. The main problem tackled in the text is the approach of monks to the phenomenon of ecstasy and visions. This issue is inseparably linked with the socio-geographical context of the lives of the fi rst monks, who mostly lived in the desert. Ecstasy is something which goes beyond the established order of affairs, and the visions sent by Satan to the monks are tests, the next stages on the way to the transformation of the human being, but also stigmata of holiness.

Natural methods of stimulation of the experience of ecstasy in the practices of orthodox hesychasts

This article is an attempt to analyse the Orthodox monastic tradition of contemplative (hesychastic) prayer, the goal of which was to achieve an ecstatic unification with God and the divinisation (theosis) of human nature. Until the 11th century the practice of this kind of prayer was passed on orally, preserving the spiritual father-disciple relation. However, some of its elements can be found in the writings of some of the Fathers of the Church –e.g. Athanasius of Alexandria, the Cappadocian Fathers –Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus –as well as in the works of Evagrius of Pontus and John Climacus. The continuation of this tradition includes the works of the leading Byzantine theologist of the 11th century St Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022). However, it was not until the 14th century, as a result of the dispute caused by the statements of the Byzantine monk Barlaam of Calabria, that there was a systematic approach to hesychasm in Byzantine writings. In response, St Gregory Palamas (1296–1359), based on the book of the fathers of the Church, systematically described the doctrine of hesychasm in three treatises (triads) entitled In Defence of the Holy Hesychasts, and written in the years 1338–1341. This doctrine, sometimes known as palamism after St Gregory Palamas, was recognised as an authentic expression of Orthodox faith at the council in Constantinople in 1351. The article analyses the most important elements of the hesychastic method and descriptions of the visions experienced during the practice of it.

Ecstatic elements in the contemporary African religiosity of the peoples of Ghana

Phenomena observable during African Christian prayer session, which usually hardly ever is short, quiet and devoid of externally expressed emotions, will not be unanimously described as „ecstatic”by researchers but at least some of those praying strive towards attaining a kind of ecstatic experience or state. African Traditional Religions are not „ecstatic religions”but ecstatic elements form an integral part of the African experiential religiosity that found its way into the Christian expressions of religiosity. After a period of suppression, these experiences are being sought after at present, especially in the Neo-Pentecostal movements, and contribute to a new dynamism of Christianity in Africa. The article, after some clarifications concerning terminology, highlights some of the ecstatic elements in the religiosity of contemporary Ghanaians.

The magnetic prophet, or Andrzej Towiański and mesmerism

Andrzej Towiański (1799–1878), philosopher, Messianist and religious leader, is one of the most interesting figures of 19th-century Polish emigre circles. As a result of the religious revelation he apparently experienced, he began to propagate the need for a Christian revolution for the authentic imitation of Christ. In 1840 he left for France, where he attracted many supporters to his ideas, including Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Słowacki. In Paris in 1841 they founded the Circle of God’s Cause, also known as the Circle of Towiańskiites. The author of this paper analyses the influence of the idea of mesmerism on Towiański’s concepts, although he himself firmly denied these influences. The author suggests that Towiański understood magnetism in much broader terms than his contemporaries, and did not want to be associated with the picture of magnetism popular in the social circles of the time; for him it was a practice leading solely to awakening of loving exaltation.

Trance as the culmination of performance actions

The aim of the text is to examine the performance theories of ritual from the point of view of their usefulness in analysing the ceremonial life of Shaman hunter-gatherer communities. The main thesis of the article states that whereas the performance concept of ritual shines an accurate light on selected aspects of the ritual life of hunter-gatherers, the methods used by such luminaries of performance studies as Richard Schechner and Erving Goffman are not sufficient to grasp the crux of the ceremonial life of a community whose religion is concentrated around the figure of the shaman. Using selected examples, the author attempts to explain the cause of this state of affairs, pointing to trance as above all a characteristic defining the model shaman ritual. The culminating moment of the trance is the end of the opposition analysed by proponents of performance studies between the individual and the stage. This fact forces us to revise some of the key premises postulated by the representatives of this paradigm.

Religious experience in anthropological description and interpretation – between emotions and rationalisation

The author discusses the problem in defining the scope and determining the meaning of the concept of „religious experience”in cultural anthropology. She identifies an individual religious experience which can cause particular difficulties to ethnographers seeking to interpret and describe it. These considerations are illustrated using a selected example from her field research.