Religious Practice and Experiencing the Transcendent
Discussion Questions
What is your understanding of experiencing the transcendent?
How significant a part of your religious life is this kind of experience?
What settings are most likely to stimulate your sense of the transcendent? What elements of your religious practice help open the door to this experience?
Definitions of Transcendence and Texts from Hebrew and Christian Scripture
Transcendence: The awareness of spiritual reality in the midst of the human condition.
“He uttered his Voice the earth melted.” (Psalms: 46:6)
“The earth melted like wax in the presence of the Lord.” (Psalms: 97:5)
“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
“That which has been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.” (Eccl. 3:15)
Self-Transcendence: “When we are more interested in the Truth than in being right we are transcending ourselves.” -Dr. Hora
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)
“In this world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
“Your joy no man taketh from you.” (John 16:33)
“. . .the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” (John 14:10)
Transcendent Regard: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Leviticus 19:18, Mark 12:31)
“Love thine enemies. Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
“Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement.” (John:7:24)
“And on earth, peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14)
Passages from the Qur’an on Religious Practice and Transcendence
Surah LightVerse 35. God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! God doth guide whom He will to His Light: God doth set forth Parables for men: and God doth know all things.
36. (Lit is such a Light) in houses, which God hath permitted to be raised to honour; for the celebration, in them, of His name: In them is He glorified in the mornings and in the evenings, (again and again),-
37. By men whom neither traffic nor merchandise can divert from the Remembrance of God , nor from regular Prayer, nor from the practice of regular Charity: Their (only) fear is for the Day when hearts and eyes will be transformed (in a world wholly new),-
Surah Hajj Verse 18. Seest thou not that to God bow down in worship all things that are in the heavens and on earth,- the sun, the moon, the stars; the hills, the trees, the animals; and a great number among mankind?
Surah Hashr 59: Verse (20) If We had caused this Qur'an to descend upon a mountain, thou (O Muhammad) verily hadst seen it humbled, rent asunder by the fear of God. Such similitudes coin We for mankind that haply they may reflect. (21) He is God, than Whom there is no other God, the Knower of the Invisible and the Visible. He is the Beneficent, Merciful. (22) He is God, than Whom there is no other God, the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, Peace, the Keeper of Faith, the Guardian, the Majestic, the Compeller, the Superb. Glorified be God from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him). (23) He is God, the Creator, the Shaper out of naught, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifieth Him, and He is the Mighty, the Wise. (24)
Jewish Sources on Religious Practice and Transcendence
If prayer is pure and untainted, surely that holy breath that rises from your lips will join with the breath of heaven that is always flowing into you from above. Thus our masters have taught that the verse, "Every breath shall praise the Lord"--with every single breath that you breathe, God is praised. As the breath leaves you, it ascends to God, and then it returns to you from above. Thus, that part of God that is within you is reunited with its source.
Do not think that the words of prayer as you say them go up to God. It is not the words themselves that ascend; it is rather the burning desire of your heart that rises like smoke toward heaven. If your prayer consists only of words and letters, and does not contain your heart's desire--how can it rise up to God?
---Likkutim Yekarim 12a (early Hasidic teachings) and Or Ha-Meir 3:16 (Zev Wolf of Zhitomir (both anthologized in "Your Word Is Fire (A. Green and B. Holtz)
Prayer, we all agree, is an outburst of the heart, an act of spontaneity and self-expression.... Does not the adherence to a fixed pattern of the liturgy impair the element of inwardness, the role of self-expression? The truth is that ... they are intimately intertwined; the one cannot happen without the other.
To live without prayer is to live without God, to live without a soul.... We are first aware of God's presence long before we think of God's essence. And to pray is to sense God's presence.
What is more, prayer has the power to generate insight; it often endows us with an understanding not attainable by speculation. Some of our deepest insights, decsions and attitudes are born in moments of prayer. Often where reflection fails, prayer succeeds.
How grateful I am to God that there is a duty to worship.... I am not always in the mood to pray.... But when I am weak, it is the law that gives me strength; when my vision is dim, it is duty that gives me insight.
--- Reflections on Prayer Excerpted form the Work of Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972)
Searching for God: Elijah and Rumi
The Bible: I Kings, Chapter 19, 6th century BCE
9. And [Elijah]… came there to a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?
10. And he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword; and I am the only one left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
11. And he said, Go out, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake;
12. And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
Jalalu’d-Din al-Rumi (1207-1273)
I searched for God among the Christians and on the Cross and therein I found Him not.
I went into the ancient temples of idolatry; no trace of Him was there.
I entered the mountain cave of Hira and then went as far as Qandhar but God I found not.
With set purpose I fared to the summit of Mount Caucasus and found there only 'anqa's habitation.
Then I directed my search to the Kaaba, the resort of old and young; God was not there even.
Turning to philosophy I inquired about him from ibn Sina but found Him not within his range.
I fared then to the scene of the Prophet's experience of a great divine manifestation only a "two bow-lengths' distance from him" but God was not there even in that exalted court.
Finally, I looked into my own heart and there I saw Him; He was nowhere else.