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World Religions

Mythology

Mysticism

The unitive state is the final goal of salvation in the great religions of the East.  The experience of this unity is profound, and can
be hinted at only vaguely by the words of scripture.  It encompasses both union with God or Absolute Reality and union with all existence, the dissolution of subject and object, knower and known.  Mystical union is less common in the Abrahamic faiths, which in their uncompromising monotheism have always insisted upon an absolute distinction between the infinite God and even the most saintly of his creatures.  Yet the scriptures of Judaism and Christianity speak of a Beatific Vision, an encounter with God's presence that transforms the viewer.  In Islam, traditions attributed to Muhammad himself undergird the unitive
experiences of Sufi mystics.

Mysticism