Religious Experience

A written report

Submitted by Group 4 of Philo 25 B

Kate E. Baunillo
Aldo Ray Goopio
Aladin T. Doria
Shiloh Juzer Alcantara
Angel Amerkhan
 Religious Experience is a collective term that gathers together many different kinds of
experiences – enlightenment, prophetic calls, visions, voices, conversions, revelations and many
more. It can be any kind of experience that the person having the experience believes to be
religiously significant.

In the article, there were two case studies examined: Muhammad and Shakyamuni’s
religious experiences before the establishment of Islam and Buddhism respectively.

Muhammad

The religious experience of Muhammad started when he stayed one night in a cave on
Mount Hira near city in Arabia called Mecca. He heard a voice saying: “Recite in the name of
your Lord who has created man out of a germ-cell. Recite for your Lord is the most generous one
Who has taught by the pen, Taught humans what they did not know” (Quran 96:1-5). The night
was then called “The Night of Power and Excellence,” because it was the beginning of revelation
to Muhammad lasting about twenty-two years. He was eventually accepted by the people as a
prophet and became known as the “Messenger (Rasul) of God. His revelations were written
down in a book called the Quran (The Recitation), which became the basis for a new religion
called Islam (submission) whose followers are called Muslims (those who submitted). Another
of his experience known as the “Night Journey,” talks about his journey to the seven heavens
which made him not only a prophet, but a mystic as well. The message of these stories is clear:
the Prophet Muhammad supercedes all previous prophets.

Muhammad’s collection of experiences is revelational because he became an agent or

spokesperson of the divine. He experienced a communal type of revelations since it relates to a
wider group of people, and specific type of revelational experiences since he heard voices from
an unseen being and had vision of some Spiritual being.

Max Weber distinguished Muhammad as an emissary prophet of Allah. Emissary

prophets believe that the divine has commissioned them to convince others to believe the
messages revealed to them concerning a wide variety of topics such as how to worship, how
people should conduct their lives and what is proper to believe.
Buddha

Prince Siddharta or often called Shakyamuni was secluded by his father in the palace to
protect him from the outside world. They lived a luxury life with his wife there in the palace. But
one day, because of curiosity, he ventured outside the palace and saw how people are suffering.
To give solution to these sufferings, he became determined to meditate until he reached
enlightenment. After he resisted and defeated Mara, the evil, from the temptations, he
experienced remembering all of his past lives, he came to understand karma (that whole process
depends on what sort of deeds people do), and karma linked to ignorance.

Unlike Muhammad, Shakyamuni sowed to be an exemplary prophet. He has something

to teach but most importantly; he has a kind of experience, insight, and freedom from suffering
that he wants others to share. This story of Shakyamuni becoming a Buddha establishes his
authority to teach the knowledge of the true nature of things.

Comparison

Muhammad’s first experiences of revelations from the angel Gabriel appear far removed
from thr enlightenment experience of Shakyamuni. Buddha hears no voices and receives no
divine command to write down revelations from the divine. He does discover truths - truths
important for overcoming suffering – but no god reveals them. Muhammad realizes that his
prophetic task is to get others to believe that the revelations he has received are true.

Comparing the Night Journey of Muhammad with the enlightenment experience of

Buddha may produce greater similarities than we have so far found. Both experiences are
ecstatic, and ascent images prevail. However, in those heavens, Muhammad encounters beings
while Buddha did not, except for the initial counter before his enlightenment with the god of evil
desire, Mara.

Both Muhammad and Shakyamuni were considered divine by some of their believers.
Both are worshipped and prayed to.
Debates about the Nature of Religious Experiences

Friedrich Ernst Daniel Schleiermacher discovered an antireligious attitude wherein he

believed that they could only adopt such when they confused religion with dogmas, rituals and
conservative institutions. However, according to him, the heart of religion is to be found in
experience, not in dogmas, etc.. For Schleiermacher, experience came first or the primary, all
else secondary and dependent. As important part of the religion, different types of religious
experience could be reduced to a common core – distinct religious feeling. He also identified it
as “the feeling of absolute dependence.” Such a feeling is present in Muhammad’s experience,
for example, but it is not present in Buddha’s enlightenment experience.

Rudolf Otto continued the examination of religious experience begun by Schleiermacher.

Otto thought, the divine could be inferred as the cause of the feeling of absolute dependence. He
called religious experiences numinous experiences and he characterized them as an experience
of the Holy – which he means something utterly different from anything else beyond all normal
moral and rational categories that we frequently use to help us understand the world. Numinous
qualities however, are less pronounced in Shakyamuni’s enlightenment experience.

Ninian Smart, argues that at least one additional type of experience must be added to
Otto’s numinous type. This additional type Smart calls the “mystical experience” and explicitly
sites Buddha’s experience as an example. In this type of experience, unity, not duality, is the
central theme. Mystical experiences unlike Numinous, are often nondual, quiet, and are often
empty of any auditory or visual events.

Shamanic Ecstasy

The Shaman is a religious functionary found in tribal societies, who engages, with the aid
of spirit guides and helpers, in healings, divining, and other activities important to the
community. The Night Journey of Muhammad is a good example. The ascent into heaven has
definite shamanistic elements, although the only spirit guides are the angel and the spirits of
previous prophets. Shakyamuni’s enlightenment experience involves discovering supernormal
truths and gaining supernormal powers, even though it does not involve contact with spirits.
Buddha, like many shamans, utilizes trance techniques as well, although method for entering
trance and the trance states themselves appear to be quite different from shamanistic trances.

Mystical Techniques and States

Typologies of Mystical Experience

According to Walter T. Stace, there are two types of mystical experiences. One he calls
extrovertive and characterizes as a “unifying vision” in which the unity of all things is
apprehended behind the multiplicity of the world. The second type he calls introvertive and
characterizes as the “unitary consciousness” in which all sensate and conceptual content
disappears, and the mystic experiences a state of pure consciousness.

Both of these experiences, Stace believes, are also marked by a sense of having
experienced the final truth about things. For Stace, introvertive experience is “superior” to
extrovertive because the subject/object dualism and the sense of space and time are transcended
into the introvertive, but not extrovertive experience.

R.C. Zaehner argues that we must distinguish nature mysticism, soul or monistic
mysticism, and theistic mysticism. Zaehner describes nature mysticism as the experience of the
mystic’s ego or self expanding to include the whole universe or dissolving into nature so that
without and within are one. Soul or monistic mysticism, Zaehner believes the same as what
Stace calls the introvertive type. Theistic mysticism involves ectasy of union, but not identity
with the divine. Theistic mystics believe that their experiences are due to the grace of God.

Shakyamuni’s enlightenment experience is mystical but does not quite fit any of Stace or
Zaehner’s categories. However,there do seem to be monistic implications associated with his
experience insofar as the “soul” dissolves into the impermanence that characterizes the nature of
all things.

Mystical Experience: Pure or Culturally Conditiones?

Those who argue the mystical experiences transcend culture, history, and different
religious traditions treat the differences among the mystics as matters of how they interpret their
experiences and not description of the experience
 This debate is important because it could be proved that mystics from different times,
different places, and different religions all have the same or nearly the same experiences, the
case for religious truth would be strengthened and that is cause for some confidence that their
experiences may provide genuine knowledge of ultimate reality.

The reason why this is not a simple empirical matter is because so much of the argument
rests on theories about the nature of experience. It is also hard to resolve since the debate centers
on the role that judgment plays in determining the value and nature of experience.

Mystical Techniques

Debates about mystical techniques become more complex when we look at the
techniques employed by mystics. Like in Hinduism, there are many different types of yoga: (1)
Raja, or royal, yoga wherein one can isolate the individual eternal spirit from matter and unite it
with the supreme spirit; (2) Bhakti yoga, or discipline of the devotion to the divine, promotes
devotion as a way to experience a loving union with the divine; (3) Karma yoga, or the discipline
of action, which promotes liberation from selfishness through self-sacrifice and doing one’s duty
and; (4) Inana yoga, or the discipline of knowledge, is intended to overcome ignorance and the
false views that keep us bound to a world of many things. All of these are disciplines are
intended to overcome selfishness and the type of mystical experience that these paths promote
varies according to the techniques employed.

Psychoanalytic Theories

One form of the symbolic theory of religion that seems to be quite popular relies on
psychoanalytic theory.

According to Sigmund Freud, religion in general and religious experience in particular is

a projection of unconscious wishes and desires. Religion is just one of the ways humans
sublimate or redirect psychic energy into socially acceptable forms. Freud thought that mystical
experiences of oneness with the divine reflect very early feelings of security experienced as
small infants. He also found the repetitive and obsessive nature of religious rites reminiscent of
neurotic behaviour.
 Religious doctrines like eternal life and its rewards are, according to Freud, illusions
stemming from our desires to have our wishes and needs for security and approval fulfilled. He
concluded, true liberation of humanity could only happen when humans outgrew their need for
religious illusions and faced reality squarely.

Carl Gustav Jung, on the other hand, thought that Freud’s view of unconscious as filled
with repressed childhood experiences of parental relationships was far too narrow. Jung saw
unconscious not just as garbage dump, but as collective unconscious of the human race
containing a far more material than Freud thought.

Jung believed that the unconscious is filled with creative energy, which contains
archetypes that can be thought of as the psychological version of instincts called the archetype of
“self.” As the individual ego develops from child to adult and it passes through three main
stages: (1) dependency; (2) autonomy and; (3) integration.

While both Freud and Jung talk about projection, the projections are very different in
each. For Freud, the father figure is projected as divide in order to relive the secure dependency
experienced in childhood. For Jung, what is projected is the self-archetype that palys a positive
role in helping the ego to integrate conflicting desires and finally grain a peaceful wisdom as a
realized self. The gods, for Jung, helps us to become better people.

Research Case – St. Teresa of Avila

Teresa of Avila, even when she was a child, already had determination and a desire to
suffer for Christ. At the age of thirty-nine she underwent a spiritual transformation and began to
have visions and raptures that carried her away in ecstatic love and joy. Her teachings were
based primarily on her interpretation on her mystical experiences.

She wrote books but were actually under estimated or being doubted by the sexist. Oddly
enough, this sexism cut both ways, because on the occasion of her beatification in 1614, a Jesuit
argued that since no “ignorant woman” could write what she did, it must have been written by
the “divine inspiration.”
Insights and Observations
Kate E. Baunillo

From the Shamanic Ecstasy topic, I have observed that Shamans do still exist in the
modern times.

Our neighbour, who suffered from a disease called goiter, didn’t have enough money for
medical consultation. That’s why when she heard about this certain lady who can cure all kinds
of disease; she rushed with the hope to be cured. And truly, after two weeks of drinking the water
with cogon grass roots which the lady gave her, her goiter which was before a burden to her and
her family vanished.

Our neighbour witnessed how the lady isolates herself in her prayer room before she
heals people. She said that she needed to talk to the Virgin Mary first before she started the
session. And, the good thing is, the lady doesn’t ask for any money as payment for her effort but
accepts donations. Our neighbour, who only had twenty pesos on her pocket, gave it to her
heartily because she believed that she will be cured.

This situation makes me ask, “If her healing power is a God-given gift, then why does
she need to talk to Virgin Mary? What’s the role of Virgin Mary?,” “If God allows death, then
why does He allow such healing?,” “Could dependence of the people to this healer can cause a
good effect? Or worse?.”

If I am to answer my own questions, I’ll answer the safest way. God gave special gifts to
these people because He has a purpose. A chance to live is always an option.
Aldo Ray Goopio

Mysticism is the side of religion that made it so unscientific. Mysticism is deeply

subjective and relative. It is intensely personal so that the person experiencing cannot fully relay
the idea to someone. It is also non-empirical so that it is doubtful if such is really there. Although
it is so unscientific, mysticism is very evident all around the globe and all throughout the ages.
Mysticism gives an idea of something that is beyond the sensual world and measure; this is
called the spiritual realm. Until now, it is very unclear if the spiritual realm does exist. We don’t
really know.

For me, I believe the spiritual realm does exist, although no device can currently put it
to measure and none of our senses can testify it. But if we rewind history, radiation used to be
immeasurable. Radiation is completely beyond the senses. My point is that scientific devices and
our senses should not be the full authority to decide what is real and existing. Our senses cannot
fully grasp all our surroundings. There are sounds elephants hear that humans fail to. There are
scents dogs recognize that we cannot. Our senses are limited. Scientific devices too are limited.
These devices are young and early. Taking the fact that many of today’s breakthroughs used to
be immeasurable during ancient times, it is not hard to imagine that the future have more
interesting discoveries ahead. And if we try to imagine, our present devices can be considered
primitive and lacking by those from the future. So our scientific devices cannot decide what is
real since it is still developing and not yet full.

I believe the spiritual realm is not Christian. I don’t know what is. I think Christianity
is just the result of mysticism. I believe Christianity is the result of the human mind trying to
grasp the spiritual realm yet, by nature, cannot fully arrive. But if Christianity or any religion is a
result of the reaching of the spiritual realm, then I think it’s better to have a religion than to resort
to the senses and scientific devices since religion is without limit while our senses and devices
are completely bounded to our material world.
Shiloh Juzer Alatraca

One good example of manifesting shamanic ecstasy experience is portrayed in the local
television series, Imortal, if one have seen it, a 'Gabay', as what it is called is the one who can
foresee events and can go to the other realm of the world and talk to some spirits for guidance.
Another example would be the issues about people who were reportedly been possessed by Sto.
Niño or Mama Mary, their experience accounts to the experience of being out of their physical
bodies and went to the heavens with the godly beings, they have been enlightened to know that
they were tasked to lead people in the right path.

Shamanic ecstasy is the most ancient extraordinary kind of religious experience known
such as in the account of Eskimo shamans who descend to the bottom of the sea in order to calm
down the mad sea goddess and let the seals be released; upon going back to normal state from
trance or meditation, the Eskimo shaman then demands the community's confession of their sins.
Many more accounts of the shamanic ecstasy are relevant, from Muhammad's Night Journey
with Angel Gabriel to Gautama's enlightenment.
Aladdin T. Doria

Long time ago Religious experience is defined as a convenient way to free to a wide
variety of different kinds of experiences like enlightenment, prophetic calls, visions, voices,
conversions, revelations and many more. The word experience needs to be clarified. This word
can refer to sensations, emotions, conceptual though, intuitions, hallucinations, dreams, ecstatic
states of great joy and moments of serene calm.

We have to pay close attention to what the person having the experience says about it for
an example there were 3 friends who happens to have a good time and drink in a bar then the two
were extremely drunk they saw a bright light. The two may claim that it is the light of the lord
and it is the gate way to heaven but the other one who is still aware of that says that it’s just a
light of a car and they might be hit by the car. A religious experience can be any kind of
experience from visions and voices to intense feelings of love and devotion that the person
having the experience believes to be religiously significant.

We will discuss the two classic cases of religious experiences one from Islam and the
other from Buddhism and organize these experiences into types. Two particular types will
receive more derail the shamanic ecstasy and mysticism. While there are many different theories
about religious experience afterwards we will also discuss the psychoanalytic theories of
Sigmund Freud and Carl Jun and the mystical experience at the one of the great mystics of the
Christian tradition, St. Teresa of Avila.
Angel Amerkhan

In my observations, Christians believe in Miracles, particularly the Roman Catholic, and

the Black Nazarene. Devotees believe that the Black Nazarene can cure their illness, blessings
and individual prayers will be granted. These people are careless about the heat of the sun, they
walk on bare foot while marching, showing their humility to the nazarene. They bring with them
handkerchiefs and towels. They wave their towels and throw it to the statue and wipe them on
the satue and return it back to the person who owns it. The devotees believe that the towel can
perform miracles and it also brings good luck. They say the black nazarene powers do miracles
on why thousand people continue to praise him. The more you have strong faith to him, you
became stronger. For me, Subjective point of view, Miracles are just illusions and delusions.
Objective point of view, the only way they are cured is their minds. Because when we pray, it
brings us comfort, when we keep our minds positive, it can cure us. For example, prayer is the
strongest weapon. A patient had cancer, instead of worrying too much about his/her illness, they
pray. Through prayers they seek comfort; it also helps their minds think positive. Those people
who prayed while they are ill have the tendency to live longer that those people who don’t pray
while they are ill.