Preliminary Sections

Abstract

The preliminary sections provide the general orientation of the book, explaining its terminology and methodology. Following Francis X. Clooney’s and Gavin Flood’s works, the book employs hermeneutical phenomenology in addressing two vital issues for religious studies: fairness to the religious “Other” and the impact of interfaith mysticism on the future of religion. Section 1 explains these two major issues, together with this book’s mystically centered understanding of religion. Section 2 elucidates the research focus—interfaith dialogue from the perspective of mystical consciousness—introducing the following key themes: ( i ) the interfaith tradition and its complementary inquiries (those carried on by practitioners, including theologians, philosophers, and academics); ( ii ) mystical consciousness and its triadic structure (in line with the Trinity and Aurobindo’s Triple Divine), as founded on hermeneutical-phenomenological analysis. Section 3 explains this book’s trinitarian framework as the product of (bottom-up) contrastive inquiry within interfaith mysticism; it also offers reflections on the Trinity from the perspective of historical Hindu-Christian engagement (from the Trimurti to Sat-Chit-Ananda) and a theology of religions. Section 4 elucidates the Hindu-Christian context of the book—the connection of Ramana and Aurobindo with the Christian interfaith pioneers—and the practical, scholarly, and insight-based value of a deliberate exploration of interfaith dialogue/mysticism.