`Mysticism' is "the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious
awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God,
through direct experience, intuition or insight". The International
Conference "Mysticism without Bounds" makes an attempt to explore the
"mystical consciousness" from different disciplines, like religions
(Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, etc.), sciences
(biology, new physics, neuroscience, and logic), humanities (philosophy,
theology, spirituality, psychology, etc.), and art forms (poetry, music,
dance, visual arts and rituals).
Researches reveal that certain common grounds do exist among the various
forms of consciousness, scattered among the world's religions, theologies,
sciences, philosophies and art forms. The discovery of such points of
convergence holds out the possibility of creating a `new worldview', and
this new world view can create an awareness of the essential `unity' of
humanity. Let these scholarly papers, presented from different domains of
art and poetry, help the inquisitive readers to discover this essential
unity, which is often conceived and interpreted in terms of
`God-experience' with its basis within non-phenomenal self, and a unity
that promises the unity of all experiences within the phenomenal world.
Contents
1. A Note from the Editor / Dr. Kurian Kachappilly, CMI
2. Presidential Address : "Mysticism without Bounds" / Rev. Jose
Panthaplamthottiyil, CMI
3. Leonard Cohen's Poiesis : Toward the Unified Heart Where all Bounds Fade
Away / Dr. Alexandra Pleshoyano
4. Negative Memory, Art and the World Peace / Dr. Ignatius Bambang
Sugiharto
5. Confronting God `As Such' : Between Poetry and Phenomenology in the
`Mysticism' of Derrida / Dr. Colby Dickinson
6. Identifying the Mystical in Literature : Space versus Place in the Works
of Willa Cather / Ms. Elisabeth Bayley
7. "The Moon won't use the Door/Only the Window" : Mystical Romance and the
Construction of Voice in the Poems of Jelaludeen Rumi / Dr. Jayanthi
Kalpally Puthiyaveetil
8. Music and Mysticism : The Emergence of Musical Meaning / Dr. Marlies de
Munck
9. Bauls, Mystic Minstrels of Bengal : Builders of a New Tomorrow in the
Realm of Global Music / Dr. Sanchita Choudhury
10. `Art and Mysticism' : Space as an Aesthetic Predicate / Dr. Sebastian
Elavathingal
11. Mysticism and Art : Beyond Abstraction and Empathy / Dr. Stephane
Symons
12. Visualisation through Poetry : Concept of Spirituality and God in The
Prophet / Ms. Winnie Jagadamma Panicker
13. Contributors
14. Index of Names
15. Index of Themes
Dr. Kurian Kachappilly is the Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the
DVK, Bangalore, India; and Associate Director, Research Centre, Christ
University, Bangalore, India. He holds Master's Degrees in English
Literature and Psychology, and a Licentiate and Doctorate in Philosophy
from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. He is a Visiting Fellow
at the Bangalore University, Bangalore; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
(KUL), Belgium; Fakultaet fuer Informatik and Wirtschaftsinformatik,
Wuerzburg, Germany; the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, the Philippines;
and other institutions.
He is the Executive Editor of Tattva, Journal of Philosophy, Christ
University, Bangalore; a Member of the International Advisory Board,
Process Studies, Claremont, USA; a Member of the Pontifical Organization,
Militia Christi, and a Member of the Governing Board, International Process
Network (IPN). Dr. Kachappilly is a prolific writer with several books and
many scientific articles to his credit. Some of the books include God of
Love Revisited (1998), Between Partners (1999), Word of God Retold (2001),
God of Love : A Neoclassical Inquiry (2002), God-Talk Reconstructed : An
Introduction to Philosophy of God (2006), Process : Implications and
Applications (2006), etc. His major areas of research are `Indian Roots of
Process Philosophy', `Whitehead and Philosophical Doctrines of Buddhism',
`Innovative Experiments in Pedagogy', `Religion vis a vis Society',
`Inquiry into Religious Experience' and `Corporate Social Responsibility'.
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