4p - Shodhgangashodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/65689/11/11...210 in a mystic's life when...

CHAPTER FIVE

BRIDAL MYSTICISM

My beloved is mine, and I am his .... 476

By means of veils and ymbols he [the mysticpoet] must interpret his free vision, his4p_se of the burning bush, to other

men [italics mine] .... 477

Solomon's Song of Songs and Whitman's "Song of Myself"

with theistic poignancy concretise the concept of Bridal

Mysticism and create the right kind of register in the

minds of the perceptive readers. Solomon, the

prefiguration of Christ and Whitman the mystic poet

employ the notion of Bridal Mysticism -- bhakti marga --

to stress the significance of gaining oneness with the

Living Reality -- samlesha. They argue that the quest

for the Absolute and striking a merger with the Supreme

Being should be the simple desideratum in one's life.

It is the highest good that a human being can aspire to

and experience. Man comes from God and his brief sojourn

in this world Is marked by his constant attempts to

476 The Bible, The Song of Solomon, 11:16.

Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism, p.75.

209

understand and make God a Reality. In this pursuit to

know God, one comes across various types of

relationships with his Maker -- that of a sovereign,

judge, master, father, mother, brother and spouse. The

best and the most desirable of all these relationships

is that of a spouse. While all the other bonds provide a

partial cognizance of the Supreme Being, the

relationship of that of the bride and bridegroom --

nayaki nayaka bhava -- offers a fuller understanding and

a better intimacy:

the husbandhood of God is the mostintimate and significant relationship,entailing a total dependence and fulfilment ofoneself in and through God. This is theessence of Bridal Mysticism.... 478

Both Solomon and Whitman have experienced God as a

bridegroom and their works therefore highlight the

singular significance of this unique relationship.

At this juncture it is of pertinence to record that

Bridal Mysticism -- bhakti. marga -- refers to that stage

478 Eucharista Mary, "The Interior Castle andThiruppaval," in Scholar Extraordinary, Ed. MuthuKrishna Sripathi (Palayamkottai:Fatima Press, n.d),p.65.

210

in a mystic's life when the individual soul -- nayaki

realises the union with the Lord -- nayaka. Richard

of St. Victor classifies four stages of Bridal. Mysticism

in the soul's ascent of God. They are the spiritual

betrothal, the spiritual marriage, and wedlock and the

fruitfulness of the soul. In the spiritual betrothal,

the soul is awakened to the mystical truth, as she comes

in contact with God, "like two candles whose flames,

mingle and become one, yet can be separated again.' 479*

The soul only sees God in the spiritual marriage but

comes into Him in the wedlock. In the fourth highest

stage "the soul herself becomes a source, a parent of

fresh spiritual life." 480 It is in this spirit one

appreciates the religious classics of King Solomon and

Whitman.

From time immemorial, mystics and saints all over the

universe have found in God their soul's beloved. And

479 Richard of St. Victor, quoted in William ThomasWalsh, Saint Teresa of Avila: A Biography, p.487.

480 Idem.*

This bears repetition.

211

this is in accordance with human nature. The Catholic

Encçlopedia claims:

A tendency so universal and so persistent asthat of Mysticism, which appears among allpeoples and influences philosophical thoughtmore or less throughout all centuries, musthave some real foundation in human nature.There is indeed in the human soul a naturaldesire for, an aspiration towards the highesttruth, the absolute truth, and the highest,the infinite good. We know by experience andreason that the knowledge and enjoyment ofcreated things cannot give the fulness oftruth and the perfection of beatitude whichwill completely satisfy our desires andaspirations. There Is in our soul a capacityfor more truth and perfection than we can everacquire through the knowledge of createdthings. We realise that God alone is the endof man, that in the possession of God alone wecan reach the satisfaction of ouraspiration.... 481

Mysticism, therefore, is a normal, natural human

experience of the divine.

The Greek verb myein means to close, to veil, to cover

over, and the Greek noun mysterion denotes a secret or

mystery. As St.John of the Cross puts it:

Mysticism In a most general sense, then

481 Charles G. Herbermann, ed. ,The Catholic EncyclopdIa,Vol.X (New York: The Encyclopedia Press, Inc.,1911), pp.664,. 665.

signifies self-communion, meditation and thecontemplation in quietude. This impliesfurther a return from manifoldness anddispersion to unity and simplicity.... 482

This common characteristic of all mystical theories

coincides with the basic-meaning of the word religion.

The Latin noun religio derives from the verb re-ligere

or re-legere, which means, to re-unite, to bring back,

to bind together:

"Religion" thus marks the end of some state ofdisharmony, or alienation or estrangement anddenotes homecoming, reconciliation, andpeace.,.. 483

These definitions make one comprehend the reality of the

spiritual human soul, which should be conceived as "an

aboriginal quality of the human soul.,,484

The concept of mysticism has dominated the philosophical

thoughts of ancient Egypt, China, India, Greece, and

Italy even as early as the sixth century B.C. With the

482 St.John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul, Trans.Kurt F. Reinhardt (USA: Frederick Ungar PublishingCo., 1957), p.IV.

483 Idem.

484 Idem.

212

213

introduction of Christianity, mysticism entered a new

phase -- from the bounds of philosophy it moved into the

arena of theology. The Christian Fathers emphasized that

mysticism is an experience of a chosen few and that it

is the work of grace:

the vision of God is the work of grace andthe reward of eternal life; in the presentlife only a few souls, by special grace, canreach it.. 485

Viewed in the light of this assertion, King Solomon and

Whitman are among the "few souls" who have been granted

"the vision of God". Having had this preliminary

encounter they are competent enough to lead the readers

to the same through the sensual to the spiritual, the

seen to the unseen, the known to the unknown. The

Catholic Encyclopedia records:

• we know the essences of things in rationi-bus xternis, but this knowledge has itsstarting point in the data of sense... •486

485 The Catholic En2ycl2pdia, Vol . X, p.664.

486 Idem.

214

The mystics and mystical writers thus become pioneers in

the spiritual realm:

they should claim from us the sameattention that we give to other explorers ofcountries in which we are not competent toadventure ourselves; for the mystics are thepoineers of the spiritual world.... 487

Underhill, again emphasizes the importance of the senses

-- indriyas -- in a man's existence. They cannot be

relegated to the back if a man has to enjoy a fuller

life.

That beginning, for human thought, is ofcourse the I, the Ego... To this I, thisconscious self "imprisoned in the body like anoyster in the shell," come, as we know, aconstant stream of messages andexperiences. . . . 488

King Solomon and Whitman emphasize this aspect of the

mystical life in their compositions. As such mysticism

1.5 something that is practical and realistic. The

mystics are thus "doers". At the same time, one has to

487 Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism, p.4.

488 Ibid., p.5.

215

understand that it is an individual effort:

We cannot promise that you shall see what wehave seen, for here each man must adventurefor himself.... 489

This is yet another aspect stressed by the authors of

The Song of Songs and "Song of Myself," where Whitman

emphasises the same poetically in these lines:

You shall no longer take things at second orthird hand, nor look through the eyes ofthe dead, nor feed on the spectres inbooks,

You shall not look through my eyes either, nortake things from me,

You shall listen to all sides and filter themfrom your self.,.. 490

The bride has to strive alone for obtaining union --

samlesha -- with the bridegroom and it is an absolutely

private effort. This is well illustrated by both Solomon

and Whitman in their works. With its individuation,

Evelyn Underhill finds mysticism truly adventurous and

eventually artistic:

Mysticism, the most romantic of adventures,


490 Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," in L G, p.30.

from one point of view the art of arts, theirsource and also their end, finds naturallyenough its closest correspondences in the mostpurely artistic and most deeply significant ofall forms of expression.. • 491

No wonder the great creationists, King Solomon and

Whitman have chosen to sing of "the most romantic of

adventures," in "the most purely artistic way." Both are

true mystics. According to the standards put forth by

Evelyn Underhill- to gauge the nature of true mysticism,

the veracity of the two writers as true mystics can be

judged.

Mysticism is first and foremost practical, not

theoretical.. "To them [the mystics], the transition from

the life of sense to the life of spirit is a formidable

undertaking, which demands effort and constancy." 492 To

Gerlac Petersen, "it is not enough to know by estimation

merely: but we must know by e<perience." 493 It is a

demanding kind of exercise, but a possible phenomenon.


492 Ibid., p.83.

Gerlac Peterson, quoted in Underhi]], Mysticism,p.84.

216

217

The Song of Songs and "Song of Myself" talk about a

practicable relationship between the soul and its Maker

since the speakers had already experentially felt its

advantages. Secondly, mysticism is an entirely spiritual

activity.

The mystic never turns back on himself in thisway, or tries to combine the advantages of twoworlds. At the term of his development heknows God by communion, and this directintuition of the Absolute kills all lessercravings. He possesses God, and needs nothingmore....

This is true of both The Son9 of §ongs and "Song of

Myself". While in the former, the spiritualism is

overtly significant, in the latter, a discernible reader

finds it in "indirections".

Next, the business and method of Mysticism is Love.

Attraction, desire, and union as thefulfilment of desire; this is the way Lifeworks, in the highest as in the lowest things.The mystic's outlook, indeed is the lover'soutlook. It has the same element of wildness,the same quality of selfless and quixoticdevotion, the same combination of rapture and


humility.., mystic and lover, upon differentplanes, are alike responding to the call ofthe Spirit of Life .... 495

Love between a maiden and her :lover that points to the

love between the soul and God is the theme of The Song

ofSongs. When Whitman affirms that "a kelson of the

creation is love" in his "Song of Myself", it can be

interpreted in more than one sense. Spiritual Love is

the pivot around which Whitman's mystic song revolves

and becomes the mark of a true mystic.

Fourthly, mysticism entails a definite psychological

experience, which Underhill defines as the "movement of

the whole self towards the Real. ,496 The Song of Solomon

refers to unconditional surrender Poorna Saranagathi

-- of the whole self of the Shulamite to the Bridegroom.

In Whitman's "Song of Myself", one witnesses the wooing

of the body by the soul which finally leads to the

wholesome union that helps in the apprehension of the

Reality. Both the compositions, , thus, hold the tenets of

true mysticism.

Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism, p.89.

496 Ibid., p.90.

218

219

Finally, mysticism is never self-seeking.

The mystic does not enter on his quest becausehe desires the happiness of the BeatificVision, the ecstasy of union with theAbsolute, or any other personal reward. Thenoblest of all passions, the passion forperfection for Love's sake, far outweighs thedesire for transcendental satisfaction.... 497

One comes across ample proof of this kind of

selflessness in TheSo of Songs, where the bride seeks

the bridegroom for the sake of the bridegroom only. And

Whitman's "Cosmic consciousness" exemplified in "Song of

Myself" brings out the idea that he is no self-seeker.

The concept of Bridal Mysticism is congenial to Oriental

Hindu literature and a parallel can be drawn from the

life of the Alvar saint, Sri Andal. Even as a child she

commits herself as a bride of Lord Ranganatha. It is

recorded:

Andal is regarded as the incarnation ofBhudevi. (Goddess Earth) specially sent downhere, to reveal the delight of love Divine.


She reached the summit of Madhurabhava (lover-beloved attitude). Her heart was a Brindabanwhere she lived love-lorn like fladha! ... 498

The narrative ends there and one does not read about the

outcome of this sacred union. At this point, one detects

the difference between Oriental arid Christian mysticism.

In Oriental Mysticism, the self becomes lost in the

Ocean of Being and after that there can be no I-Thou

relationship, whereas, Christian Mysticism emphasizes

the transformation of self. Greeley projects this

characteristic of Christian Mysticism:

The goal is not so much the loss of self inthe mystical encounter as it is thetransformation of the self for its return toeven more vigorous involvement in Yahweh'swork in the world....

But this point cannot be pushed too far for there are

exceptions like Gandhiji who "was not the first of the

Indian holy men to be deeply involved in practical and

political social affairs." Soo

498 Sawmi Shuddhananda Bharati ,The Alvar Saints (Trichy:Anbu Nilayam, 1942), p.28.

Andrew M. Greeley, Ecstasy: A Way of Knowing(Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall, 1974),pp.132, 133.

500 Ibid., p.132.

220

221

Yet another quality of Christian Mysticism is that it

sees man as separate from God by an abyss which cannot

be bridged by any human effort but only by the

initiative of God. It is enflghtening to record the

words of St.John of the Cross:

By the infusion of grace, God may illumine andelevate the human soul, and in this descendingmovement of love (agape) He may meet theascending loving aspiration of the soul(eros).... 501

Yet again, while Oriental mysticism considers

personality as a limitation, Christian or Biblical

mysticism finds in personality a crowning perfection.

The Bible affirms:

For thou hast made him [man] a littlelower than the angels, and hast crowned himwith glory and honour.

Thou madest him to have dominion over theworks of thy hands: thou hast put all thingsunder his feet:

All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beastsof the field;

501

John of the Cross, The Dark Ni,gj2t of the Soul.,

P.V.

222

The fowl of the air, and the fish of thesea, and whatsoever passeth through the pathsof the seas .... 502

A consideration of these ideas with regard to The Song

of Songs and Whitman's "Song of Myself" affirms that

both the songs are based on Christian mysticism.

Yet again,a study of the mystics and saints all over the

world points to the fact that there is a definite path

or "the mystic way" by which a human being attains the

union of the soul with God or the way by which "that

peculiar type of personality which is able to set up

direct relations with the Absolute is usually

developed," 503 Just as in a man's physical life there

are well-marked phases of development such as infancy,

adolescence, maturity and old age, in the spiritual life

of a man, there are identifiable stages of growth. These

phases slightly vary from person to person and from

writer to writer. Underhill talks about five stages,

the first of them being "the awakening of the self",

502 The Bible, Psalms, VIII:5-8.


223

The self or the ego transcends its own J imitations to

think about and understand what is other than self. In

other words, this is "conversion" or "sanctification".

According to Starbuck,

Conversion is primarily an unselfing ... [Itis] the larger world consciousness nowpressing in on the individual consciousness...the person emerges from a smaller limitedworld of existence into a larger world ofbeing. His life becomes swallowed up in alarger whole ....504

This is the beginning of mystical activity. When a man

experiences this kind of awakening, everything around

him puts on a new glory, a new garb. It is the emergence

of the self from "the prison of I-hood". It is

interesting to record that Underhill acknowledges

Whitman as one who possessed this kind of natural yet

superior knowledge:

Amongst modern men, Walt Whitman possessed ina supreme degree the permanent sense of thisglory, the "light rare, untellable, lightingthe very light".... 505

504 Starbuck, quoted in Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism,pp.176, 177.

505 Underhill, Mysticism, p.192.

224

This is similar to the experience of Saul who, on his

way to Damascus met with a blinding light, by which the

entire course of his life was changed and he became

worthy of being called St.Pau]..

The second phase is the purification of the self. The

awakened self sees itself on the threshold of a new

life:

Activity is now to be her watchword,pilgrimage the business of her life.... 506

One is led to get rid of all the elements which are not

in harmony with Reality -- illusion, evil and

imperfections of every kind. In this process one becomes

more and more aware of one's limitations and

disabilities and finds purgation a privilege. it is this

"actute consciousness of unworthiness" 507 that St.Teresa

felt when she cried in a dreadful joy 508

Let me suffer or die! 509

506Underhill, Mysticism, p.198.

507 Ibid., p.201.

508 Idem.

509St. Teresa, quoted in Underhill, Mysticism, p.201.

225

It was a similar experience that made the Psalmist

realize:

It is goOd for me that I have beenafflicted that I might learn thystatutes.... 510

George Herbert refers to a related experience when he

writes in his "Affliction":

Yet, though thou troublest me, I must be meek;In weakness must be stout.

Well, I will change the service, and go seekSome other master out.

Ah, my dear God! though I am clean forgot,

Let

me not love thee, If I love theenot.... 511

In this phase, the old is annihilated and the new is set

up. There is 'a complete sublimation of personality. ,,512

It is "the cosmic journey to perfection," and "the path

of the Eternal Wisdom.„513

510 The Bible, Psalms, CXIX:71.

511 George Herbert, "Affliction,” in The Faber Book ofRe 1 igious Verse, p.122.


513 Ibid., p.222.

226

The third phase of the mystic way is the illumination of

the self. It is "that state of consciousness which is

popularly supposed to be peculiar to the mystic: a form

of mental life, a kind of perception, radically

different from that of 'normal' men. ,514 It is again "a

lifting of consciousness from a self-centred to a God-

centred world, [which] is the essence of

illumination." 515 Everything is seen in a new life. It

is a re-orientation of the life of instinct after the

initial awakening and purification. It is highly

relevant to record here that in such moments great

masterpieces are created:

Many a great painter, philosopher, or poet,perhaps every inspired musician, has knownthis indescribable inebriation of Reality inthose moments of transcendence in which hismasterpieces were conceived....516

In this regard, it can be ascertained that King Solomon

and Whitman are Christian mystic poets who have brought


515 Ibid., p.234.

516 Ibid., p.235.

227

this illumined Reality to the reach of ordinary men. It

is this illumined vision of the world which Bucke calls

"cosmic consciousness".

The next is the dark night of the soul, which is known

by terms like "mystic death" and "great negation". It is

a period of transition from the first mystic way, that

is, illumination, to the second, that is, unitive life.

It is a state of fatigue and conflicts where the

presence of the Absolute seems to be lost:

The Dark Night, then, is really a deeply humanprocess, in which the self which thoughtitself so spiritual, so firmly establishedupon the supersensua] plane, is forced to turnhack, to leave the Light, and pick. up thosequalities which it had left behind. Only thus,by the transmutation of the whole man, not bya careful and departmental cultivation of thatwhich we like to call his "spiritual" side,can Divine Humanity be formed: and theformation of Divine Humanity... is themystic's only certain ladder to theReal .... 517

It should be noted that even in the life of Jesus, such

a situation became imperative before He was ultimately

glorified. Jesus suffered great agony on the Cross and


228

it was the dark night of the soul that he passed through

when He cried out:

ELI, ELI LAMA SABACHTHANI?... 518

St. John of the Cross finds this phase "one of the most

bitter sufferings of this purgation. ,519' Underhill

finds this "a dismal condition of the spiritual ennui":

It seems incredible that the eager love of aDivine Companion, so long the focus of theself's whole being, should have vanished: thatnot only the transcendent vision should bewithdrawn, but her very desire for, andinterest in, that vision should grow cold. Yetthe mystics are unanimous in declaring thatthis is a necessary stage in the growth ofspiritual consciousness. . . . 520

The Dark Night is therefore essential for the mergence

and union of the soul with the Absolute. It is relevant

to quote a few lines from Christina Rossetti's "Who

shall Deliver me?" which pictures the dark night of the

soul:

518 The Bible, St.Matthew, XXVII:46.

519 St.John of the Cross, quoted in Underhill, Mysticism,p.391.


Myself, arch-traitor to myself:

My hollowest friend, my deadliest foe,

My clog whatever road I go.

Yet One there is can curb myself,

Can roll the strangling load from me,

Break off the yoke and set me free. 521

Hopkins lets out a like groan in his "I wake and fee]

the fell of (lark":

I am gall, I am heartburn. God's most deepdecree

Bitter would have me taste: my taste was me;

Bones built in me, flesh filled, blood brimmedthe curse.

Selfyeast of spirit a dull. dough sours. I see

The lost are like this,and their scourge to be

As I am mine, their sweating selves; butworse.... 522

521Christina Rossetti, "Who shall Deliver Me?" in TheFaber Book of Reli9ious Verse, p.272.

522 Hopkins, "I wake and feel the fell of dark," in The

Faber Book of Feliious Verse, p.291.

229

230

In the "Dark Night" the soul feels forlorn, deprived and

sinful. The sin is spiritual and the self should erase

off the last remnants of ego, that manifests itself in

the form of self possessions. The flash of samlesha --

the soul is embraced by God - has made the self proud.

That she is vainly proud, she must be taught, for, she

cannot hold her God or the God - experience entirely to

herself as a monopoly. Hence God conceals Himself from

her and effects a drastic purgation, a more painful

experience than the previous one. The mystics prefer

vislesha -- the sorrow of separation -- to samlesha, for

the latter makes them forget their very existence and

drown themselves in the constant smarana or remembrance

of their beloved, resulting in the viraha bhaktl.

The final and the fifth phase of the mystic way is

unitive life. Underhill records:

[It is] the final triumph of the spirit, theflower of mysticism, humanity's top note: theconsummation towards which the contemplativelife, with its long slow growth and costlytraining, has moved from the first.... 523

523 .Underhal]., Mysticism, p.413.

It is the peculiarity of unitive life that it is often

lived, in its highest and most perfect forms, in the

world; it exhibits its works before the eyes of men.

But though life is lived in the world, it is not of it.

The Bible says:

They are not of the world, even as I amnot of the world... •524

Underhill traces the culmination of unitive life to the

well-known symbolism of the Spiritual Marriage between

God and the Soul, "a symbolism which goes back to the

Orphic Mysteries, and thence descended via the

Neoplatonists into the stream of Christian

tradition. ,525 Succinctly, she defines unitive life

thus:

• . . it is the complete and consciousfulfilment here and now of this PerfectLove. . . .526

This experience makes the mystic act in all innocence

524 The Bible, St.John, XVII:16.


526 Ibid., p.427.

231

232

and purity for Love can never be at rest. St.John of the

Cross sums up the essence of Christian mysticism:

Christian mysticism is essentially nothingbut the highest possible this-worldly develop-ment of the inherent spiritual capacity of thehuman soul.... 527

A discernible reader is able to detect in the seemingly

erotic literature of The Song of Songs the distillation

of Bridal Mysticism.

Solomon and Whitman employ erotic symbolism, which

becomes sacred as God is the Bridegroom for the soul-

bride. St,Bernard warns them who denounce this symbolic

language as a carnal one:

Take heed that you bring chaste ears to thisdiscourse of love; and when you think of thesetwo lovers, remember always that riot a man anda woman are thought of, but the word of Godand a soul. And if I shall speak of Christ theChurch, the sense is the same, except that,under the name of the Church is specified not

527 St.John of the Cross, The Dark4ght of the Soul,p.XIV.

one soul only, but the United souls of many,or rather unanimity.... 528

The subtle nuances of the love-mood are enticingly woven

into the emotion charged language of the poet-mystics,

especially the Alvars of the Tamil poetic tradition,

which not only yield rich aesthetic bliss, but also

substantiate a high philosophical thought, namely

Visitadvaita. In other words, the mystics become girls

to record their nuances. Such a love-talk is abundantly

available in the works of the Alvars as they gave vent

to their emotions in Viraha bhakti, a mystical stage

that closely resembles the "Dark Night".

The nuptial imagery of The Song of Solomon highlights

the eminence of love over all the virtues desired by

mankind. Swedenborg argues that marital or "conjugial

love" is of the Lord and from the Lord and it is

peculiar to man, who is the crown of creation:

That from the influx of the marriage of goodand truth from the Lord, there is the love ofthe sex, and there is con jugial love...

528 Bernard, quoted in D.C.Butler, Western Mysticism(London: Constable & Co., Ltd., 1922), p.141.

233

234

conjugial love is of the internal or spiritualman and is therefore peculiar to man.... 529

He goes on to argue:

conjugial love in its origin is holy,spiritual, and heavenly... it is from theLord.... 530

Conjugcd love is the pivot around which Solomon's Song

of Songs revolves and the original impulse to read it as

an allegory came from the Jews, who considered

themselves as the bride and Solomon represented God and

the book was supposed to deal with the history of

Israel. Later, Christian commentators substituted Christ

for God and the Church for Israel. later The Son9 of

Solomon became the textbook of mysticism. The Cambridge

Bible records:

In the Middle Ages, owing to a variety ofcauses, the more deeply religious minds turnedto Mysticism, and The Son9 of Solomon becamethe text-book of their mystic approach toGod.... 531

529 Swedenborg, Conjugla] Love, Trans. Samuel M. Warren(New York: Swedenborg Foundation, 1954), p.108.

530 Ibid., p.130.

531 A. iHarper, ed., The Song of Solomon, n The CambridgeBible for Schools and Colleges, p.XIIV.

235

Origen, one of the early commentators, asserts:

The only sense of The Canticle intended by Godis the spiritual or allegorical sense.... 532

It is of great interest to record here the speculations

of Biblical commentators about Indian influence on The

Song of Songs. Rabin observes that in the Indian

legends, love of human women for Gods, particularly

Krishna, is argued as a theme. And the use of the genre

of love poetry for the expression of religious longing

might have been borrowed from India. The Epositor's.

Bible has this surmise:

Thus the Hindoo Gitagovinda celebrates theloves of Chrishna [sic] and Radha in versesthat bear a remarkable resemblance to the Songof Solomon.... 533

But while in the ,Gitaqovinda, the concluding verse

points the moral by direct assertion of the religious

532 Origen, quoted in The Interpreter's Dictionary 2ithe Bible, p.422.

533 W. Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor ' s Bible,p.44.

236

meanings of the whole composition, there is not the

slightest hint in The Song of Solomon that it was

intended to be read in the mystical sense. It is an

enigma to its various interpreters and commentators,

which, however, gets easily resolved by a perceptive

reader. Watchman Nee rightly observes:

The book's inmost heart speaks of spiritualcommunion. It is a book for the heart... Itspoint of emphasis focuses upon the progressivephases in a believer's advance toward theLord. It includes the experience of a wholelifetime and moves upward over many rungs orsteps. 534*

The various stages of the mystic way propounded by

Evelyn Underhill can be detected in The Song of Solomon.

The first phase of the awakening of the self corresponds

with the Initial Love-phase put forth by Watchman Nee.

The bride or the Shulamite becomes aware of the drawing

power, the superior love of the bridegroom. She

realizes, ". . . thy love is better than wine," 535 and

"thy name is as ointment poured forth. ,536 As

534 Watchman Nee, The Song of Songs, p.XII.

The Bible, The Son of Solomon, 1:2.

536 Ibid, 1:3.*

This bears repetition.*


237

Underhill observes, the bride transcends her limitations

and begins to think about something other than self.

This is the beginning of her mystical activity. In

recognizing the glory around, specifically that of the

bridegroom, she becomes aware of her own littleness:

Look not upon me, because I am black,because the sun hath looked upon me: mymother's children were angry with me: theymade me the keeper of the vineyards; but mineown vineyard have I not kept.... 537

At this stage, both the bride and the groom are

attracted by the physicality of each other. The

bridegroom is enravished. He says:

Thy cheeks are comely. 538

.thou hast dove's eyes.. 539

When the king tells his maiden,

I have compared thee, 0 my love, to acompany of horses in Pharoah's chariots....

The Bible, The Song of Solomon, 1:6.

538 Ibid., 1:10.

Ibid., 1:15.

540 Ibid., 1:9.

238

one is reminded of the couplets from Thirukkural:

This female beauty returning my looks islike a celestial maiden coming with an army tocontend against inc. . • 541

Once the king becomes aware of the desire of the bride

to he with Him, He takes the initiative in bringing her

to "the banqueting house" that leads to the

transformation or "conversion". Watchman Nee comments on

this phase: "... she has the Lord but the Lord has not

yet gained all of her... [It] is merely Christ for me. I

am not yet wholly for Christ.„542

The second phase is the purification of the self, which

corresponds with the stage that Watchman Nee calls

"Faltering Love”. This is essentially a time for

purification of the self. The king comes leaping to His

beloved and calls her away. But there are certain

el erncnts that ar not in harmony with Reality that have

54.1 Tiruvaliuvar, "On Pair' at the Sight of Beauty, inThirukkural , Trans. W.H. Drew and John Lazarus(Madras: Asian Educational Services, 1988), p.219.

542 Watchman Nee, The Sons of Songs, p.47.

239

to he got rid of:

Take us the foxes, the little foxes, thatspoil the vines: for our vines have tendergrapes. . . . 543

The "foxes" in The Song of Songs reminds one of Andal 's

cry:

0 Manmatha! Is a fox of the forest tosmell the sacred offering meant forGods?.... 544

The beloved is unable to join her Beloved and she loses

him for a while:

I sought him, but I found him not....

It is when she rids herself of all that is unnecessary

she finds him and brings him back into her mother's

house. Watchman Nee observes:

This maiden has learned.., about the power andthe fulness of resurrection life, and the life

The Bible, The Sonq of .22P2Th 11:15.

544 Swami Shuddhananda Bharati, Alvar Saints, p.26.

The Bible, The Song of Solomon, 11:1.

240

of tile Cross. Though not altogether perfect,yet she has learned these three lessons, andas a consequence the Lord is ready to praiseher.... 546

The third phase of the mystic way is the illumination of

the self, which is parallel to Watchman Nee's

classification as "Growing Love". The beloved makes

herself agreeable to her Lord and He finds her all

beautiful:

BEHOLD, thou art fair, my love; behold,thou art fair..

Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep thatare even shorn, which came up from thewashing;...

Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet,and thy speech is comely... .547

The king goes on describing the beauty of his beloved.

The running parallel is the Renaissance artist's passion

for the perfect female form. She has re-oriented her

life in such a way that she is a transformed being. The

king is thoroughly enthralled at her purified state:

Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister,y spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with

546 Watchman Nee, The Sons of Songs, p.74.

The Bible, The Song of Solomon, IV:1-3.

one of thine eyes, with one chain of thyneck. .. 548

One's memory is again drawn to similar lines from

Thirukkural:

A single stolen glance of her eyes ismore than half the pleasure... .549

The spouse has begun bearing fruit and the king enjoys

"the garden" with his friends. It is indeed a time of

creativity. And Watchman Nee concurs with Underhill:

The former and the early dedication ofourselves to Him is one of committal into thehands of the Lord to allow Him to have His waywith us. The present thought is concerned witha dedication which results from His full workwithin us.. ..550

The next phase is the Dark Night of the Soul, which is

akin to Watchman Nee's "Transforming Love". It is a

transitional phase from the state of illumination or the

first mystic way to unitive life or the second mystic

548 The Bible, The Son9 of So]2!12p, IV: •

Thiruvalluvar, "On Ascertaining Each Other's Inten-tions," in Thirukkural, p.221.

550 Watchman Nee, The Song of Songs, p.114.

241

242

way. Almost all the mystics and mystic writers place the

accent on this phase, for this is essential for the

union of the bride and the groom or the Soul and the

Absolute. The beloved of The sopg of Songs hears her

lover coming to her. But she is unwilling to unlock the

door:

I have put off my coat; how shall I putit on? I have washed me feet; how shalldefile them?... 551

This is exactly what Underhilll calls "a dismal

condition of the spiritual ennui". The beloved has grown

cold. Eventually, her Divine companion vanishes to her

great dismay:

I opened to my beloved; but my belovedhad withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soulfailed when he spake: I sought him, but Icould not find him . 1 called him, but he gaveme no answer.

She is smitten, wounded and her veil taken away from her

-- the "great negation". A parallel can be drawn from

The Bible, The Song of Solomon, V:3.

552 Ibid., V:6.*


Thirukkural:

The night which graciously lulls to sleepall living creatures has me alone forcompanion. . . .553

But, it is only a seemingly negative phase. The beloved

realizes the worth of her lover with added splendour:

My beloved is white and ruddy, thechiefest among ten thousand... .554

Once she has crossed the dark night, she reiterates her

loving relationship to her Lord:

I am my beloved's, and my beloved ismine.... 555

This is a superb illustration of nayaka - nyaki bhava.

Watchman Nee offers the summation of the significance of

this phase:

The virgin spouse now dwells on the hope ofher Lord's return and of being soon taken up

ThiruvallUVar, "On Languishing in Sorrow," inTirukkurai, p.235.

The Bible, The S2119 of Solomon, V:10.

Ibid., VI:3.

243

244

to be with Him for ever. Her feelings areecstatic, and these are now legitimate andright by reason of her full and matureaffections. It is a state of blessedanticipation and the fruit of her longspiritual exercise .... 556

St.John of the Cross, one of the greatest of Christian

mystics sings thus of his e<peri.ence of the dark night:

Oh, night that guided me!

Oh, night more lovely than the rosy dawn!

Oh, night whose darkness guided me

To that sweet union

In whi cFi the l over and the Beloved are madeone.... 557

Dalby calls the dark night "an encounter":

The dark night is endured by the soul whichsimply suffers and does not act at all. Thesoul suffers, not indeed in any stoical senseof the word, but it suffers in deep humility,and its willingness to suffer is the result ofits love which thus, hibernating in darkness,so to speak, draws upon the vigour and warmthof its summer days.. ..558

556 Watchman Nee, The Song of Songs, p.175.

St.John of the Cross,The Park Ni9ht of the Soul, p.2.

558 Joseph Da]by, Christianysticisrn and the NaturalWorld (London: James Clarke & Co. ,Ltd.,1949),p.126.

245

Maritain pointedly brings out the nature of the dark

night:

The proper light of infused contemplation onlycomes from the ardour of love that burns inthe night.... 559

The dark night or "passive purification" is essential

for "the transmutation of the whole man", that will

eventually lead to the Union.

The final phase is that of unitive life, which is,

according to Watchman Nee the final stage called "Mature

Love". It is a sublime experience when all the faculties

are spiritually transformed and diviriized and man learns

to live and walk in the presence of God. It is a life of

perfect transformation and union in God. The maiden in

The Sons of Songs has learnt all her lessons, her love

has been tried and tested. She is able to make the

greatest assertion of love:

love is strong as death....56°

559 Maritain, quoted in William Johnston, The Mysticismof the Cloud of Unknowing (Hertfordshire: AnthonyClarke, -1-9-6-965), p.133.

560 The Bible, The Song of Solomon, VIII:6.

246

This is a great paradox of life --- a reflection of the

true nature of the God of Light who lives in darkness:

THEN spake Solomon, The Lord said that hewould dwell in the thick darkness .... 561

The dark night that she has passed through has

enlightened her and as a chaste spouse she offers

herself wholly to the Love Divine. She is assured of the

firmness of her stance:

Many waters cannot quench love, neithercan the floods drown it: if a man would giveall the substance of his house for love, itwould utterly be contemned.... 562

This is the height of Bridal Mysticism where the longing

spouse has been granted the full knowledge of the power

and glory of the bridegroom. The spiritual marriage has

taken place and typically enough of unitive life, the

enlightened soul dedicates herself to the service of

others. Her vision becomes cosmic and she begins to show

561 The Bible, I Kings, VIII:12.

562 Ibid., The Sons of Solomon, VIII:7.

247

her concern for the world around her:

WF have a little sister, and she hath nobreasts: what shall we do for our sister inthe day when she shall be spoken for?... 563

Again, she is reminded of the vineyards that represent

the work places of her Lord:

Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; helet out the vineyard unto keepers; every onefor the fruit thereof was to bring a thousandpieces of silver.... 564

This is an expression of the Perfect Love that the

spouse has experientially known. The concluding lines of

The Song of Songs , "MAKE haste, my beloved, and be

thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the

mountains of spices" 565* indicate that though she is

"in the world", she is "not of the world". Her heart

yearns for another world where "Love shall... reach its

climax and be freed from the shadows of cloud." 566

563 The Bible, The Song of Solomon, VIII:8.

564 Ibid., VIII:11.

565 Ibid., VIII:14.

566 Watchman Nee, The Song of Son, p.189.

*This bears repetition.


248

The Song of Songs thus becomes a classic illustration of

the mystic way and it fits well with the progressive

phases delineated by Evelyn Underhill:

The Mystic Way has been a progress, a growth,in love: a deliberate fostering of the inwardtendency of the soul towards its source, aneradication of its disorderly tendencies to"temporal goods". But the only proper end oflove is union: "a perfect uniting and couplingtogether of the lover and the loved into one."It is "a unifying principle," ... life'smightiest agent upon every plane. Moreover,just as earthly marriage is understood by themoral sense less as a satisfaction ofpersonal desire, than as a part of the greatprocess of life -- the fusion of two selvesfor new purposes -- so such spiritual marriagebrings with it duties and obligations. Withthe attainment of a new order, the newinfusion of vitality, comes a newresponsibility, the call to effort andendurance on a new and mighty scale. It is notan act but a state. Fresh life is imparted, bywhich our lives are made complete: newcreative powers are conferred. The self liftedto the divine order, is to be an agent of thedivine fecundity: an energizing centre, aparent of transcendental life.... 567

Richard Rolle, "the father of English mysticism" was

aware of the music of the soul and could discern in it a

correspondence with the measured harmonies of the

567 .Underhill, Mysticism, p.428.

249

spiritual universe. He says:

Song I call., when in a p1 enteous soul. thesweetness of eternal love with burning istaken, and thought into song is turned, andthe mind into full sweet sound ischanged.... 568

According to this dictum The Song of Songs is a "Song

born out of the fullness of the spiritual universe in

the mind of a great literary artist-cum-mystic, King

Solomon.

Similarly Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" is equally as

enigmatic as the The Song of Songs and has lent itself

to various interpretations. Sensible readers find in it

a basic religiosity. One such critic James E. Miller

categorically affirms that it is "the dramatic

69*representation of a mystical experience.„

5 Whitman's

biographers have recorded the event when Whitman had a

definite mystical experience similar to the experiences

undergone by mystics all over the world. Whitman, as an

artist has transformed this experience into a piece of

568 Richard Rolle, quoted in Underhill, Mysticism, p.77.

569 James E.Miller, Jr. ,"'Song of Myself' as Mysticism,”in Whitman's "Sons of Myself" -- Ori9in,Growth andMeaning, p.134.


250

art. He is an "articulate mystic" according to Evelyn

Underhill:

All kinds of symbolic language come naturallyto the articulate mystic, who is often aliterary artist as well: so naturally, that hesometimes forgets to explain that hisutterance is but symbolic -- a desperateattempt to translate the truth of that worldinto the beauty of this. It is here thatmysticism joins hands with music andpoetry.... 570

But she is of the opinion that Whitman cannot be

considered a pure mystic:

Amongst those who cannot be called puremystics we can detect in the works of Platoand Heracleitus [sic], Wordsworth, Tennysonand Walt Whitman indications that they toowere acquainted, beyond most poets and seers,with the phenomena of the illuminatedlife.... 571

William James considers Whitman as a "supreme

contemporary example" of a mystic who has the "inability

to feel 572vil." Whitman has impressed him as follows:


571 Ibid., p.238.

572 William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience(New York: The Modern Library, 1929), p.83.

Walt Whitman owes his importance in literatureto the systematic expulsion from his writingsof afl contractile elements. The onlysentiments he allowed himself to express wereof the expansive order; and he expressed thesein the first person—vicariously for all, men,so that a passionate and mystic ontologicalemotion suffuses his words, and ends bypersuading the reader that men and women, lifeand death, and all things are divinelygood....

Such an impression has created a controversy over

Whitman's stand as a Christian mystic; but one finds

that The Bible affirms that whatever God made was good:

And God saw everything that He had made,and, behold, it was very good. . . .574

Bucke in his "Cosmic Consciousness" considers Whitman as

an "optimist" and that optimism is a mark of all

illumined souls:

As a man with Cosmic Consciousness sees theCosmic order, and that, as Paul says, "allthings work together for good," so every suchmar' is what is called "an Optimist," and itmay be freely stated that the knowledge of thefriendliness of the universe to man is adistinctive mark of the class of men

573 William James, ReligiousThe Varieties of Eprience,p.84.

The Bible, Genesis, 1:31.

251

considered in this volume. That Whitman hasthis mark needs saying only to those who havenot read him. . . . 575

Whitman is certainly a religion-oriented mystic and his

"Song of Myself" surely remains a pointer to the Mystic

Way. One can clearly read in it the various stages of

the Mystic path and specifically, Bridal Mysticism, that

is the spiritual marriage of the soul and God.

Whitman combines the two types of mystical ways -- the

sporadic and the methodical in his "Song of Myself" for

it is primarily a work of art, "a poem, not a

historical, philosophical, or religious document." 576

James E. Miller analyses the poem as follows:

252

I Sections 1 - 5

II Sections 6 - 16

III Sections 17 - 32

IV Sections 33 - 37

V Sections 38 - 43

Entry into the Mystical State

Awakening of Self

Purification of self

Illumination and the DarkNight of the Soul

Union (Through Faith and Love)

575 Bucke, Cosmic Consciousness, p.235.

576 Jarucs F. Mi I icr Jr. , " 'Song of Myself ' as Mysticism, U

in Whitman's "Song of Myself "--- Ori91n, Growth andMeaning, p.136.

253

VI Sections 44 - 49 : Union (Through Perception)

VII Sections 50 - 52 : Emergence from Mystical State

The first part -- the entry into the mystical state --

is marked by the consummation of the marriage of the

body and soul. Unlike in traditional mysticism, the poet

celebrates the self, and the senses. There is no*

annihilation of the self, rather a glorification. The

body -- matter pkriti - serves as the male

principle whereas the soul -- spirit - purusha --

serves as the female principle. The basis of unitive

oneness is the union -- samlesha - between. the male --

body -- and female -- soul principles. Interestingly

the soul awakens the dormant matter -- the poet -- to a

realization of the Bhuvana Sundara of God.

The relevant lines make interesting reading

I believe in you my soul, the other I am mustnot abase itself to you,

And you must not be abased to the other.

Loafe with me on the grass, loose the stopfrom your throat,

Not words, not music or rhyme I want, notcustom or lecture, not even the best,


Only the lull I like, the hum of your valvedvoice.

I mind how once we lay such a transparentsummer morning,

How you settled your head athwart my hips andgently turn'd over upon me,

And parted the shirt from my bosom-bone, andplunged your tongue to my barestriptheart,

And reach'd till you felt my beard, andreach'd, till you held my feet.

Swiftly arose and spread around me the peaceand knowledge that pass all the art andargument of the earth;

And I know that the hand of God is the promiseof my own,

And I know that the spirit of God is thebrother of my own,

And that all the men ever born are also mybrothers, and the women my sisters andlovers,

And that a kelson of the creation is love,

And limitless are leaves stiff or dropping inthe fields,

And brown ants in the little wells beneaththem,

And mossy scabs of the worm fence, heap'dstones,elder,mullein and poke-weed.... 577*

Walt Whitman,"Song of Myself," in L G, pp.32,33.*


254

255

The popular line, "Swiftly arose and spread around me

the peace arid knowledge that pass all argument of the

earth" is a direct echo of St.Paul 's words:

And the peace of God, which passeth allunderstanding, shall keep your hearts andminds through Christ Jesus.... 578

Whitman again acknowledges the superiority of love over

other virtues and understands "love" as containing

other virtues. The mystical state of consciousness

results in the knowledge, "that a kelson of the creation

is love."

The next stage is the awakening of self. As Miller

points out,

The sudden certitude which the poet feels thatthe "hand of God" is the "promise" of his ownand that "the spirit of God" is the "brother"of his own is the mystic's awakening to"consciousness of divine Reality ...... 579

578 The Bible, Philippians, IV:7.

579 James E. Miller, Jr., Song of Myself ' as Mysticism,i n hitman's " Song of Myself" -- Origin,Growth andMeaning, pp. 137, 138.

256

To Whitman, the grass becomes an enigma of Divine

Reality. The grass makes him contemplate over a chain of

related things:

Tenderly will I use you curling grass,

It may be you transpire from the breasts ofyoung men,

It may be if I had known them I would haveloved them,

It may be you are from old people, or fromoffspring taken soon out of theirmother's laps,

And here you are the mother's laps.... 580

This thought of death leads on to thoughts about the

cycle of life. He becomes aware of the great design of

life and makes it his own:

And these tend inward to me, and I tendoutward to them,

And such as it is to be of these more or lessI am,

And of these one and all I weave the song ofmyself. ... .581


581 Ibid., p.44.

257

This stage is followed by the purification of self. The

poet begins to ponder over himself, and in turn becoming

the representative of the cosmos:

They are really the thoughts of all men inall ages and lands, they are not originalwith me,

If they are not yours as much as mine they arenothing, or next to nothing,

If they are not the riddle and the untying ofthe riddle they are nothing,

If they are not just as close as they aredistant they are nothing.... 582

Whitman goes on to make the assertion:

I accept Reality and dare not question583

Accepting the Reality makes him inspired:

Through me the afflatus surging and surging,through me the current and index. . . . 584


583 Ibid., p.51.

584 Ibid., p.52.*


258

The poet achieves purification through the theme of

equality. He finds all and sundry equal. It is to be

noted here that Whitman's mysticism is a different kind

of mysti ci sin an Inverted mysticism - in that he

achieves purification through the acceptance of the

body, and not through mortification as the traditional

mystics have done. Whitman's concept of the body is in

accordance with what Paul says to the Corinthians:

KNOW ye not that ye are the temple ofGod, and that the spirit of God dwelleth inyou?

If any man defile the temple of God, himshall God destroy; for the temple of God isholy, which temple ye are ... . 585

Whitman goes on to celebrate the primitive life of the

animals, but as the section closes the poet realizes

that the animals with all their purity and innocence

cannot achieve what man can achieve. This is again in

keeping with the Biblical concept that man is the crown

of creation with all the other created things

subservient to his power. The Book of Genesis records:

And God blessed them, and God said untothem, Be fruitful., and multiply, and replenish

585 The Bible, I Corinthians, 111:16, 17.

259

the earth, and subdue it: and have dominionover the fish of the sea, and over the fowl ofthe air, and over every living thing thatmoveth upon the earth.... 586

The poet knows that he will "out--gallop" the animals by

experiencing illumination. In the sections 33 - 37, the

poet combines both the phases of Illumination and Dark

Night of the Soul. As an illumined being, he is

jubilant:

My ties and ballasts leave me, my elbows restin sea-gaps,

I skirt sierras, my palms cover continents,

I am afoot with my vision... 587

As Miller puts it, the self that is "awakened and

, 588purified, apprehends directly Divine Reality.' The

jubilation of the first part of the section dwindles and

the poet becomes desperate over the Dark Night:

Agonies are one of my changes of garments,

86 The Bible, Genesis, 1:28.


5 8B i,tIlffl F. MILI , Jr. ," ;()nq of My]i'l Mysticism,"It) Whit man's "Sony of Myself" -- Origin, Growthand Meaning, p.146.

I do not ask the wounded person how he feels,I myself become the wounded person,

My hurts turn livid upon me as I lean on acane and observe. . . . 589

The poet e<perier)ces an acute consiousness of identity

with the sinful and the suffering and the dark night

reaches its apex as the poet utters:

Askers embody themselves in me and I amembodied in them,

I project my hat, sit shame-faced andbeg.... 590

It should be recorded that the poet was aware of the

Passion of Christ, "walking the old hills of Judaea with

the beautiful, gentle God by my side." 591*

The poet then enters the phase of union, as he realizes

his "mistake" of excluding the Divine from his life.

Once this realization sets in, "union" results:


590 Ibid., p.72.

591 Ibid., p.64.*


260

That I could forget the mockers and insults!

That I could forget the trickling tears andthe blows of the bludgeons and hammers!

That I could look with a separate look on myown crucifixion and bloodycrowning.. . 592

Because of the union, the poet turns to be a healer,

helper and orator with messages of love. The poet

receives faith and love because of the union:

I do not know what is untried and afterward,

But I know It will in its turn provesuifi ci ent , and cannot fall . . . . 593

This is similar to St.Paul 's confession of faith:

I know whom I have believed, and ampersuaded that He is able to keep that which Ihave committed unto Him against thatday.... 594

Yet again Whitman declares:

My rendezvous is appointed, it is certain,


593 Ibid., p.79.

The Bible, II Timot, 1:1-2.

261

The Lord will be there and wait till I come onperfect terms,

The great Camerado, the lover true for whom Ipine will be there .... 595

As Miller observes, the description of "the great

Camerado" as "the lover true" is suggestive of the

mystical marriage that is characteristic of the mystic

union.

Whitman, thus, becomes an exponent of the concept of

Bridal Mysticism. The blessed union leads to the proper

perception of being "at peace about God" and being able

to see God "each hour" and "each moment".

As a piece of art with a proper structure and form, the

poem concludes with the poet's emergence from the

mystical state. An analysis of the poem in the light of

Bridal Mysticism makes one understand that Whitman is a

Christian mystic turned artist and "Song of Myself" is a

fruit of Whitman's illumined state. Evelyn Underhill

records:

It is in these descriptions of the joy ofillumination -- in the outpourings of love and

262

Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," in L G, p.83.

263

rrII)Lur( he] origi rig to th I s state that wefind the most lyrical passages of mysticalliterature. Here poet, mystic, and musicianare on common ground: for it is only by theoblique methods of the artist, by the use ofaesthetic suggestion and musical rhythm, thatthe wonder, of that vision can be expressed.When essential goodness, truth, and beauty --Light, Life and Love -- are apprehended by theheart, whether the heart be that of poet,painter, lover, or saint, that apprehensioncan only be communicated in a living, that isto say, an artistic form. .. .596

Both The So of Songs and "Song of Myself" are great

artisti.c compositions highlighting the concept of Bridal

Mysticism. Both are classics of perennial interest

singing "the praise of the greatest force in the

world," 597 that is, love. These two classics aptly

define the nature and end of Bridal Mysticism.

596Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism, p.239.

597Nathaniel Schmidt, quoted in The Son9 of Songs in

The Interpreter's Bible, Vol . V, p.98.

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