Inner space as sacred space: the temple as metaphor for the mystical experience

Cross Currents, Fall, 2002 by George Wolfe

But while sacred space contains features related to meditative practice, from the perspective of mysticism and the experience of spiritual enlightenment, the outer temple is but a pale reflection of the unbounded inner space which, when experienced, is far more meaningful than finite representations set within the built environment. In the final chapter to his masterpiece Walden, mystic Henry Thoreau offers a nineteenth-century reflection on the boundless experience of inner space. He challenges each person to "be a Columbus to whole new worlds and continents within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought. . ." and to "explore the private seas, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans of one's being alone" (Shanley, 1973).

Once a person is awakened through the meditative experience, a process begins whereby one internalizes the meaning within sacred stories and ceremonies. In Indian philosophy, this process of internalization becomes important in the third stage of life known as vanaprashtha or aranyaka. In this stage, a person has become a forest dweller, and one's spiritual practice consists of meditation and symbolic worship rather than participation in temple rituals. The fourth and final stage of life in Indian philosophy is known as sannyasa. In this stage, the aspirant lives free from worldly attachments and becomes engaged in uninterrupted contemplation of Brahman, the Ultimate Reality. According to Swami Nikhilananda, for a sannyasin:

It was no longer necessary to worship God by means of material articles or even mental symbols. One experienced directly the non-duality of God, the soul, and the universe--Spirit communing immediately with Spirit. The Sannyasin took the vow of dedicating his life to Truth and to the service of humanity, and was honored as a spiritual leader of society. And it was for him that the Upanishads . . .were written. (Nikhilananda, 1949)

The Upanishads are a series of texts included in the sixth system of Indian philosophy known as Vedanta. Their focus is primarily on the experience of Spiritual Enlightenment--understanding Brahman not as a theoretical construct but through direct experience, and realizing the forces of nature not as objects of worship but as expressions of the universal "Self." But the process of internalizing religious precepts to validate inner experience is not restricted to Hinduism. It is found in all the major religious traditions and is strikingly apparent m writings of the Apostle Paul. In addition to the temple metaphor, the Apostle Paul internalizes the concept of veil (II Cor. 3:15 RSV) describing the veil that lies over the mind. He also uses the crucifixion as a metaphor for the sacrifice of his lower nature that is bound by the law, saying that he has been "crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20 RSV). By internalizing teachings and rituals, one understands their meaning in the context of the "inner temple." This giv es stories and rituals much more personal and practical meaning.

The process of internalization also gives sacred rituals and stories a validity that transcends their historical context. One can then appreciate the stories more for their mythological meaning. By mythological meaning I refer to meaning that is valid irrespective of whether a story is historically true. Myth transcends time and place and speaks to us on a deep intuitive level, revealing to us something about our own psychological make-up. When we extract mythological meaning, the events, persons, or objects a story contains are recognized to be metaphors for aspects of our own subjective nature.