4 Spirituality Studies 11-1 Spring 2025 1 Introduction As a major signifier of mystical insight, the symbol of the eye is particularly polysemic. This is no doubt due to its connection with perception, which is given to a multiplicity of standpoints and aspects. Indeed, the wealth of occurrences of the eye as a symbolic referent to spiritual or mystical modes of consciousness is remarkable. The following study is limited to a consideration of the metaphysical and spiritual implications of some of the most salient symbolic orientations of the eye. More specifically the following analytic commentaries aim at providing introductory insights into the ways the eye functions as a symbolic marker of major aspects of God’s knowledge, and as a medium between duality and non-duality. The eye is a widespread mystical and contemplative signifier, particularly in paths of knowledge, given its static connotations as a symbol. Whether in Plato or in the Hindu tradition, the eye has been viewed as an adequate symbol of the spiritual apprehension of reality which, while presupposing empirically a distinction between the seer and the seen, entails a sense of immediacy and unity by suggesting the absorption of the seen into the seer. That which I see is within me, as it were, since it is included in my field of vision. Analogous statements could be made about the other senses, quite evidently, but in a more partial manner. There is much more to see than there is to hear or to taste – at least from a human point of view – with microscopes and telescopes extending this vision toward the “infinitely small” and the “infinitely large”, as Pascal would put it. In the following pages we explore selected excerpts from religious scriptures from within Christianity Hinduism and Islam that are rich in spiritual implications – and have, as we will see, given rise to esoteric commentaries. It will also consider ideas within Plato. While noting complexity and difference, the symbol of the eye thus allows symbolic insights borrowed from a cross-traditional spectrum of mystical statements highlighting the value of comparative spirituality. My objective is to modulate the non-dual resonances of the symbolism of the eye by means of a meditation of some of its cardinal instances. The argument is that the eye is involved as symbol in the major aspects, or moments, of the mystical life. It provides suggestive illustrations of purification, illumination, and inward union, as well as pointing ultimately to unity or non-duality. It may evoke thereby the multiplicity of perspectives flowing from the confrontation of human finitude with Divine Infinity. Thus, the few instances of the symbolism of the eye analyzed below cover a wide range of spiritual intents and implications. As such, they may provide orientations for further in-depth research and reflection. The study is divided into four sections: The deluded eye, Seeing it as it is, The inwards eye, Whose eye? Each of which explore comparative mystical expositions of the eye. The first section delves into ways of correcting one’s spiritual vision. The second section considers how the symbolism of the eye can intimate an adequate and enlightened perception of reality. The third part of the study focuses on the inward source of the vision, and its connections with the knowledge of unity. The final segment draws the whole meditation toward the horizon of non-duality. It highlights not only the reciprocity of the seer and the seen but also their identification as being the essence of spiritual vision. Methodologically, the approach is exegetical, phenomenological, and comparative. It is based on a textual commentary of a selection of scriptural and mystical sources that I read as paradigmatic instances of eye symbolism. My intent is to draw from these symbolic occurrences an elementary phenomenology of the spiritual vision. In other words, my concern is to try to answer the following question: what do we learn from the symbol of the eye about the spiritual consciousness for which this symbol is meaningful? As for the comparative aspect of the exploration it is evidenced by the inclusion of texts from Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and the Platonic wisdom tradition. The study may be read, therefore, as a phenomenological cross-religious reconstruction of mysticism based on the eye symbolism. 2 The Deluded Eye or the Purified Vision Religious consciousness is intent on purification and transformation. Vision, as a symbol of spiritual knowledge, may be hampered or distorted, and this recognition is indeed the starting point of most paths toward salvation or liberation. The need to correct one’s vision appears both in relation to one’s perception of objects, and with respect to one’s relationship with other human beings. The illusions of the self-centered subject are most likely to manifest in respect to others who challenge the self’s claim to be “the center of everything”. As Pascal puts it, “[t]his I is hateful. And those who do not renounce it, who seek no further than to cover it, are always hateful… I hate it, because it is unjust, because it makes itself the centre of everything, I shall hate it always” (Pascal 1949, 136). Christianity, given its emphasis on the relational aspect of Love, is particularly intent on debunking this ego-centeredness.
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