The Taoist Mystical Experience

The convergence of Tao and Brahman, particularly in their shared representation of the Divine Feminine, points to a universal spiritual truth that transcends cultural and religious boundaries. This paper has demonstrated that both Taoism and Hinduism, through their sacred texts and philosophical traditions, articulate a vision of the ultimate reality as a formless, eternal, and all-encompassing presence, personified as the Great Mother.
From the ineffable Tao, the Mysterious Female and Mother of all things, to the all-pervading Brahman, embodied in the creative power of Shakti and the supreme Goddess of the Devi Gita, we find a profound unity in the understanding of the divine. The shared attributes of transcendence and immanence, and the role of the Divine Feminine as the primordial source of creation, underscore the deep connections between these two ancient wisdom traditions.

The Unity of Tao and Brahman: A Synthesis of the Divine Feminine

1. Introduction

In the annals of human spiritual history, no concept is more ancient, more profound, or more universally present than that of the Divine Feminine. She is the primordial Mother of all, who existed beyond anything, when there was nothing else at all. She is the infinite, inexhaustible source that underlies all existence, the formless yet functional reality that gives birth to all form. This paper demonstrates that the Divine Feminine, as articulated in the Tao Te Ching and the Devi Gita, represents the same ultimate reality—a truth that transcends cultural and religious boundaries and points to a shared understanding of the divine as the primordial source of all existence. [1]

The exploration of these concepts reveals that both Taoism and Hinduism, through their sacred texts and philosophical traditions, articulate a vision of the ultimate reality as a formless, eternal, and all-encompassing presence, often personified as the Great Mother. From the ineffable Tao, the Mysterious Female and Mother of all things, to the all-pervading Brahman, embodied in the creative power of Shakti and the supreme Goddess of the Devi Gita, we find a profound unity in the understanding of the divine.

2. The Convergence of Tao and Brahman

The Tao Te Ching, a foundational text of Taoism attributed to the sage Lao Tzu, describes the Tao as the ineffable, nameless, and eternal source of all things. The text opens with the famous lines:

This highlights the transcendent nature of the Tao, which is beyond human comprehension and language. Similarly, in Hindu philosophy, Brahman is understood as the ultimate, unchanging reality that underlies the entire universe. The Upanishads, a collection of sacred Hindu texts, describe Brahman as the formless, eternal, and all-pervading consciousness. Both concepts, therefore, share the attribute of being the ultimate, unmanifest reality from which all manifestation arises.

The convergence of these two concepts is further illuminated by their shared attributes of immanence and transcendence. The Tao is not only a transcendent reality but is also immanent in all of creation. As Huston Smith notes in The World's Religions, though Tao is ultimately transcendent, it is also immanent. [3] This duality is also present in the understanding of Brahman, which is both the transcendent source of the universe and the immanent self (Atman) within every living being.

The Chandogya Upanishad famously declares, Tat tvam asi (That thou art), signifying the identity of the individual self with the ultimate reality of Brahman. This resonates with the Taoist understanding of the Tao being present within each individual, waiting to be discovered through inner contemplation and alignment with the natural order of the universe.

Furthermore, both traditions describe their ultimate reality as the primordial origin of creation. The Tao Te Ching states:

This verse mirrors the Hindu cosmology where the unmanifest Brahman gives rise to the manifest universe through a process of cosmic evolution. As one scholar observes, Replace It with Brahman, Siva, Vishnu, or whichever God you believe to be the representation of the Supreme depending on your sampradaya, and you find yourself telling one of the Hindu stories of creation. [5] The parallels in their roles as the source of all existence further underscore the fundamental unity of these two profound philosophical concepts.

Attribute	Tao (Taoism)	Brahman (Hinduism)
Ineffability	The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao	Neti neti (Not this, not this)
Transcendence	Beyond all names and forms	Nirguna Brahman (without attributes)
Immanence	Present in all things	Atman within all beings
Source of Creation	Mother of all things	Womb of the universe
Feminine Aspect	Mysterious Female, Valley Spirit	Shakti, Adi Shakti, Divine Mother

3. The Divine Feminine in Taoism: The Mysterious Female

Of all ancient Chinese classics, the Tao Te Ching stands alone in explicitly speaking of Tao as the Mother of the world. It is the dark female animal (Chapter 6); it is the mother of all things (Chapter 25). [6] This emphasis on the feminine is unique and profound, revealing the Tao as the cosmic womb from which all existence emerges.

Chapter 6 of the Tao Te Ching presents one of the most powerful expressions of this feminine principle:

The spirit of the valley (gu shen) represents the eternal, receptive, and nurturing aspect of the Tao. The valley, being low and receptive, symbolizes the feminine principle that receives all things and gives life to all things. The gateway of the mysterious female is described as the root of heaven and earth, indicating that this feminine principle is the very foundation of all existence.

Chapter 25 further reinforces this maternal imagery:

The Tao is thus explicitly identified as the Mother of all things—the primordial, inexhaustible source that existed before heaven and earth, that gives birth to all creation, and that nurtures all beings like a mother nurtures her children. This is not merely a metaphor but a profound theological statement about the nature of ultimate reality.

As Rosemarie Anderson notes in The Divine Feminine Tao Te Ching, The Tao is a feminine force, the Dark Womb of Creation, the Immortal Void renewing life again and again in ordinary times and in times of crisis. [9] This understanding reveals that the Tao, far from being an abstract philosophical concept, is the living, nurturing presence of the Divine Feminine.

4. The Divine Feminine in Hinduism: Shakti as Brahman

In Hindu philosophy, the concept of Shakti represents the creative power of Brahman, and the Devi Gita explicitly identifies the Goddess as Brahman itself. The Devi Gita, or Song of the Goddess, is a profound philosophical text that constitutes the last ten chapters of the seventh skandha (canto) of the Devi Bhagavata Purana. In this text, the Great Goddess, Mahadevi, speaks directly to the mountain king Himalaya, declaring Her identity with the ultimate reality.

The Bahvricha Upanishad makes this identification explicit:

This unequivocal statement establishes the Divine Feminine as the ultimate reality, not as a subordinate aspect of a male deity, but as Brahman itself. The Devi Gita echoes this teaching:

The Devi Sukta of the Rigveda (10.125.8) further portrays the Goddess as the sovereign queen, the creator of all worlds:

The Devi Gita also describes the Goddess as the source of all creation and the one who enters into Her own creation:

This teaching reveals that the Divine Feminine is not only the transcendent source of creation but also the immanent presence within all beings. She is both the creator and the creation, the one who gives birth to the universe and the one who dwells within it as the eternal consciousness.

5. Synthesis: The Primordial Mother Across Traditions

The parallels between the Taoist Mysterious Female and the Hindu concept of the Divine Mother are striking and profound. Both are depicted as the inexhaustible, life-giving source of the universe. The gateway of the mysterious female in the Tao Te Ching can be seen as analogous to the cosmic womb (yoni) in Hindu iconography, from which all creation is born.

Both traditions emphasize the following shared attributes of the Divine Feminine:

Attribute	Taoist Expression	Hindu Expression
Pre-Existence	Here before heaven and earth	I existed before creation
Cosmic Womb	Gateway of the mysterious female	The One Who is the Womb
Inexhaustibility	Use will never drain it	Infinite and eternal
Nurturing	Like a mother bringing up her children	Mother of all Mothers
Immanence	Dimly visible, it seems as if it were there	I dwell within them as their eternal consciousness

The convergence of these two traditions points to a universal spiritual truth: the Divine Feminine is the primordial source of all existence, the eternal wellspring from which all life flows and to which all life returns. This truth has been recognized across cultures and throughout human history, from the ancient sages of China to the rishis of India.

As one scholar observes, The Chinese sages and Indian rishis both, through their own contemplation, were revealed the secrets of a divine power, termed by the Chinese as the Tao and the Indians as Brahman, Siva, Vishnu or another name. Both, however, understood that the entity was truly without name, form, or identity. [14]

The Divine Feminine, known by many names—Shekinah, Holy Spirit, Ruh Allah, Eka Maaee, Prajnaparamita, Mother Tao, and Shakti—represents the same universal truth. She is the primordial Mother who resides within all beings, the eternal presence that awaits recognition and awakening.

6. Conclusion

The convergence of Tao and Brahman, particularly in their shared representation of the Divine Feminine, points to a universal spiritual truth that transcends cultural and religious boundaries. This paper has demonstrated that both Taoism and Hinduism, through their sacred texts and philosophical traditions, articulate a vision of the ultimate reality as a formless, eternal, and all-encompassing presence, personified as the Great Mother.

From the ineffable Tao, the Mysterious Female and Mother of all things, to the all-pervading Brahman, embodied in the creative power of Shakti and the supreme Goddess of the Devi Gita, we find a profound unity in the understanding of the divine. The shared attributes of transcendence and immanence, and the role of the Divine Feminine as the primordial source of creation, underscore the deep connections between these two ancient wisdom traditions.

Ultimately, the exploration of Tao and Brahman reveals a shared reverence for the Divine Feminine as the very heart of existence, the eternal wellspring from which all life flows and to which all life returns. The recognition of this truth—that the Divine Feminine is the ultimate reality, the source and sustainer of all creation—offers a path to spiritual liberation and a return to our primordial source.

References

[1] "Divine Feminine Unity in Taoism and Hinduism." adishakti.org.
[2] Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching. Chapter 1.
[3] Smith, Huston. The World's Religions. HarperOne, 2009, p. 198.
[4] Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching. Chapter 42.
[5] Holay, Rutvij. "Taoism's Hindu Parallels." Hinduism Today, 28 Sept. 2022.
[6] "Tao as the Great Mother and the Influence of Motherly Love in the Shaping of Chinese Philosophy." History of Religions, University of Chicago Press.
[7] "Chapter 6 Commentary." CenterTao.
[8] Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching. Chapter 25.
[9] Anderson, Rosemarie. The Divine Feminine Tao Te Ching: A New Translation and Commentary. Inner Traditions, 2021.
[10] "Devi Gita – Revelation of the Divine Feminine in the Devi Bhagavatam." adishakti.org.
[11] Devi Gita 4.19. Trans. C. Mackenzie Brown. The Devi Gita: The Song of the Goddess. State University of New York Press, 1998.
[12] Devi Sukta, Rigveda 10.125.8.
[13] Devi Gita 3.3-5. Trans. C. Mackenzie Brown.
[14] Holay, Rutvij. "Taoism's Hindu Parallels." Hinduism Today, 28 Sept. 2022.
[15] "The Primordial Mother – Divine Feminine in Tao Te Ching and Devi Gita." adishakti.org.

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The Taoist Mystical Experience: Analysis of the Numinous and Mystical Aspects
by Jennifer Layton

In his essay "Mysticism and Meditation," Robert M. Gimello's praises Ninian Smart for his distinction between the "numinous" and "mystical" experience; however, this distinction can be misleading for it assumes that the "numinous" experience belongs solely to those mystics of the prophetic religions - Judaism, Islam and Christianity - and that the religious experience of "certain strands of Buddhism (along with some varieties of Taoism, Hinduism, etc.)" is exclusively "mystical" (Katz 171). Gimello, paraphrasing Smart, goes on to describe a numinous experience as"An encounter with a being wholly other than oneself ... gratuitous, in the sense that those subject to it are not themselves responsible for its occurrence" (Katz 171). By contrast, the mystical experience is "not so much an encounter with a 'sacred other' as it is the interior attainment of a certain supernatural state of mind" and is the result of the "subject's own efforts in following a certain contemplative discipline or method" (Katz 172).

Following Ninian Smart's distinction, one would naturally assume that the experience of the Taoist mystic is "mystical"; first, because Taoism is not a prophetic religion, and second, because the experience is self-initiated. However, the Taoist mystical experience is unique in that it can be considered both mystical and numinous. The Taoist mystical state is: spiritually elevated, supernatural, and incapable of being described, all of which are qualities that define the term "numinous.”

Huston Smith, in his book The World's Religions, states that there exist three meanings of Tao: the Way of Ultimate Reality, the Way of the Universe, and the Way of Human Life (Smith 198). These three meanings of Tao allow for a more comprehensive understanding of how the Taoist mystical experience contains both numinous and mystical aspects.

The Way of Ultimate Reality: Smith states that "though Tao is ultimately transcendent, it is also immanent" (Smith 198). This point is crucial in that it shows that both numinous and mystical aspects exist in the Taoist mystical state. The concepts of transcendence and immanence directly relate to Smart's distinction. The numinous experience in a prophetic religion deals exclusively with transcendence because adherents of this type of religious tradition worship a supreme being that transcends humankind. In order for a union to form between the mystic and the supreme being, the mystic must "step outside" his or her mundane and bodily existence. By contrast, in mystical religions, the experience of the mystic involves immanence; one must reflect internally to form a union with the desired state of being, i.e., Atman/Brahman for the Hindu mystic, Enlightenment for the Buddhist disciple. While the Taoist mystical experience also involves internal reflection, both immanence and transcendence occur. Tao not only lies within the human "veiled in our consciousness by the artificiality's of civilization" (Eliade 291), but transcends all that it has created - Man, Earth and Nature. As Sidney Spencer states in his book Mysticism in World Religion," the Tao is the Source of all things; it is self-existent; it transcends time and space" (Spencer 99). Tao is spiritually elevated not only as the Way of Ultimate Reality, but as the Way of the Universe - Smith's second and significant meaning of Tao.

Although a supreme being does not exist in Taoism, disciples of this religion speak of a "supreme state of being and can be reached only through the greatest personal effort and self-discipline" (Reid 4). This supreme state of being is Tao - the Way of the Universe. According to F.C. Happold in his text Mysticism: A Study and an Anthology," though Tao is sometimes translated as the Way, in its transcendental aspect it is the Primal Meaning, the Undivided Unity which lies behind all phenomena" (Happold 149). Transcendence invokes the feeling of a clear separation between God and man, and in prophetic religions this meaning is solely accepted. However, Tao, as a supreme and supernatural state of being transcends all that is life, and the Taoist saint must "leave his material body" in order to return to Tao. According to the great Taoist sage Chuang-tzu, the Taoist adept "has the internal impression of flying off and moving freely in space but externally the individual in a state of ecstasy resembles a piece of dead wood" (Eliade 292). Through the discipline of meditation and inner contemplation, the Taoist saint is able to spiritually leave his/her material body and return to Tao. Once the Taoist mystic has achieved this state, he/she is able to return to the ordinary world with a spiritually illumined soul similar to the Buddhist arhat living in Nirvana with substrate. According to Mircea Eliade," mystical ecstasy is neither accessible to all Taoists nor permanent, a Taoist saint did not necessarily withdraw from the world, but he could at the same time be 'outside the world' and live as an ordinary man among others" (Eliade 292). This "spiritual voyage" illustrates the transcendental aspect of the Taoist mystical experience; although Tao is not a supreme being that transcends humankind, it is a supreme state of being that transcends humankind in its supernatural state as the Way of the Universe.

Paradoxically, Tao lies within all humankind as it simultaneously transcends. Although the Taoist saint must "leave his body" in order to attain spiritual salvation, the "spirit" of Tao is also immanent. Happold states that the word Tao has a double meaning.”In addition to its transcendental aspect, Tao is a way of life bound up with a moral principle or 'virtue' inherent in the very nature of the cosmos" (Happold 149). Thus, Tao is inherent in all humankind despite claims that it is impersonal. John Blofeld in his book Taoism: The Road to Immortality states that Tao is "An impersonal perfection from which beings including man are separated only by delusion" (Blofeld 2). By contrast, if Tao is a way of life for humans to follow, then it must contain a personal and spiritual element in which humans are able to follow throughout their existence in this world. Smith defines the third meaning of Tao as the Way of Human Life. According to Smith, the object of philosophical Taoism is to "Align one's daily life to the Tao, to ride its boundless tide and delight in its flow" (Smith 207). To do this one must live a life of wu-wei or "non- contrivance.” This means that human behavior should always follow intuition," unmediated by thought or deliberation.” The only way to truly understand Tao is through wu-wei or tzu-jan -"The attitude that does not discriminate or make distinctions about things but responds immediately or spontaneously" (Eliade 739). According to Smith, the effectiveness of wu-wei requires extraordinary skill. It is the Taoist saint, through deep internal contemplation and experiential knowledge through accordance with Nature, who can attain union with Tao.

The experience of the Taoist mystic has the numinous quality of ineffability. Happold dedicates a chapter of his book to the characteristics of mystical states and includes ineffability as a universal aspect of the mystical experience. The first two lines of the Tao-Teh-Ching state that the true Tao is incapable of being talked about or named. Names infer manipulation and limitation, and Tao is limitless, infinite and universal. Thus, the Taoist mystic realizes that any interpretation of his or her experience would be impossible and inconceivable. Adherents of philosophical Taoism recognize the ineffability of Tao and realize that Tao can be known only through direct and experiential knowledge. Tao cannot be comprehended through the intellect, and "elimination of knowledge" is encouraged. According to Eliade," the Taoists in fact condemn all discursive knowledge, for, they maintain, it introduces multiplicity into the soul, which should, rather, 'embrace Unity' - be unified in the Tao" (Eliade 291). Thus, Taoism advocates the gradual "elimination of knowledge" in order for the Taoist saint to gain intuitive wisdom and cultivate wu-wei.

Ninian Smart's distinction between the "numinous" and "mystical" experience provides the intellectual community with a way to categorize mystical states and, even more important, a way to differentiate interpretations of mystical experiences. However, this method of distinction is not without a flaw, for it causes the "one or the other" syndrome in one's attempt to name the unique experience of the Taoist saint as being either "numinous" or "mystical.” While Rudolf Otto claims "Taoism moves wholly in the numinous" (Spencer 102), the Taoist mystical experience contains qualities that enable it to fall under both of Smith's labels. Concepts that define the term "numinous" such as "spiritually elevated," "supernatural" and "Indescribable" also can be ascribed to the Taoist mystical state. Further, union with Tao involves both immanence and transcendence. In relation to Ninian Smart's distinction theory, the mystical state of the Taoist can be understood in both "numinous" and "mystical" terms.

The Taoist Mystical Experience: Analysis of the Numinous and Mystical Aspects
https://www.students.vcu.edu/counsel/MC/tao.html

Works cited

Blofeld, John. Taoism: The Road to Immortality. Boston: Shambhala, 1985.
Eliade, Mircea, ed. Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 14. New York: Macmillan PC, 1982.
Robert M. Gimello," Mysticism and Meditation.”Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis. Ed. Steven T. Katz. New York: Oxford UP, 1978.
Happold, F.C. Mysticism: A Study and an Anthology. London: Penguin Group, 1963.
Reid, Daniel P. The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1989.
Smith, Huston. The World's Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins P, 1991.
Spencer, Sidney. Mysticism in World Religion. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1971.
Tao Teh Ching. Trans., John C.H. Wu. Boston: Shambhala, 1989.