Unity Beyond Difference: Mystical Knowledge and Ecstatic Experience in Advaita Vedānta, Bhakti, and Sufism

This paper offers a comparative philosophical investigation of mystical inquiry in Advaita Vedānta, Bhakti, and Sufism, examining how these traditions conceptualize experiential knowledge of ultimate reality and the transformation of consciousness. Although rooted in distinct religious, cultural, and doctrinal contexts, these traditions can be understood as diverse forms of inquiry into fundamental philosophical questions concerning selfhood, knowledge, and the nature of reality. By comparing their respective approaches to mystical experience, the paper contributes to the conference theme, “Philosophical Unity of the Diverse Forms of Inquiry,” by exploring how different intellectual and spiritual traditions arrive at analogous insights regarding human consciousness and transcendence.

The study analyzes key teachings of the Principal Upaniṣads, the Bhagavadgītā, and the commentarial works of Ādi Śaṅkarācārya alongside selected writings of Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, Ibn ʿArabī, and Kabīr. Particular attention is devoted to the relationship between knowledge and love as complementary paths to realization. Al-Ghazālī’s observation that love presupposes knowledge serves as an important point of departure for exploring the interaction between gnosis and devotion within both traditions.

A central focus of the paper is the comparison between the Sufi concepts of fanāʾ (annihilation of the ego) and baqāʾ (abiding in God) and the Advaitic method of neti neti (“not this, not that”), through which practitioners transcend identification with bodily, mental, and psychological limitations. These practices are examined as forms of philosophical inquiry directed toward the question of true selfhood and the possibility of direct knowledge of ultimate reality. The analysis further considers the relation between microcosm and macrocosm, the distinction between appearance and reality, and the role of mystical experience in soteriological transformation.

The paper addresses several philosophical questions: What constitutes authentic self-knowledge? What is the epistemic status of mystical experience? Can ultimate reality be approached through reason, devotion, contemplative practice, or a synthesis of these modes of inquiry? How do different traditions articulate the relationship between finite consciousness and the infinite?

The comparative analysis demonstrates that, despite important doctrinal and metaphysical differences, Advaita Vedānta, Bhakti, and Sufism converge in presenting self-transcendence as a means of attaining deeper knowledge of reality. Their dialogue illustrates how philosophical, contemplative, and devotional modes of inquiry can complement one another in the search for truth. In this sense, the study argues for a philosophical unity underlying diverse forms of inquiry and contributes to contemporary discussions on consciousness, religious experience, epistemology, and cross-cultural philosophy.