ABSTRACT
The previous chapters have been an attempt to understand and systematize Rumi’s practical mysticism based on his own principles and within the context of his entire mystical system, while employing the comparative methodology in juxtaposing his practical teachings with those of a mystic from a different school of mysticism. Endeavoring to avoid either creating universal structures out of the commonalities or overemphasizing the distinctions, this investigation has taken into consideration both similarities as well as differences between Rumi’s and Eckhart’s thought, an attitude that is also reflected in the suggested rubrics for their respective systems of practical mysticism. Based on the methodological considerations articulated in Chapter 1, the first part of the study dealt with the elaboration of Eckhart’s practical mysticism. Taking into account the distinction between the two parts of practical mysticism, namely, stages and practices, as well as the four-fold categories of loving, working, knowing, and being presented by Eckhart, provided a helpful tool for the formulation of Eckhart’s practical teachings. Such formulation was made in connection with his theoretical mysticism, based on both Eckhart’s German as well as his Latin works. The second part then dealt with both tasks of systematizing Rumi’s practical teachings as well as comparing them with Eckhart’s practical thought. Again, methodological principles such as differentiating between mystical stages and practices and considering the reciprocal connection between practical mysticism and other aspects of mysticism were used together with the categorical tool of distinguishing between emotional, moral, cognitive, and ontological aspects of the mystical stages and practices derived from the above four-fold categorization offered by Eckhart. These categories assisted in paying due attention to various aspects of Rumi’s suggested stages and practices, as they established a common ground for the comparative study at hand. It is a proper occasion now, at the concluding part of this investigation, to sum up the results of earlier chapters and juxtapose the holistic structures of the practical mysticism of Rumi and Eckhart. Such comparison will be coupled with discussing the problem of concrete mystical techniques and the criterion of mystical goodness in Rumi and Eckhart as well as the influence of their different emphases on love and the intellect on the practical and experiential aspects of their mysticism.
