Mysticism: wittgenstein and advaita vedanta

Abstract

The main contention of this paper is to explain the concept of mysticism with special reference to Wittgenstein and Advaita Vedanta. Thus in a sense, it is a comparātive study in nature between Wittgenstein and Advaita Vedanta. The concept of mysticism is a tricky philosophical concept of which there we find different philosophical interpretations. Many would say that mysticism is a bogus philosophical issue and it has no point of justification in the realm of philosophy. Some others would say that mysticism is philosophically worthy and the meaning of life as well as the value of the world is actually associated with the mystical nature of thinking. Mysticism occupies significant philosophical areas both in Wittgenstein as well as in Advaita Vedanta. Therefore, a contrast and comparison between Wittgenstein and Advaita Vedanta is worthy in philosophy. Simultaneously, it would be a stupendous task to find the meeting point between Wittgenstein and Advaita Vedanta. Therefore, the task at hand is very challenging. In the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Wittgenstein clearly asserts that what is mystical is inexpressible because it cannot be put into language. Accordingly, it can be said after Wittgenstein that what cannot be put into language would be treated as mystical. This does not make sense to say that p implies q entails q implies p. To make this point clear one has to know what does Wittgenstein actually mean. The term ‘language’ plays a vital role here. Wittgenstein had a different nature of language altogether. Here one has to understand language as ‘my language’. Having said if we go beyond ‘my language’, then, of course, p implies q may not entail q implies p. So there is no point of saying that the logical principle of Transposition is vitiated here. Accordingly, ethics, religion, aesthetics, and in short what lies outside ‘my language’ is mystical for Wittgenstein. In Advaita Vedanta, what is mystical is Brahman. Brahman is unqualified. The very nature of Brahman is sat-cit-ananda svarupa. It is not the quality of Brahman; rather it is the very nature of Brahman. The paper makes a conscious effort to find the meeting point based on mystical aspects of Wittgenstein and Advaita Vedanta.