If Thomas Merton (1915-1968) can be legitimately viewed as the most prominent Christian mystic of the latter half of the 20th century, then Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941) can be seen as the leading Christian mystic of the first half of the 20th century. Merton and Underhill were prolific writers, both had a breadth and depth in their thinking and lives that is most attractive, both engaged the larger political issues of their time and both were grounded and rooted in the classical and mother church traditions (which, I’d suggest, offered them the means to go to greater depths and explore impressive breadth in their faith pilgrimages). Merton was Roman Catholic and Underhill Anglican, and both began their faith journeys with an interest in mysticism and the contemplative that tended to pit the mystical against the religious life (the former good, the latter problematic). Such a simplistic dualism eventually gave way to a more nuanced and refined understanding of the dynamic tension that exists between the mystic and, in the Christian sense, the Church. I will, in the next few years, be exploring, in the life and writings of Evelyn Underhill, her vision of the mystic and religion. But, let us begin at the beginning.
Evelyn Underhill emerged as the pre-eminent mystic of the first decade of the 20th century with the publication of Mysticism: A Study of the Nature and Development of Man’s Spiritual Consciousness in 1911. Underhill was front and centre of the “mystical revival” of the pre-WWI period of time. The publication of Mysticism in 1911 consolidated her role as the literary leader of such a revival contra a narrow form of rationalism and scientism that had taken hold amongst some of the intellectual elite of the late 19th century. Underhill questioned such a narrow approach to the human journey and, in Mysticism, articulated an alternate path that was not opposed to science or reason at its best (but she questioned the deformation of both that denied the multilayered nature of the mystical journey and spiritual consciousness).
If the strength and appeal of Mysticism was the way the tome argued for the importance of the spiritual in the faith journey contra secularism, scientism and rationalism, the weakness of this tour de force beauty was the way Underhill simply accepted the split between the mystical and religion. Underhill was very much on a journey of discovery and on such a journey, she would discover that the mysticism-religion dualism was quite reactionary and shallow.
If Mysticism launched Underhill as a leader in the “mystical revival” of the time, her other publications in 1911 made it abundantly clear that she knew of what she wrote: books and articles on Ruysbroeck, “Theology and the Subconscious”, “The Mirror of Simple Souls”, “The Cloud of Unknowing” and “The Path of Eternal Wisdom” poured forth from her agile pen like water cascading from early spring waterfalls.
The years of 1912-1913 witnessed Underhill, increasingly so, engaging the larger issues of the mystical way: her work of Rabindranath Tagore (probably the most important Indian mystic of the 1st of half of the 20th century and a good friend of Gandhi), the Franciscan mystic, Angela de Foligno, “the role of will, intellect and feeling in prayer”, and “the mystic as creative artist” brought her greater attention. Underhill was very much examining and exploring the relationship between mysticism and psychology, mysticism and interfaith dialogue via Tagore, mysticism and the arts----there was, in short, a growing breadth in her writings, but much of the attention was on the inner life.
The fact that WWI was looming could not be ignored by Underhill. Underhill was 39 when WWI made its tragic reality felt in 1914. Underhill was still immersed in probes into the mystical path, but the hard and demanding facts of history asked more from her. Underhill continued her work at the time on Tagore, a book on Practical Mysticism, Richard Rolle and fine articles on “Mysticism and the Doctrine of the Atonement (quite pertinent for those who question the penal theory of the atonement these days) and Kabir. I think it can legitimately argued that the Evelyn Underhill of the pre-WWI era had a depth in her writings on the mystical way but a certain lack of public responsibility---this was about to change, though.
I think it can be reasonably suggested that by 1915, Underhill was going through a serious transformation—no more could she only be focussed on the layers of the inner journey. This does not mean she abandoned the significant explorations of the inner path, though---Ruysbroek, Tagore, Kabir, Charles Peguy and “Prayer of Silence” yet further illuminated Underhill’s role as a light in the darkness. But, such a light was about to burn brighter and fuller in 1915. The fusion of the mystic and the public square could no more be ignored—the pressing reality of war will do such things to the sensitive, alert and alive.
The publications in 1915 by Underhill on the public realm should not be missed: “Mysticism and War” and “The Mystic and the Corporate Life” are but two of the challenging missives Underhill published at the time. Mysticism could no more be simply seen as the inner journey to God, a flight of the alone to the Alone---the brutal reality of war and the organic nature of the mystics journey with others was brought to the fore by Underhill. Underhill was certainly no hawk on the war issue (much more the dove and thoughtful owl) and she also came to see quite clearly there was a needful correlation between the mystic and communal and corporate life. It was this more dovish attitude towards the war and her growing sense that the mystical life was a communal one that raised this question: what form of communal faith life would best nurture the mystic way? In short, the relationship between the mystic and religion was about to shift in Underhill’s thinking.
1915-2015 signals the 100th anniversary of Underhill’s writings on her ever broadening and deepening of the mystic way. When Underhill met Baron Von Hugel (probably one of the most significant Roman Catholic mystics of the time: 1852-1925) in 1911 via a letter from Von Hugel to Underhill, much was about to change. Von Hugel had published, in 1908, his magnum opus, The Mystical Element in Religion: as Studied in Saint Catherine of Genoa and her Friends ---such a book could not be ignored by Underhill. Von Hugel had done an in depth study of Catherine of Genoa and the way this Medieval mystic and saint dwelt within the tension of mysticism and the church, contemplation and religion. The ongoing interaction between the older Baron Von Hugel and the younger Evelyn Underhill was about to alter her understanding of the relationship between the mystic and religion. The meeting of Von Hugel and Underhill in 1911, in time, would lead to Von Hugel becoming Underhill’s spiritual director from 1921-1924 (Von Hugel died in 1925).
I will, in the next article, explore how Underhill through her friendship and life as a directee with Baron Von Hugel came to see the relationship of the mystic and religion in a much more mature and in depth way and manner. The interaction between Von Hugel (the irenic Roman Catholic) and Underhill (the irenic Anglican) does, also, point the way to a yet greater unity of the mystics and the church, contemplation and religion. Such a way of being mystical can come as a challenge to the trendy dogma of mysticism contra religion or a form of postmodern emergent church spirituality that is ensnared within the same reactionary dualism and, in a sense, gnostic way.
December 2015
Ron Dart
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