Encountering The Holy By Alice McDowell

What is your idea of holy? Does it mean purity, saintly, angelic and virtuous? These words convey only one dimension of the holy. In truth, it is also dynamic, exciting and somewhat scary. In his book, The Idea of the Holy, first written in 1923, Rudolf Otto presents a broader and truer definition of this term. Acknowledging the meaning of holy lies beyond concepts and forms the core of all religions, he describes it as a living force having three components.

The first is a creature-feeling. When encountering the holy, you feel small in comparison to its grandeur, power and vastness. Perhaps you’ve felt this when looking at the stars in the night sky, witnessing a vista like the Grand Canyon, or standing in a Gothic Cathedral.

Otto calls the second quality the mysterium tremendum. I love this term. Words such as extraordinary, uncanny, eerie, scary, amazing, thrilling, annihilating, overpowering, and what he terms “wholly-other” only approximate its meaning. Examples are earthquakes, tornadoes, thunder storms and volcanic eruptions. 

When observing the atomic bomb explosion during its test in New Mexico, J. Robert Oppenheimer quoted Chapter 11 of the Hindu Bhagavad Gita during which the warrior Arjuna, trembles in awe and wonder when witnessing the god Vishnu’s astounding essence.

                   ‘Like the fire at the end of Time which burns all on the last day, I see thy 

                    vast mouths  and thy terrible teeth. Where am I? Where is my shelter? 

                    Have mercy on me. . .”

                    (11:25, Juan Mascaro translation, Penguin, 1962.)

Yes, the holy is that powerful. Not only does it make you feel small, it’s so overpowering that it elicits fear you will be crushed.

Despite feeling overwhelmed and close to annihilation, Arjuna exclaims, “I yearn to see thee again . . .. Show thyself to me again” (11:46). Here he articulates the third component of the holy: fascination. Encountering the holy is overpowering, scary and shattering, but also alluring and can lead to bliss, exaltation, and awakening. 

All three qualities are needed to fully grasp the meaning of holy. You might run away from earthquakes, hide from tornadoes or seek shelter from thunderstorms but not so when encountering the holy. Ironically, you feel inextricably attracted to it despite its alarming and overwhelming qualities. 

What are the advantages to knowing about this richer idea of the holy? It sheds new light on scriptural writings. Encounters with angels or messengers in the Bible are often followed with the phrase, “And they were afraid.” It brings deeper meaning to the prayer, “Hallowed be thy name.” Its chilling element is present—although diluted--in celebrating Halloween, telling ghost stories and watching horror movies. Its thrilling and fearful elements appear when engaging in dare-devil feats such as firewalking.

Many of the saints represent the calm, loving side of the holy, but other spiritually advanced beings reflect its powerful and scary qualities. In encountering a “far-out dervish with eyes of fire,” Pir Vilayat Khan in The Way of the Dervish exclaims, 

                        It’s all part of the encounter with something that is so strong that 

                         it transforms you,  shatters your sense of yourself and perplexes 

                        you. . .It’s so challenging to your way of  thinking that it leaves a 

                       mark on you and you can never be the same.” 

After experiencing the dark night of the soul, Hazrat Inayat Khan radiates a less scary but still powerful expression of the holy. 

                     There was something superhuman now in his majesty and grandeur. 

                     Although his feet  trod the same earth, there was a quality about him

                     which I can only describe as cosmic. 

                    Van Stolk and Dunlop, Memories of a Sufi Sage

Both these examples demonstrate a very different embodiment of the holy than those exhibiting saintly and virtuous characteristics.

Previously you may have felt that to be holy you needed to be calm, completely good, and totally sweet but now you might want to expand this view to include your fire and inner power. You might want to become a magnetic, majestic and cosmic holy one.

About Alice McDowell:   Alice McDowell, Ph.D., is an author, spiritual director, workshop leader, retreat guide, and founder of the Hidden Treasure Program—a three-year training in personal growth. She co-founded Light on the Hill Retreat Center in 1991 where she continues to guide people on their spiritual journeys. She is author of Hidden Treasure: How to Break Free of Five Patterns that Hide Your True Self (She Writes Press, 2017) and Dance of Light: Christian, Sufi and Zen Wisdom for Today’s Spiritual Seeker (Wisdom Editions, 2022). As a professor of religious studies at Ithaca College for eighteen years, she taught courses in mysticism, world religions, depths psychology, and women’s studies. She received the Dana Fellow for Excellence in College Teaching. McDowell has a doctorate in theology from Fordham University and has trained with Christian contemplatives, Sufi and Buddhist teachers, and transpersonal psychologists. 

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