A comparative study of the writings of St Teresa of Avila and Mirabai on their understanding and experience of the path to union with God.

Abstract

This study is a comparative exploration of the mystical spirituality of two 16th century women, Mirabai of Rajasthan and Teresa of Avila. However different their contexts, these two women shared many commonalities. They were born into well-educated families, and very early felt a calling to God and a religious life. Perhaps most profoundly, their journeys toward union with God was spirituality enacted as subversion of traditional societal roles ascribed for women of their generation and their places. To explore the mystical spirituality of these two women is to offer a lens through which to view the distinctive ways in which each and every religion has developed, precisely in a period when globalization threatens to homogenize all traditions. Moreover, to explore the spirituality of Mira and Teresa is to illumine ways in which diverse traditions may be in mutually enriching dialogue. It is also to affirm that the transformative possibilities embodied by these women in their own traditions can catalyze transformations in many generations and places.