The Esoteric in Religious and Spiritual Traditions: A Comparative Study

This book offers a comparative examination of the esoteric dimensionacross diverse religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. It seeks to answer thequestion ofwhether the concept of theesoteric can be applied across traditions and explores intersections, convergences, and differences in its use and presence therein. The book provides new avenues for research by moving beyond the study of Western esotericism and examining how the category of theesoteric can be applied in the contexts of Abrahamic faiths and Asian traditions. The book is organized into six centers of reflection, including the esoteric dialectics of hiding and revealing, the claim of esoteric traditions to restore wholeness and provide a comprehensive understanding of reality, the character of immediacy and directness, the intrinsic esoteric distinction between two truths, and the non-dualistic leanings of esoteric schools in terms of the unity of reality and the subjective immanence of an all-embracing Divine Selfhood. Overall, the book provides a comprehensive phenomenology of the esoteric in religions. It will be of interest to researchers and students of theology and religious studies.

Patrick Laude is Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at GeorgetownUniversityin Qatar, where he has been teaching since 2006. He was Fellow in Philosophy at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris from 1979 to 1982. Laude's scholarly interests and output lie in comparative mysticism, poetry and mysticism, and Western representations and interpretations of Asian spiritual and wisdom traditions. He has authored twelve books and many articles in academic journals, the most recent being Surrendering to the Self-Ramana Maharshi's Message for the Present (London: Hurst, 2022 and New Delhi: Fingerprint Publishing, 2024).