The Methodology of Comparative Studies of Mysticism

Comparative studies of mysticism tries to compare mystical phenomena in different cultures in order to bring about a better understanding of these cultures and make an intercultural relation between them. This article classifies the sources of the study into the first hand, second hand and third hand sources, and differentiate the translated sources from exegeses. It reviews the difficulties of the comparative method of research on mysticism, like: unavailability of the first hand sources, misunderstanding of the original sources by the foreign researchers, and word by word translation of mystical terms. It also suggests some resolutions for dealing with such problems (e. g. functionalist approach).