Joshua's Mystics Culture/Context

 

St. John of the Cross

 

            The culture of Spain at the time St. John of the Cross was alive is integral in understanding how he contributed to mysticism as spiritual researchers know it today. It is essential to know about common customs in the country of Spain at the time of his life and how they impacted his beliefs. Another aspect of the saint's culture at the time of his life that is vital in understanding his beliefs is the country's social climate. 

           St. John of the Cross was born in 1542 in Spain, and the customs of the Spanish people during this time influenced the beliefs that he would later share with the world. In the sixteenth century, it was widespread for the predominate Christians or Catholics to oppose Jewish people or Muslim people. In the book Inquisition by Toby Green, in 1497, many Jewish people were forced to convert to Christianity in Portugal (2009). In 1502, people following Islam were expelled from Granada in Spain (p. xvi). This expulsion, among other actions made to those with different faiths, would have directly impacted how he thought of people not practicing the Catholic faith as he was. It is fascinating how Spain developed their relationship with people of multiple faiths. 

    During his youth, St. John lived in Spain under the rule of Charles 1 or Charles V, depending on the context in which one looks at the monarch. King Charles ruled Spain from 1516-1556. Spain was at a point in its history when it expanded beyond Europe, known as the Spanish Inquisition. The monarchy managed to push into North Africa. The push led to a mixture of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish people converging under Spanish influence. The culture of the area was different than before since Spain was pushing against Muslim and Jewish people closer to the actual country in Europe. Eventually, the city they inhabited fostered territorial disputes and conflicts between the religious groups (Liang,2011, pp. 139-170). Spain's expansion of territory and religious friction could have transformed St. John's understanding of place and God into what we know today. 

Shaykh Aḥmad Sirhindī

 

Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi was born during the time of the Mughal Empire, like St. John, during the Spanish monarchy. Both lived in times of empirical control. This commonality of cultures influenced their outlooks on the divine as they both were connected to wealth in some way, allowing them to be a part of the religious majority in their respective countries. For the Mughal Empire, many people outside of the royal court were Muslim, but most of the people were Hindu. Understanding the Mughal Empire further is vital to understanding Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi better.

       The Mughal Empire took up most of what we know as India in Central Asia and lasted for around 200 years, 1526-1707 (Schimmel, 2004, p.7). The term Mughal was developed by Arab-speaking people from the word Mongol, which was used to describe those who acted barbaric (Schimmel, 2004, p.15). Understanding how the language is used to indicate these people can better reflect what is expected in their culture from outside and internal perspectives.

           Language was critical to the Mughal Empire's culture, which impacted Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi. Historical accounts of the dynasty and regal life have been recorded by the Mughals (Schimmel, 2004, p.15). Even though extensive amounts of daily life were recorded about the courts, there were few accounts of everyday people in the Mughal Empire. However, they were recorded by foreigners traveling to the area (Schimmel, 2004, p.17). This value placed on language is reflected in the work of this mystic as he wrote poetry about the divine.

                                                                    Sources:

Green, T. (2009). Inquisition : the reign of fear (1st U.S. ed). Thomas Books.

Liang, Y.-G. (2011). The Fernández de Córdoba Lineage and the Transfer of Frontier Expertise to Algeria, 1512–1558. In Family and Empire: The Fernandez de Cordoba and the Spanish Realm (pp. 139–170). University of Pennsylvania Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fj69j.10

Schimmel, A., & Robinson, F. (2004). The empire of the great Mughals : history, art and culture (B. K. Waghmar, Ed.; C. Attwood, Trans.). Reaktion Books.

(If any information seems off or if there are any other points to add feel free to let me know! I am always looking for more sources.)