April 1995

Abstract
Nietzsche, Steiner, and Jung are not generally considered mystics of the first rank, as are their approximate contemporaries, Ramakrishna, Ramana Maharshi, and Krishnamurti. However the projects that the former engaged in throughout their lives have religious, spiritual, and mystical overtones, and one can ask the question: were they (in various degrees) on the mystical path, or were they engaged in some other task, perhaps even diametrically opposed to the mystic endeavour? In order to focus this debate the concept of the One in the mystical path will be explored, and the relationship of Nietzsche, Steiner, and Jung evaluated with respect to it.

Commentary (24/5/98)
This longer essay incorporates some passages from Krishna, Whitman, Neitzsche, Sartre, and was written before I had read Plotinus, so I didn't have a good Western source for description of 'the One'. The Appendix, a translation of Jung's "Seven Sermons to the Dead", is annotated with my reservations about Jung's understanding of mysticism. The essay is arbitrarly divided into Parts 1 and 2 for easier Web Page management, the Appendix being a third file.

Submitted for the Option Course: Jung and Oriental Mysticism

13,900 words plus 7,000 words for the Appendix