Suz’s Reviews > The Ascent of Mount Carmel > Status Update

If I had not studied Advaita Vedanta beforehand, I would likely think, when John starts talking about detachment from memory, he was crazy — but he's not. He's describing what Vedantin sadhakas who followed jñana yoga have taught almost 1:1. What John called "a state of perfection" Vedantins call "jivanmukta". This type of sadhana is... really, really advanced.

I'm actually impressed that John goes into so much detail about why "visions" are not to be relied on. Now he refutes the argument of "well, if they're not reliable, then why do people get them"? There definitely was always some doubt in my mind about the level of superstition in 1500s Spain, but John is probably the most "skeptical mystic" one can imagine. He doesn't put much stock in "visions and loquations".

For someone who was so deep into non-dualist mysticism (as far as a 16th century Spanish monk could be without being labeled as a heretic), John is extremely skeptical of "visions" and "supernatural experiences". He makes the case that it is extremely hard to discern if they're legitimate or not, and even if they were, it is harder to discern their meaning. This protects against delusion/egoism. Good stuff.

Absolutely underestimated the difficulty of these teachings. To put it in terms I'm familiar with, John describes advanced dhyana at this point of the book, that is, of going from meditation (with subject/object differentiation) into contemplation (to "go beyond the senses"). Translating what he's imparting from Catholic to Vedantin equivalents helps me parse this text a lot.

This book is doing more for me than therapy. Maybe I should dump my therapist and just read JotC 🥲

Trying to get through this book again! St. John of the Cross remains my favorite Catholic writer, and interpreting his mysticism through the lens of advaita vedanta is truly fascinating. Also, despite its density, AoMC is such a beautifully written work.

Trying to get through this again! St John of the Cross remains much favorite Catholic writer; interpretating his mysticism through the lens of advaita vedanta is fascinating. AoMC is also just a beautifully written text in general.