The Encyclopedia of World Religions

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powerful to be widely known; it would be danger ous in the wrong hands, and should be imparted only to one who has been carefully prepared through training and initiation. It may be consid ered that it could not really be understood by one who knows only the words, but has not had the experiences to go with it, just as a child cannot really understand what it is like to be adult until she or he has gone through some years of growth and change, or one cannot understand higher mathematics until one has studied the basics. Thus, it may be claimed, occult secrets just cannot be grasped without background knowledge. Books on calculus are not exactly kept hidden; they can be found in any good library or bookstore. But if one has not had the necessary preliminary training in arithmetic and algebra, they might as well be hid den. Occultists would say that some inner teachings of the spiritual life are like that. In fact, today books on many things supposedly occult, from the lore of the stars to the lore of gemstones, are widely avail able, and occult orders offering initiations advertise in popular magazines. The consumer must cau tiously decide what their teachings are worth. At the same time, deeper occult secrets about the rela tion of humanity to the universe may be hidden at the heart of all the great spiritual traditions.

occultism and esotericism Spiritual doctrines and practices that are considered secret. The word “occult” means hidden, and “esoteric” means within, in the sense of something concealed within something else. In the context of religious tradi tions, these more or less overlapping terms refer to teachings and practices that are not widely given out, but kept within a select circle. One example would be MANTRAS (sacred words) and mudras (sacred gestures) in H INDUISM and B UDDHISM , which are passed on from a guru or teacher to a disciple at the latter’s initiation. Another would be in J UDAISM , the special symbolic meaning given Hebrew words and even letters in the scriptures by students of the tradition known as KABBALAH . Ancient G NOSTICISM is sometimes considered an esoteric version of C HRIS TIANITY . There are also occult and esoteric systems of thought and practice not closely tied to any major religion; in the West, a group of ancient teachings such as ASTROLOGY , ALCHEMY , palmistry, and MAGIC are often collectively labeled occultism. What these and all so-called occult or esoteric teachings tend to have in common is a belief in subtle cause-and effect relationships or “correspondences.” These relationships are not easily understood until one is ready to understand them. In occultism, they may be between humanity and some aspect of the uni verse; for example, between a gemstone and a par ticular mood, or between the position of the plan ets and the course of one’s life. Teachings and practices can be occult or eso teric for several reasons. Sometimes, of course, a group wants to keep its secrets close for reasons of wealth and power. It may also be that it honestly believes a spiritual perception or technique is too

Oceanic religion See P ACIFIC O CEAN RELIGIONS .

om The most sacred syllable in H INDUISM . Hindus consider the syllable om a symbol of primal total ity—the whole that contains all things—and the

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