On the Tao Of Physics#3

Hi
This is my reply to Q2.

Mysticism (from the Greek ??st???? (mystikos) "an initiate" (of the
Eleusinian Mysteries, ??st???a (mysteria) meaning "initiation"[1])) is the
pursuit of achieving communion or identity with, or conscious awareness of,
ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual truth, or God through direct
experience, intuition, or insight; and the belief that such experience is
one's destiny, purpose, or an important source of knowledge, understanding,
and wisdom. Traditions may include a belief in the literal existence of
dimensional realities beyond empirical perception, or a belief that a true
human perception of the world transcends logical reasoning or intellectual
comprehension. A person delving in these areas may be called a Mystic.

This is from wikipedia.
But what I believe is as follows.

Western philosophies do not have a very close relationship btween religion
and philosophy. They are quite distinct identities. While one encourages
reason and logic while the considers them as satanic. However eastern
philosphies, in particular hindu philosophy( the philosophy propounded by
Adi Shankara, for there are many differences btween the philosophies)
considers philosophy and religion as two sides of the same coin.
We make extensive use of religion to convey the philosophical thoughts.

So mysticism, I feel is a term coined by westerners so as to handle this
unique amalgamation of religion and philosophy.