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Union

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The state of being united or joined, often referring to the soul's mystical union with the Divine.

Detailed Definition
The ultimate goal of many mystical paths, such as Sufism (fana), Christian mysticism (unitive way), and Hinduism (yoga), is union with God or the Absolute. This is often described in metaphors of marriage, dissolution, or merging. In poetry, union is the climax of the spiritual quest, the end of all separation and longing. It is expressed through intensely personal and often erotic imagery, depicting the soul's ecstatic, ineffable merging with the Beloved, where the self is lost and only the Divine remains.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Sufi poetry, Union (wisal) is love’s goal: “Drop returns to ocean—Union, where ‘I’ dissolves”; In Christian mysticism, Union is bridal: “Soul and Christ—Union beyond metaphor”; In Buddhist verse, Union is non-dual: “No seeker, no sought—Union, just this breath”; Contemporary poets describe Union as connection: “Holding newborn—Union, time folds into now.”
Additional Notes
Union with the Divine (unio mystica) is a central goal in many mystical paths: the Sufi fana (annihilation in God), Christian bridal mysticism (e.g., Teresa of Ávila), or Hindu jnana yoga; it transcends subject-object duality and is often described in erotic or nuptial imagery; poets use metaphors of fire merging with fire, rivers entering the ocean, or lovers embracing to convey this ineffable state of oneness.
Also Known As
Mystical Union Unio Mystica Yoga (in Hindu/Buddhist contexts) Yoga Jikọrọ
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