Andrew Harvey
Encyclopedia
Andrew Harvey is an author, religious scholar and teacher of mystic traditions, known primarily for his popular nonfiction books on spiritual or mystical themes, beginning with his 1983 A Journey in Ladakh
. He is the author of over 30 books, including, The Hope, A Guide to Sacred Activism, The Direct Path, the critically acclaimed Way of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi, The Return of the Mother and Son of Man
. He was the subject of the 1993 BBC
documentary "The Making of a Modern Mystic
"
He is the founder of the Sacred Activism movement and serves as the director of the Institute of Sacred Activism.
He now lives in Oak Park, Illinois
, Chicago
where he continues to write when he is not lecturing. Harvey conducts workshops on Sacred Activism, the teachings of Rumi, yoga
and practices that will lead to deeper spiritual awareness. Harvey travels with students to sacred sites in India
, and offers personal spiritual direction.
, India
in 1952 where he lived until he was nine years old. He was educated at English
boarding school
s and then Oxford University, where he later taught Shakespeare and French literature until 1977. He wrote his dissertation on madness
in Shakespeare and Erasmus.
).
By 1977 Andrew Harvey had become disillusioned with life at Oxford and returned to his native India, where a series of mystical experiences initiated his spiritual journey. Over the next thirty years he plunged into different mystical traditions to learn their secrets and practices. In 1978 he met a succession of Indian saints and sages and began his study and practice of Hinduism
. In 1983, in Ladakh, he met a Tibetan
adept
, Thuksey Rinpoche, and undertook with him the Mahayana Buddhist bodhisattva
vows; later, in 1990, he would collaborate with Sogyal Rinpoche
and Patrick Gaffney in the writing of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
. In 1984, Harvey began a ten year-long exploration and explication of Rumi and Sufi mysticism in Paris
with a group of French Sufis and under the guidance of Eva De Vitray-Meyerovitch, the translator of Rumi into French. In 1992, he met Father Bede Griffiths
in his ashram
in south India near where Harvey had been born. It was this meeting that helped him synthesize the whole of his mystical explorations and reconcile Eastern with Western mysticism.
While in India, Harvey encountered Mother Meera
, who became his guru
and the subject of his book Hidden Journey. His memoir The Sun At Midnight describes their subsequent break and his disillusionment with gurus.
For the last 30 years, Andrew has travelled widely, living in India, London
, Paris, New York
and San Francisco, studying, teaching at university level, and in seminars and workshops. A prolific writer, Harvey has authored or co-authored over 30 books. His focus since 2005 has been the advocacy of what he terms "Sacred Activism."
Mr. Harvey is the founder and director of the Institute of Sacred Activism, which trains leaders and social justice
advocates.
to be the divinization
of earthly life through spiritual practice
. These practices can take many forms and can be taken from religious traditions.
Harvey sees six poets and religious figures as having universal appeal:
Harvey also emphasizes the divine feminine, as expressed for example in the Virgin Mary, Kali
, and Mother Earth
.
Since 2005, Andrew Harvey's work has focused on teaching Sacred Activism around the globe. Harvey describes sacred activism as "the product of the union of a profound spiritual and mystical knowledge, understanding, and compassion, peace and energy, with focused, wise, radical action in the world."
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
. He is the author of over 30 books, including, The Hope, A Guide to Sacred Activism, The Direct Path, the critically acclaimed Way of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi, The Return of the Mother and Son of Man
Son of man
The phrase son of man is a primarily Semitic idiom that originated in Ancient Mesopotamia, used to denote humanity or self. The phrase is also used in Judaism and Christianity. The phrase used in the Greek, translated as Son of man is ὁ υἱὸς τοὺ ἀνθρώπου...
. He was the subject of the 1993 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary "The Making of a Modern Mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
"
He is the founder of the Sacred Activism movement and serves as the director of the Institute of Sacred Activism.
He now lives in Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois is a suburb bordering the west side of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is the twenty-fifth largest municipality in Illinois. Oak Park has easy access to downtown Chicago due to public transportation such as the Chicago 'L' Blue and Green lines,...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
where he continues to write when he is not lecturing. Harvey conducts workshops on Sacred Activism, the teachings of Rumi, yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
and practices that will lead to deeper spiritual awareness. Harvey travels with students to sacred sites in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and offers personal spiritual direction.
Early life and education
Harvey was born in CoimbatoreCoimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1952 where he lived until he was nine years old. He was educated at English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
s and then Oxford University, where he later taught Shakespeare and French literature until 1977. He wrote his dissertation on madness
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
in Shakespeare and Erasmus.
Career
At 21, Harvey become a Fellow of All Souls College (University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
).
By 1977 Andrew Harvey had become disillusioned with life at Oxford and returned to his native India, where a series of mystical experiences initiated his spiritual journey. Over the next thirty years he plunged into different mystical traditions to learn their secrets and practices. In 1978 he met a succession of Indian saints and sages and began his study and practice of Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
. In 1983, in Ladakh, he met a Tibetan
Tibetan people
The Tibetan people are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet, which is mostly in the People's Republic of China. They number 5.4 million and are the 10th largest ethnic group in the country. Significant Tibetan minorities also live in India, Nepal, and Bhutan...
adept
Adept
An adept is an individual identified as having attained a specific level of knowledge, skill, or aptitude in doctrines relevant to a particular author or organization.-H. P. Blavatsky:...
, Thuksey Rinpoche, and undertook with him the Mahayana Buddhist bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
vows; later, in 1990, he would collaborate with Sogyal Rinpoche
Sogyal Rinpoche
Sogyal Rinpoche is a Tibetan Dzogchen Lama of the Nyingma tradition. He has been teaching for over 30 years and continues to travel widely in Europe, America, Australia and Asia...
and Patrick Gaffney in the writing of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, written by Sogyal Rinpoche, gives a comprehensive presentation of the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, exploring: the message of impermanence; evolution, karma and rebirth; the nature of mind and how to train the mind through meditation; how to follow a spiritual...
. In 1984, Harvey began a ten year-long exploration and explication of Rumi and Sufi mysticism in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
with a group of French Sufis and under the guidance of Eva De Vitray-Meyerovitch, the translator of Rumi into French. In 1992, he met Father Bede Griffiths
Bede Griffiths
Bede Griffiths OSB Cam , born Alan Richard Griffiths and also known, by the end of his life, as Swami Dayananda , was a British-born Indian Benedictine monk who lived in ashrams in South India and became a noted yogi...
in his ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
in south India near where Harvey had been born. It was this meeting that helped him synthesize the whole of his mystical explorations and reconcile Eastern with Western mysticism.
While in India, Harvey encountered Mother Meera
Mother Meera
Mother Meera, born Kamala Reddy is believed by her devotees to be an embodiment of the Divine Mother .-Life account:...
, who became his guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
and the subject of his book Hidden Journey. His memoir The Sun At Midnight describes their subsequent break and his disillusionment with gurus.
For the last 30 years, Andrew has travelled widely, living in India, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Paris, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and San Francisco, studying, teaching at university level, and in seminars and workshops. A prolific writer, Harvey has authored or co-authored over 30 books. His focus since 2005 has been the advocacy of what he terms "Sacred Activism."
Mr. Harvey is the founder and director of the Institute of Sacred Activism, which trains leaders and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
advocates.
Teachings
Harvey is a scholar of mystic traditions. He envisions true spiritualitySpirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
to be the divinization
Divinization
Divinization or deification is the "making divine", the "deification" of an earthly entity, individual, group, or activity.In Christian theology, divinization is the transforming effect of divine grace....
of earthly life through spiritual practice
Spiritual practice
A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of cultivating spiritual development. A common metaphor used in the spiritual traditions of the worlds great religions is that of walking a path...
. These practices can take many forms and can be taken from religious traditions.
Harvey sees six poets and religious figures as having universal appeal:
- Buddha as portrayed in the DhammapadaDhammapadaThe Dhammapada is a versified Buddhist scripture traditionally ascribed to the Buddha himself. It is one of the best-known texts from the Theravada canon....
- JesusJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
as portrayed in the Gospel of ThomasGospel of ThomasThe Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian, non-canonical sayings-gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library... - Rumi, a 13th century Sufi poet. (Controversially, Harvey sees Rumi and Shams-i-TabriziShams TabriziShams-i-Tabrīzī or Shams al-Din Mohammad was a Persian Muslim, who is credited as the spiritual instructor of Mewlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi and is referenced with great reverence in Rumi’s poetic collection, in particular Diwan-i Shams-i Tabrīzī...
as homosexual lovers.) - KabirKabirKabīr was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement...
, a 15th century Indian poet - RamakrishnaRamakrishnaRamakrishna , born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay , was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda – both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu...
, a 19th century HinduHinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
sadhuSadhuIn Hinduism, sādhu denotes an ascetic, wandering monk. Although the vast majority of sādhus are yogīs, not all yogīs are sādhus. The sādhu is solely dedicated to achieving mokṣa , the fourth and final aśrama , through meditation and contemplation of brahman... - Aurobindo, a 20th century Hindu philosopher-sageWise old manThe wise old man is an archetype as described by Carl Jung, as well as a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character...
Harvey also emphasizes the divine feminine, as expressed for example in the Virgin Mary, Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
, and Mother Earth
Mother Nature
Mother Nature is a common personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it in the form of the mother. Images of women representing mother earth, and mother nature, are timeless...
.
Since 2005, Andrew Harvey's work has focused on teaching Sacred Activism around the globe. Harvey describes sacred activism as "the product of the union of a profound spiritual and mystical knowledge, understanding, and compassion, peace and energy, with focused, wise, radical action in the world."
Further reading
- 10 Ways to Become a Sacred Activist by Andrew Harvey Beliefnet.com