Advaita and Theosis: The Spiritual Encounter between the Spirituality of the Upanishads and the Experience of Being in Christ

This article explores the mystical convergence between advaita and theosis. Five elements of the Upanishadic advaitic tradition are located fi rst: the Divine as mystery, and as the ultimate subject, the divinisation of the human, the immanence of the Divine in cosmos, and the resultant freedom. Then the three-fold dimension of the divine consciousness of Jesus is articulated: being sent by the Father, being in the Father and being one with the Father. John´s Gospel shows that Jesus wanted to communicate this threefold experience to us. This is what Church Fathers called theosis, the divinisation of the human; this is a birthing process. Having explained the terms advaita and theosis, the convergence and divergence between the two are explored. The article concludes with the proposal that Hindus and Christians could move on as spiritual co-pilgrims, who share their deep mystical experiences with one another and get enlightened and enriched by each other