“The perspective changes completely when the sense of the religiousness of the Cosmos becomes lost. This is what occurs when, in certain more highly evolved societies, the intellectual élites progressively detach themselves from the patterns of the traditional religion. Periodical sanctification of cosmic time then proves useless and without meaning. The gods are no longer accessible through the cosmic rhythms. The religious meaning of the repetition of paradigmatic gestures is forgotten. But repetition emptied of its religious content necessarily leads to a pessimistic vision of existence. When it is no longer a vehicle for reintegrating a primordial situation, and hence for recovering the mysterious presence of the gods, that is, when it is desacralized, cyclic time becomes terrifying; it is seen as a circle forever turning on itself, repeating itself to infinity.”
Quote by Mircea Eliade
Work
This work examines the fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane as a key element of religious experience. Drawing on historical and cross-cultural examples, the book analyzes how sacred space, time, and rituals shape human understanding of the divine and the world. It discusses the ways in which religious symbols and myths mediate between the transcendent and the ordinary, offering insights into the nature of belief and the structure of religious life. more
Author
Mircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion and a prominent figure in the study of comparative religion. Born on March 13, 1907, in Bucharest, Romania, he passed away on April 22, 1986. His research focused on the history of religions, with a particular interest in the role of myth and ritual in human societies. more
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