As one example of these insights, consider the distinction Tomberg makes between three forms of mystical experience: union with Nature (pantheism), union with the transcendental human Self (Asian spirituality), and union with God. The later is the goal of Christianity, and is inevitably dualistic because it involves the uniting in love of two distinct beings. Characteristic of this third type of mysticism is the "gift of tears", whereas the "advanced pupil of yoga or Vedanta will forever have dry eyes". Another key point is that for Tomberg "the spiritual world is essentially moral".
As Balthasar writes, after sketching the history of the Kabbalah and the Tarot and the various attempts to reconcile these with Catholicism, Tomberg is interested not in the "commonplace, magical will-to-power, which seeks by way of world forces to gain dominion in the realm of knowledge and in the sphere of destiny. Rather, it is something very different. One can only call it the 'magic of grace', the magic which issues forth from the very heart of the mysteries of the Catholic faith. Since this faith neither is nor aspires to be magical, the 'magic' amounts to the content of faith: that all cosmic 'principalities and powers' are subject to the sole rulership of Christ. The New Testament depicts this subjugation of the cosmic powers to Christ as a process, which - although achieved in principle - will continue until the end of the world. Thereby a dangerous possibility emerges: the temptation - through curiosity or the desire for power - prematurely to give oneself up to the cosmic powers instead of approaching them by way of the triumphant victory of Christ. The right approach is only possible through faith and, ultimately, through truly Christian wisdom.
commentary on Tomberg, from Second Spring Forum
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