Sarita Madrid, When the Sacred Manifests Itself

When reading the excerpt from “The Sacred and the Profane,” Mircea Eliade made striking points that resonated with my thoughts and my own experiences. He explains that man becomes aware of the sacred only when it manifests itself as something different from the profane. A question that I have about this is does the sacred manifest itself to everyone and if not, what determines whether it does or not? And if it does not manifest to everyone, why is that? What makes a person worthy of having the sacred manifest itself to them?

Eliade notes that oftentimes the sacred is manifested through hierophany, which occurs in ordinary objects or everyday instances. When this happens, we often experience this through mysterious acts that we may not understand. For the bystander, they also may not understand what is going on. Eliade discusses this in the excerpt when he explains that the modern person is uneasy about this before he experiences the manifestation of the sacred. He finds it hard to believe that other human beings can experience the sacred in mundane objects and instances. However for the person who experiences it, it takes on a whole new meaning and elevates their spirituality. Personally, I think it is awe-inspiring that the sacred can manifest itself in such ordinary things that no one would suspect and this just adds to the experience of hierophany. Only people who truly experience it can recognize the hierophany for what it really is. Eliade emphasizes this when he says “A sacred stone remains a stone; apparently (or, more precisely, from the profane point of view), nothing distinguishes it from all other stones. But for those to whom a stone reveals itself as sacred, its immediate reality is transmuted into a supernatural reality.” Thus, people do not understand from the profane point of view.

This reminds me of the times I have tried to explain instances where I have experienced God’s working or presence in my life to some of my friends. Many times when I try to talk about these things, my friends do not understand or see it the same way that I do. They acknowledge it as life and the way things are rather than the goodness of God. After reading this passage, I was reminded of a verse from Corinthians which says, “But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” I have encountered this numerous times when trying to explain the mysteries of religion or my spiritual experiences to those who aren’t spiritual, or those who are of the world. This can be frustrating because it prevents me from sharing meaningful experiences with some of my close friends, who are of the world, because they will not understand nor be able to see its’ great significance like I can.