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Journal of the American Academy of Religion Advance Access originally published online on July 14, 2008
Journal of the American Academy of Religion 2008 76(3):638-663; doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfn045
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the American Academy of Religion. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Flowing and Crossing: The Somatic Theologies of Mechthild and Lalleswari

Michelle Voss Roberts

Michelle Voss Roberts, Rhodes College, Department of Religious Studies, 2000 North Parkway, Memphis, TN 38112, USA

E-mail: robertsm{at}rhodes.edu


  Abstract

Metaphors of fluidity are pervasive in the theologies of Mechthild of Magdeburg and Lalleswari of Kashmir. This article highlights the various ways in which the body flows with and into divinity. For both thinkers, the universe and individuals proceed from a cosmic or divine flow and return by means of practices that participate in that flow. Their water metaphors diverge when the individual self returns to the divine: Mechthild retains images of water, whereas Lalleswari converts to those of breath. This shift of imagery marks a gift of each thinker for a theology of embodiment: Lalleswari more fully explores the body's capacity for divinity, and Mechthild attends more closely to the suffering body. This comparative conversation opens new avenues in the contemporary debate in which disabilities scholars take issue with feminist enthusiasm regarding embodiment.


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