Stages of spiritual life

Most religious and philosophical traditions see spiritual progress as a number of discrete steps as the individual grows in awareness and spiritual maturity. Such stages may not be followed in sequence - there may be times when a "beginner" has insight associated with a higher stage and times when an "experienced follower" falls back - but, in general, these stages are seen as a clear progression. Sometimes the stages may be described as a series of concentric circles (different schools of Zen) or as progress along a path. Death itself may be seen as the gateway to a path; the Upanishads see four paths for the soul after death - direct transference to its new home, return to the universe, the path of the fathers (to the moon, the place of the dead), the path of the gods to the regions of light.

A path may be the process by which inner strength grows as physical strength weakens in some period of self-denial, as in a vision quest where the hero is seen on the journey back to the cosmos, to unity, away from chaos and increasing entropy. In many systems the initiate is seen as following the footsteps of a sacred hero, and the journey may actually be re-enacted physically, as in pilgrimages to Makkah. The mediaeval cathedrals are built to enact a sacred journey - passing by monsters at the entrance, the font (signifying baptism), moving through the phases of the mass (a representation of the death, descent and resurrection of Christ) ending at the altar from where the individual reenters the world as a renewed being.