Concept in Definition ABC

The adjective mundane is used in reference to everyday and ordinary things, that is, typical of daily life. In this sense, the word mundane comes from the world.

Worldly pleasures

The concept of the mundane must be understood in opposition to a higher plane, the spiritual plane. The mundane and the spiritual are antagonistic realities. Thus, if we refer to worldly pleasures, we are alluding to the enjoyment of a good meal, a pleasant walk, a friendly conversation, reading of a novel interesting and, ultimately, to the simple things in life that provide us with a satisfaction. On the other side are the pleasures that go beyond and that have a spiritual component. In this way, nirvana as a consequence of Zen meditation is a form of pleasure that is not worldly.

Another meaning of the word

The term worldly also has another meaning. In this way, when someone is fond of luxury and frequents select environments, it is said that they live a mundane life. In this sense, the so-called high society is the

social class who enjoys worldly things. In these cases, the adjective mundane has a clear connotation pejorative, as it is associated with the superficiality and vanity of the refined environments of high society.

The idea of ​​the world and the mundane

The word world is equivalent to cosmos in Greek. For the ancient Greeks the world is a place ordered by forces of nature and in another dimension there is a sinister place, the underworld. With the arrival of Christianity the idea of ​​the world acquired a new dimension and the earthly world is understood in opposition to the heavenly world.

From the Christian perspective, the things of the world (the worldly) have a lower value than the things of the heavenly world

In the earthly world there are human imperfections and especially sin, while in the heavenly world there is perfection and absolute truth. Is assessment Christianity about the world caused everything worldly (for example, pleasures) to be valued negatively, as a dangerous or sinful deviation or as a temptation of the human spirit.

In Christian doctrine, earthly or worldly things (sometimes known by the expression "the worldly noise") represent a path and a vital proposal, but the true path is found in the celestial world.

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