Serving the divine is the main concern, in thought and occupation, of clergy, monks, nuns, and spiritual teachers. Many mystics live as laity in secular society. They are in this world, but not of this world.
In Buddhism, especially within the Theravada tradition, some lay people don a monk’s or nun’s robe and lifestyle for a few weeks or months, usually in their early twenties. It is regarded as preparation for adulthood and to confer merit on their families. Many Buddhist, Christian and Hindu monks and nuns did return to a secular life, while some laity first entered monasteries later in their lives. Most mystics, however, were never monastics nor withdrew from society.
In both the Kabbalah of Judaism and Sufism of Islam, many mystics are married, have children and adopted secular careers. Asceticism* or a monastic life are alien to them. They might meet frequently with others who follow the mystical path, still their daily life could appear to be similar to laity in any religion. In Hinduism, the personal search for divine union often comes in the third stage of life, after their student days and lives as a householder.
There are, of course, converts from all religions who had found their faith lacking in true spirituality and began the mystical quest in another context. Many had become quite satisfied with their new spiritual “home”; others became disillusioned and returned to the faith of their families. You cannot generalize about lives or paths of mystics. People who give up ego and individuality are quite unique.
There are mystics who have no committed religious affiliation, seldom attend a house of worship and rarely read scriptural texts. Their dedication and devotion to an absolute unity of being, even if it is not defined, is no less - and perhaps more - than many of those people who wave the flag of their orthodox faith. They actually live a spiritual life, rather than merely professing one. There are also a few mystics among confirmed atheists; “not God, but One.”
Some people of other faiths may be more spiritual than many followers of the major religions. Japan has 80 million adherents of ancient Shinto (2.8 million for “folk Shinto”). Tenrikyo, founded in the 19th-century, has two million members. Also, there are active traditions among Native Americans, on both continents, dedicated believers in tribal faiths of Africa (Yoruba has more than 10 million practitioners), and among indigenous peoples of the North and South Pacific. There are distinct movements in the Caribbean and across the world. Most nations do have a variety of religious belief.
Those other faiths do not speak of “mystics” as is defined in these essays; some of them claim to have shamans, who are said to be mediums for heavenly and earthly spirits, e.g. Shinto kami. Many of their founders and leaders were “possessed of the spirit,” but not in the negative sense often persecuted during the history of some major religions. Their unitary sense was as great as most mystics described here; the devotion of their followers is just as intense.
Traditionalists say that there can be no mystics in modern times. Our lives are too complex for anyone to seek mystical awareness, let alone to realize divine union. In fact, there are probably more mystics today than at any time in history. The percentages may be less, but world population is considerably greater. Some of them have not been acknowledged yet. There is no census on mystics.
Just look at the past. Meister