Understanding Mystical Experiences
Mystical experiences can be described as direct encounters with transcendent or divine realities that surpass the limitations of ordinary consciousness. These encounters often involve a deep sense of interconnectedness, unity, and transcendence of the self. Bucke, in “Cosmic Consciousness,” introduces the term “cosmic consciousness” to describe a higher state of awareness and perception beyond individual egoic boundaries.
Bucke asserts that cosmic consciousness is a natural and evolutionary phenomenon, accessible to all individuals. He suggests that throughout history, certain individuals, such as saints, prophets, and geniuses, have achieved cosmic consciousness and have left a lasting impact on society. Bucke’s work emphasizes the potential for mystical experiences to transform human consciousness and bring about a deeper understanding of reality.
Characteristics of Mystical Experiences
Mystical experiences are characterized by several common features, as discussed by Bucke. First and foremost is a sense of unity and interconnectedness. In this state, individuals often perceive themselves as an integral part of the larger cosmic order, feeling deeply connected to other beings, nature, and the universe as a whole.
Another key characteristic is a heightened sense of timelessness and eternity. Individuals in mystical states often report a profound awareness of the present moment and a dissolution of the boundaries of time, perceiving past, present, and future as interconnected and simultaneous.
Furthermore, mystical experiences often involve a profound sense of joy, bliss, and love. Bucke describes this aspect as an overwhelming feeling of cosmic love, where individuals perceive the underlying unity and interconnectedness of all existence.
The Significance of Mystical Experiences
Mystical experiences hold significant implications for individuals and society as a whole. At the individual level, these encounters can bring about profound personal transformation. Mystics throughout history have reported a deepening of their understanding, heightened creativity, increased empathy, and a sense of purpose and meaning in life. Cosmic consciousness has the potential to liberate individuals from the limitations of ego-centered existence, leading to a more harmonious and fulfilling life.
On a societal level, mystical experiences have influenced culture, art, philosophy, and religion. Mystics and visionaries have introduced new ideas, ethical frameworks, and spiritual practices that have shaped the course of civilization. The enduring impact of mystics like Buddha, Jesus, and Rumi attests to the transformative power of mystical experiences in shaping human history.
Challenges and Criticisms
While mystical experiences offer profound insights and transformational potential, they are not without challenges and criticisms. Skeptics argue that mystical experiences are merely products of the brain, attributed to altered states of consciousness, psychological factors, or hallucinogenic substances. They contend that these experiences lack objective validity and can be explained within the confines of naturalistic frameworks.
Moreover, the subjective nature of mystical experiences poses challenges in their study and interpretation. These encounters are deeply personal and resistant to empirical measurement, making it difficult to establish universal criteria or verify their authenticity.
Contemporary Perspectives and Research
Contemporary research in fields such as psychology, neuroscience, and consciousness studies has shed light on the phenomenon of mystical experiences. Studies employing neuroimaging techniques have identified changes in brain activity associated with altered states of consciousness, including mystical experiences. These studies suggest that certain brain regions and neural networks involved in self-referential processing and the perception of time may be implicated in the subjective experience of unity and transcendence.
Furthermore, advancements in the field of transpersonal psychology have provided a framework for understanding and integrating mystical experiences into psychological theory. Transpersonal psychologists recognize the importance of spirituality and transcendent experiences in human development and well-being, emphasizing the transformative potential of these encounters.
In addition to scientific research, the exploration of mystical experiences continues to thrive within various spiritual and contemplative traditions. Practices such as meditation, prayer, and ritual have been employed by individuals seeking to cultivate states of higher consciousness and connect with the divine. These practices often serve as gateways to mystical experiences and are considered integral to spiritual growth and enlightenment.
An Experience in Cosmic Consciousness
Excerpt from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda (Chapter 12)
My body became immovably rooted; breath was drawn out of my lungs as if by some huge magnet. Soul and mind instantly lost their physical bondage and streamed out like a fluid piercing light from my every pore. The flesh was as though dead; yet in my intense awareness I knew that never before had I been fully alive. My sense of identity was no longer narrowly confined to a body but embraced the circumambient atoms. People on distant streets seemed to be moving gently over my own remote periphery. The roots of plants and trees appeared through a dim transparency of the soil; I discerned the inward flow of their sap.
The whole vicinity lay bare before me. My ordinary frontal vision was now changed to a vast spherical sight, simultaneously all-perceptive. Through the back of my head I saw men strolling far down Rai Ghat Lane, and noticed also a white cow that was leisurely approaching. When she reached the open ashram gate, I observed her as though with my two physical eyes. After she had passed behind the brick wall of the courtyard, I saw her clearly still.
All objects within my panoramic gaze trembled and vibrated like quick motion pictures. My body, Master’s, the pillared courtyard, the furniture and floor, the trees and sunshine, occasionally became violently agitated, until all melted into a luminescent sea; even as sugar crystals, thrown into a glass of water, dissolve after being shaken. The unifying light alternated with materializations of form, the metamorphoses revealing the law of cause and effect in creation.
An oceanic joy broke upon calm endless shores of my soul. The Spirit of God, I realized, is exhaustless Bliss; His body is countless tissues of light. A swelling glory within me began to envelop towns, continents, the earth, solar and stellar systems, tenuous nebulae, and floating universes. The entire cosmos, gently luminous, like a city seen afar at night, glimmered within the infinitude of my being. The dazzling light beyond the sharply etched global outlines faded slightly at the farthest edges; there I saw a mellow radiance, ever undiminished. It was indescribably subtle; the planetary pictures were formed of a grosser light.* [* Light as the essence of creation.]
The divine dispersion of rays poured from an Eternal Source, blazing into galaxies, transfigured with ineffable auras. Again and again I saw the creative beams condense into constellations, then resolve into sheets of transparent flame. By rhythmic reversion, sextillion worlds passed into diaphanous luster, then fire became firmament.
I cognized the center of the empyrean as a point of intuitive perception in my heart. Irradiating splendor issued from my nucleus to every part of the universal structure. Blissful amrita, nectar of immortality, pulsated through me with a quicksilver like fluidity. The creative voice of God I heard resounding as Aum,* the vibration of the Cosmic Motor. [* “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”—John 1:1.]
Suddenly the breath returned to my lungs. With a disappointment almost unbearable, I realized that my infinite immensity was lost. Once more I was limited to the humiliating cage of a body, not easily accommodative to the Spirit. Like a prodigal child, I had run away from my macrocosmic home and had imprisoned myself in a narrow microcosm.
My guru [Sri Yukteswar] was standing motionless before me; I started to prostrate myself at his holy feet in gratitude for his having bestowed on me the experience in cosmic consciousness that I had long passionately sought. He held me upright and said quietly: “You must not get overdrunk with ecstasy. Much work yet remains for you in the world. Come, let us sweep the balcony floor; then we shall walk by the Ganges.”
I fetched a broom; Master, I knew, was teaching me the secret of balanced living. The soul must stretch over the cosmogonic abysses, while the body performs its daily duties. When Sri Yukteswar and I set out later for a stroll, I was still entranced in unspeakable rapture. I saw our bodies as two astral pictures, moving over a road by the river whose essence was sheer light.
“It is the Spirit of God that actively sustains every form and force in the universe; yet He is transcendental and aloof in the blissful uncreated void beyond the worlds of vibratory phenomena,” Master explained. “Those who attain Self-realization on earth live a similar twofold existence. Conscientiously performing their work in the world, they are yet immersed in an inward beatitude.
“The Lord has created all men from the illimitable joy of His being. Though they are painfully cramped by the body, God nevertheless expects that men made in His image shall ultimately rise above all sense identifications and reunite with Him.”
The cosmic vision left many permanent lessons. By daily stilling my thoughts, I could win release from the delusive conviction that my body was a mass of flesh and bones, traversing the hard soil of matter. The breath and the restless mind, I saw, are like storms that lash the ocean of light into waves of material forms—earth, sky, human beings, animals, birds, trees. No perception of the Infinite as One Light can be had except by calming those storms.
As often as I quieted the two natural tumults, I beheld the multitudinous waves of creation melt into one lucent sea; even as the waves of the ocean, when a tempest subsides, serenely dissolve into unity.
A master bestows the divine experience of cosmic consciousness when his disciple, by meditation, has strengthened his mind to a degree where the vast vistas would not overwhelm him. Mere intellectual willingness or openmindedness is not enough. Only adequate enlargement of consciousness by yoga practice and devotional bhakti can prepare one to absorb the liberating shock of omnipresence.
The divine experience comes with a natural inevitability to the sincere devotee. His intense craving begins to pull at God with an irresistible force. The Lord as the Cosmic Vision is drawn by that magnetic ardor into the seeker’s range of consciousness.
The exploration of mystical experiences invites us to transcend the limitations of ordinary perception and connect with the profound mysteries of existence. Whether through scientific inquiry, personal introspection, or spiritual practices, the journey toward cosmic consciousness offers a path of self-discovery, interconnectedness, and expanded awareness. As we continue to delve into the realm of mystical experiences, we may unlock the keys to our own transformation and uncover the profound interconnectedness of all life in the cosmic tapestry of consciousness.
