Wherever man exists, so does mysticism. Man is a conscious being, and the essence of mysticism is a transcendental experience in the sphere of consciousness. It is something that a person lives, not a philosophy or doctrine which is read or studied. In its broadest sense, it is an expansion of normal consciousness, an awakening of hidden potential such that understanding beyond that of normal human reasoning and mental activity becomes inwardly manifest. Those who are fortunate enough to have such experiences also feel an interior joy and ecstasy, a bliss that brings them closer to God within themselves. The culmination of such ecstasy is union with God, within. Mystical and religious writings contain many descriptions of such experiences, and the mystics themselves sometimes persecuted during their own lifetimes are often heralded later as the foremost of their faith.
It is significant that no one who has experienced anything remotely mystical has ever regarded it as something other than a glimpse of a higher reality. Like awakening from sleep, the experience carries with it its own innate touchstone of validity. Those who discount mystic experience as simply the product of religious hysteria or an overheated brain have rarely studied the matter at first hand. If they had ever met and conversed with those who have been the frequent recipients of genuine mystic experience, they would have realized that this had only been accomplished by a balanced self-discipline and a control of the mind and emotions that is quite inconceivable to most people. True mystics are wise, understanding and balanced human beings, not fanatical, self-seeking or emotionally overwrought. In fact, uncontrolled emotion and imagination will actually prevent a person from concentrating their consciousness within, and make true mystic experience impossible.
No amount of theology or reasoning can replace mystic experience. True mystics do not use reason or philosophy as their primary means of understanding the nature of Reality, for they have realized that there can be no real understanding without direct experience. Even so, while reason cannot lead to or enhance mystic experience, mystic experience or simply a strong feeling for the mystical have illumined the minds of many of the worlds greatest men and women:
Two facts in connection with mysticism are undeniable, whatever it may be, and whatever part it is destined to play in the development of thought and of knowledge. In the first place, it is the leading characteristic of some of the greatest thinkers of the world of the founders of religions, of Plato and Plotinus, of Eckhart and Bruno, of Spinoza, Goethe and Hegel.
Secondly, no one has ever been a lukewarm, an indifferent, or an unhappy mystic. If a man has this particular temperament, his mysticism is the very centre of his being: it is the flame which feeds his whole life; and he is intensely and supremely happy just so far as he is steeped in it.
C.F.E. Spurgeon, Mysticism in English Literature, MEL p.2
The same author also comments on the certainty of the mystic concerning his experience:
The mystic is somewhat in the position of a man who, in a world of blind men, has suddenly been granted sight, and who, gazing at the sunrise, and overwhelmed by the glory of it, tries, however falteringly, to convey to his fellows what he sees. They, naturally, would be sceptical about it, and would be inclined to say that he is talking foolishly and incoherently.
But the simile is not altogether parallel. There is this difference. The mystic is not alone; all through the ages we have the testimony of men and women to whom this vision has been granted, and the record of what they have seen is amazingly similar, considering the disparity of personality and circumstances. And further, the world is not peopled with totally blind men. The mystics would never hold the audience they do hold, were it not that the vast majority of people have in themselves what William James has called a mystical germ which makes response to their message.
C.F.E. Spurgeon, Mysticism in English Literature, MEL pp.56
This is the point the mystic faculty is the heritage of everyone, whoever they are. Undeveloped as it may be in the majority, or present only in its most elementary form, everyone has the capacity to develop experience of the divine. As a result, mystic teachings strike a chord deep in the hearts of many. Mystical experience, then, is universal. Yet, when expressed or described, it takes on the colour of the culture, traditions and language of the individual.
As the renowned Arabic and Persian scholar, R.A. Nicholson, observed:
It may be said, truly enough, that all mystical experiences ultimately meet in a single point; but that point assumes widely different aspects according to the mystics religion, race and temperament, while the converging lines of approach admit of almost infinite variety.
R.A. Nicholson, Mystics of Islam, MOI p.2
To seek out and present indications of this mysticism in the religious and cultural traditions of the world, past and present, is the intention of this Treasury. To set the scene for this exploration, it will be useful to review the religions and traditions which have formed the basis of this work.
PDF - The Meaning of Mystical Art
- Practical Mysticism
- Audio Lectures: Irina Tweedie
- Seeking the Real in Mysticism
- Audio Lectures: Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
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