HereisasimilarrecordfromthememoirsofthatinterestingGermanidealist，MalwidavonMeysenbug：——
“Iwasaloneupontheseashoreasallthesethoughtsflowedoverme，liberatingandreconciling；andnowagain，asoncebeforeindistantdaysintheAlpsofDauphine，Iwasimpelledtokneeldown，thistimebeforetheillimitableocean，symboloftheInfinite。IfeltthatIprayedasIhadneverprayedbefore，andknewnowwhatprayerreallyis：toreturnfromthesolitudeofindividuationintotheconsciousnessofunitywithallthatis，tokneeldownasonethatpassesaway，andtoriseupasoneimperishable。Earth，heaven，andsearesoundedasinonevastworld-encirclingharmony。Itwasasifthechorusofallthegreatwhohadeverlivedwereaboutme。Ifeltmyselfonewiththem，anditappearedasifIheardtheirgreeting：’Thoutoobelongesttothecompanyofthosewhoovercome。’“
MemoireneinerIdealistin，SteAuflage，
Foryearsshehadbeenunabletopray，owingtomaterialisticbelief。
ThewellknownpassagefromWaltWhitmanisaclassicalexpressionofthissporadictypeofmysticalexperience。
“Ibelieveinyou，mySoul……
Loafwithmeonthegrass，loosethestopfromyourthroat；。
OnlythelullIlike，thehumofyourvalvedvoice。
Imindhowoncewelay，suchatransparentsummermorning。
Swiftlyaroseandspreadaroundmethepeaceandknowledgethatpassalltheargumentoftheearth，AndIknowthatthehandofGodisthepromiseofmyown，AndIknowthatthespiritofGodisthebrotherofmyown，Andthatallthemeneverbornarealsomybrothersandthewomenmysistersandlovers，Andthatakelsonofthecreationislove。”[240]
[240]Whitmaninanotherplaceexpressesinaquieterwaywhatwasprobablywithhimachronicmysticalperception：“Thereis。”
hewrites，“apartfrommereintellect，inthemake-upofeverysuperiorhumanidentity，awondroussomethingthatrealizeswithoutargument，frequentlywithoutwhatiscallededucation(thoughIthinkitthegoalandapexofalleducationdeservingthename)，anintuitionoftheabsolutebalance，intimeandspace，ofthewholeofthismultifariousnessthisreveloffools，andincrediblemake-believeandgeneralunsettiedness，wecallTHEWORLD；asoul-sightofthatdivineclueandunseenthreadwhichholdsthewholecongeriesofthings，allhistoryandtime，andallevents，howevertrivial，howevermomentous，likealeasheddoginthehandofthehunter。[Of]suchsoul-sightandroot-centreforthemindmereoptimismexplainsonlythesurface。”WhitmanchargesitagainstCarlylethathelackedthisperception。SpecimenDaysandCollect，Philadelphia，1882，p。
Icouldeasilygivemoreinstances，butonewillsuffice。ItakeitfromtheAutobiographyofJ。Trevor。
MyQuestforGod，London，1897，pp。abridged。
“OnebrilliantSundaymorning，mywifeandboyswenttotheUnitarianChapelinMacclesfield。Ifeltitimpossibletoaccompanythem——asthoughtoleavethesunshineonthehills，andgodowntheretothechapel，wouldbeforthetimeanactofspiritualsuicide。AndIfeltsuchneedfornewinspirationandexpansioninmylife。So，veryreluctantlyandsadly，Ileftmywifeandboystogodownintothetown，whileIwentfurtherupintothehillswithmystickandmydog。Inthelovelinessofthemorning，andthebeautyofthehillsandvalleys，Isoonlostmysenseofsadnessandregret。FornearlyanhourIwalkedalongtheroadtothe’CatandFiddle，’andthenreturned。Onthewayback，suddenly，withoutwarning，IfeltthatIwasinHeaven——aninwardstateofpeaceandjoyandassuranceindescribablyintense，accompaniedwithasenseofbeingbathedinawarmglowoflight，asthoughtheexternalconditionhadbroughtabouttheinternaleffect——afeelingofhavingpassedbeyondthebody，thoughthescenearoundmestoodoutmoreclearlyandasifnearertomethanbefore，byreasonoftheilluminationinthemidstofwhichIseemedtobeplaced。Thisdeepemotionlasted，thoughwithdecreasingstrength，untilI
reachedhome，andforsometimeafter，onlygraduallypassingaway。”
Thewriteraddsthathavinghadfurtherexperiencesofasimilarsort，henowknowsthemwell。
“Thespirituallife。”hewrites，“justifiesitselftothosewholiveit；butwhatcanwesaytothosewhodonotunderstand？
This，atleast，wecansay，thatitisalifewhoseexperiencesareprovedrealtotheirpossessor，becausetheyremainwithhimwhenbroughtclosestintocontactwiththeobjectiverealitiesoflife。Dreamscannotstandthistest。Wewakefromthemtofindthattheyarebutdreams。Wanderingsofanoverwroughtbraindonotstandthistest。ThesehighestexperiencesthatIhavehadofGod’spresencehavebeenrareandbrief——flashesofconsciousnesswhichhavecompelledmetoexclaimwithsurprise——GodisHERE！——orconditionsofexaltationandinsight，lessintense，andonlygraduallypassingaway。Ihaveseverelyquestionedtheworthofthesemoments。TonosoulhaveInamedthem，lestIshouldbebuildingmylifeandworkonmerephantasiesofthebrain。ButIfindthat，aftereveryquestioningandtest，theystandoutto-dayasthemostrealexperiencesofmylife，andexperienceswhichhaveexplainedandjustifiedandunifiedallpastexperiencesandallpastgrowth。
Indeed，theirrealityandtheirfar-reachingsignificanceareeverbecomingmoreclearandevident。Whentheycame，Iwaslivingthefullest，strongest，sanest，deepestlife。Iwasnotseekingthem。WhatIwasseeking，withresolutedetermination，wastolivemoreintenselymyownlife，asagainstwhatIknewwouldbetheadversejudgmentoftheworld。ItwasinthemostrealseasonsthattheRealPresencecame，andIwasawarethatI
wasimmersedintheinfiniteoceanofGod。”[242]
Op。cit。，pp。256，257，abridged。
Eventheleastmysticalofyoumustbythistimebeconvincedoftheexistenceofmysticalmomentsasstatesofconsciousnessofanentirelyspecificquality，andofthedeepimpressionwhichtheymakeonthosewhohavethem。ACanadianpsychiatrist，Dr。
R。M。Bucke，givestothemoredistinctlycharacterizedofthesephenomenathenameofcosmicconsciousness。“Cosmicconsciousnessinitsmorestrikinginstancesisnot。”Dr。Buckesays，“simplyanexpansionorextensionoftheself-consciousmindwithwhichweareallfamiliar，butthesuperadditionofafunctionasdistinctfromanypossessedbytheaveragemanasSELF-consciousnessisdistinctfromanyfunctionpossessedbyoneofthehigheranimals。”
“Theprimecharacteristicofcosmicconsciousnessisaconsciousnessofthecosmos，thatis，ofthelifeandorderoftheuniverse。Alongwiththeconsciousnessofthecosmosthereoccursanintellectualenlightenmentwhichalonewouldplacetheindividualonanewplaneofexistence——wouldmakehimalmostamemberofanewspecies。Tothisisaddedastateofmoralexaltation，anindescribablefeelingofelevation，elation，andjoyousness，andaquickeningofthemoralsense，whichisfullyasstriking，andmoreimportantthanistheenhancedintellectualpower。Withthesecomewhatmaybecalledasenseofimmortality，aconsciousnessofeternallife，notaconvictionthatheshallhavethis，buttheconsciousnessthathehasitalready。”[243]
CosmicConsciousness：astudyintheevolutionofthehumanMind，Philadelphia，1901，p。2。
ItwasDr。Bucke’sownexperienceofatypicalonsetofcosmicconsciousnessinhisownpersonwhichledhimtoinvestigateitinothers。HehasprintedhisconclusionsInahighlyinterestingvolume，fromwhichItakethefollowingaccountofwhatoccurredtohim：——
“Ihadspenttheeveninginagreatcity，withtwofriends，readinganddiscussingpoetryandphilosophy。Wepartedatmidnight。Ihadalongdriveinahansomtomylodging。Mymind，deeplyundertheinfluenceoftheideas，images，andemotionscalledupbythereadingandtalk，wascalmandpeaceful。Iwasinastateofquiet，almostpassiveenjoyment，notactuallythinking，butlettingideas，images，andemotionsflowofthemselves，asitwere，throughmymind。Allatonce，withoutwarningofanykind，Ifoundmyselfwrappedinaflame-coloredcloud。ForaninstantIthoughtoffire，animmenseconflagrationsomewhereclosebyinthatgreatcity；thenext，Iknewthatthefirewaswithinmyself。Directlyafterwardtherecameuponmeasenseofexultation，ofimmensejoyousnessaccompaniedorimmediatelyfollowedbyanintellectualilluminationimpossibletodescribe。Amongotherthings，Ididnotmerelycometobelieve，butIsawthattheuniverseisnotcomposedofdeadmatter，butis，onthecontrary，alivingPresence；Ibecameconsciousinmyselfofeternallife。ItwasnotaconvictionthatIwouldhaveeternallife，butaconsciousnessthatIpossessedeternallifethen；Isawthatallmenareimmortal；thatthecosmicorderissuchthatwithoutanyperadventureallthingsworktogetherforthegoodofeachandall；thatthefoundationprincipleoftheworld，ofalltheworlds，iswhatwecalllove，andthatthehappinessofeachandallisinthelongrun<391>absolutelycertain。Thevisionlastedafewsecondsandwasgone；butthememoryofitandthesenseoftherealityofwhatittaughthasremainedduringthequarterofacenturywhichhassinceelapsed。Iknewthatwhatthevisionshowedwastrue。IhadattainedtoapointofviewfromwhichIsawthatitmustbetrue。Thatview，thatconviction，Imaysaythatconsciousness，hasnever，evenduringperiodsofthedeepestdepression，beenlost。”[244]
Loc。cit。，pp。7，8。MyquotationfollowstheprivatelyprintedpamphletwhichprecededDr。Bucke’slargerwork，anddiffersverballyalittlefromthetextofthelatter。
Wehavenowseenenoughofthiscosmicormysticconsciousness，asitcomessporadically。Wemustnextpasstoitsmethodicalcultivationasanelementofthereligiouslife。Hindus，Buddhists，Mohammedans，andChristiansallhavecultivateditmethodically。
InIndia，traininginmysticalinsighthasbeenknownfromtimeimmemorialunderthenameofyoga。Yogameanstheexperimentalunionoftheindividualwiththedivine。Itisbasedonperseveringexercise；andthediet，posture，breathing，intellectualconcentration，andmoraldisciplinevaryslightlyinthedifferentsystemswhichteachit。Theyogi，ordisciple，whohasbythesemeansovercometheobscurationsofhislowernaturesufficiently，entersintotheconditiontermedsamadhi，“andcomesfacetofacewithfactswhichnoinstinctorreasoncaneverknow。”Helearns——
“Thattheminditselfhasahigherstateofexistence，beyondreason，asuperconsciousstate，andthatwhenthemindgetstothathigherstate，thenthisknowledgebeyondreasoningcomes……AllthedifferentstepsinyogaareintendedtobringusscientificallytothesuperconsciousstateorSamadhi……
Justasunconsciousworkisbeneathconsciousness，sothereisanotherworkwhichisaboveconsciousness，andwhich，also，isnotaccompaniedwiththefeelingofegoism……ThereisnofeelingofI，andyetthemindworks，desireless，freefromrestlessness，objectless，bodiless。ThentheTruthshinesinitsfulleffulgence，andweknowourselves——forSamadhiliespotentialinusall——forwhatwetrulyare，free，immortal，omnipotent，loosedfromthefinite，anditscontrastsofgoodandevilaltogether，andidenticalwiththeAtmanorUniversalSoul。”
MyquotationsarefromVivekananda，RajaYoga，London，1896。ThecompletestsourceofinformationonYogaistheworktranslatedbyVihariLalaMtra：YogaVasishtaMahaRamayana。4
vols。Calcutta，1891-99。
TheVedantistssaythatonemaystumbleintosuperconsciousnesssporadically，withoutthepreviousdiscipline，butitisthenimpure。Theirtestofitspurity，likeourtestofreligion’svalue，isempirical：itsfruitsmustbegoodforlife。WhenamancomesoutofSamadhi，theyassureusthatheremains“enlightened，asage，aprophet，asaint，hiswholecharacterchanged，hislifechanged，illumined。”
AEuropeanwitness，aftercarefullycomparingtheresultsofYogawiththoseofthehypnoticordreamystatesartificiallyproduciblebyus，says：“Itmakesofitstruedisciplesgood，healthy，andhappymen……Throughthemasterywhichtheyogiattainsoverhisthoughtsandhisbody，hegrowsintoa’character。’Bythesubjectionofhisimpulsesandpropensitiestohiswill，andthefixingofthelatterupontheidealofgoodness，hebecomesa’personality’hardtoinfluencebyothers，andthusalmosttheoppositeofwhatweusuallyimagineamediumso-called，orpsychicsubjecttobe。KarlKellner：Yoga：EineSkizze，Munchen，1896，p。
