An introduction to religious and spiritual experience

Sir Francis Younghusband (1863–1942)
The founder of the World Congress of Faiths was a military figure, a 
colonel whose life was changed by an experience in Tibet. Francis Young-
husband’s biography was written by Patrick French, who vividly describes 
Younghusband’s life of adventure, how he had explored Central Asia, 
finding a new route across the Gobi desert and had led an unauthorized 
military invasion of Tibet. Younghusband’s life was changed by a vision, 
which took place after he had ridden off alone towards the mountains, 
and dismounted to sit on a rock.
Suddenly he found himself suffused with the most intense, inexplicable, 
‘untellable joy. The whole world was ablaze with the same ineffable 
bliss that was burning within me.’
The experience remained pivotal for him and years later he wrote,
There came upon me what was far more than elation or exhilaration . 
. . I was beside my self with an intensity of joy, such as even the joy of 
first love can give only a faint foreshadowing of. And with this inde-
scribable joy came a revelation of the essential goodness of the world. 
I was convinced past all refutation that men were good at heart, that 
the evil in them was superficial . . . in short, that men at heart were 
divine.
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A later experience of ‘The Power of the Spirit’ confirmed Younghusband 
in his spiritual quest.
In the middle of the night – about three – I awoke and I immediately 
knew the Power was coming. I made one desperate effort to resist and 
then it was on me. I felt it in my legs first. They were convulsed and 
shook violently.
Then it came all over me till I was filled with it. And I gave great 
puffs – as it were to blow the spirit out of me before it could over-
whelm me. But I was filled and filled with it and could no more fight 

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Spiritual and Mystical Experiences
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against it. It took absolute possession of me and I just settled down and 
lay there. And then a wonderful peace came on me – most beautiful 
and sweet.
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This left him feeling like a ‘clear sky after a storm’. He subsequently spent 
much of his time speaking and writing on spiritual matters and ultimately 
set up the World Congress of Faiths, an interfaith organization which is 
still going strong.