What then is mysticism?
Returning to the terminology established in the preceding chapters, we
may say that mystical states of consciousness are connected with
cognition
under conditions of expanded consciousness.
Until quite recent times scientific psychology refused to recognize the
reality of mystical experience and considered all mystical states to be
pathological,
unhealthy conditions of ordinary consciousness. A great many
positivist psychologists
still hold to this opinion, mixing together in one lump
real mystical states, pseudo-mystical perversions of the ordinary state,
purely
psychopathic states and more or less conscious deceit.
Naturally, this does not assist a right understanding of the question.
Therefore, before proceeding further, we must establish the means by which
we can single out real mystical states.
Professor James gives certain criteria for distinguishing mystical states:
inexpressibility in words, intuitiveness, involuntary quality and so on. But he
points out himself that all these characteristics
belong also to
ordinary
emotional states.
And he does not define exactly what constitutes the
difference between mystical states and emotional states which are actually
very close to them in their character.
If we regard mystical states as cognition by expanded consciousness, we
can advance quite definite criteria for discerning them and picking them out
of the general mass of psychological experience.
1
Mystical states give
knowledge
WHICH NOTHING ELSE CAN GIVE
.
2 Mystical states give knowledge of the
real world
with all its attributes.
3 The mystical states of men belonging to different ages and different
peoples show
astonishing similarity, and at times complete identity.
4 The results of mystical experience are
totally illogical
from our ordinary
point of view. They are
super-logical,
i.e.
TERTIUM ORGANUM
,
WHICH IS PRECISELY THE KEY TO MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE,
is fully
applicable to them.
The latter is especially important - the
illogicality
of the results of mystical
experience made science repudiate them. Now we have established that
illogically
(from our point of view) is the condition necessary for knowing
the truth or the real world. This does not mean that everything illogical is true
or real, but it certainly means that everything true and real is, from our point
of view,
illogical.
We have established the fact that with our logic it is impossible to
approach truth, and we have also established
the possibility
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