EXPLORING MYSTICISM Frits Staal (Abstract by lastri) Discussing the various approaches to study mysticism, the author draws
from his deep knowledge of the subject to outline a way in which it could be better understood. Mysticism, the purported union of the individual consciousness with the divine (God) or
superconsciousness, is generally considered as something unintelligible. Staal argues that it isn’t. However, full understanding requires experiential knowledge. All the major religious systems of the world have reported mystics or mystical experiences in their respective domains. But most known mystics are hardly able to describe or rationalize their experiences. Except for practitioners of disciplines like Yoga and Taoism, where there are established schools and teachers, many became mystics without purposely training to become one. And, because mystical experiences seem ineffable, objective study becomes difficult if not futile. Most methods of study are bound to fail. Among these are those restricted by dogmatic assertions indifferent to the subject itself. (In my opinion, for example, some Christians may not agree to the utterance of strange names or words in meditation, afraid perhaps that these might attract disturbing spiritual entities.) These methods are blamed in the book for continually relegating mysticism to obscurity. Prejudices and inappropriate approaches though are but some of the many hindrances. In the actual pursuit of any such discipline, unqualified teachers and wrong or inadequate practices also lead practitioners nowhere. A serious student of mysticism, say Yoga (a.k.a. ‘divine-union’), is more likely to succeed by a two-part process that basically involves (1) objective study which goes as far as the intellect can go and (2) subjective study which would require following the
instructions of a qualified teacher without question. The book will not make one a mystic. It does not endorse any particular domain of mysticism. There are no instructions for achieving ‘divine-union’ or superconsciousness. But it clearly dismisses the common notion that mysticism cannot be studied like any other subject in college, persuasively proposing otherwise.