All about mysticism

Times Of India

"Taoism, Zen philosophy and Buddhism talk about a direct, non-sensory and transcendental perception of reality. They hint at an immediate and direct intimation — even if it is only a glimmer — of the self and the divine, without the human mind creeping into the equation.

The stories and sayings of Zen masters aim to tease, confound and stun the mind into a sudden stillness. In that strange and sudden stillness, there is an epiphany and revelation. It is a deeper awakening than beyond the very structure of the mind.

Consider this celebrated Zen question, laden with meaning: What was your original face, the one you had before your parents gave birth to you? See another Zen poser: You can make the sound of two hands clapping. Now what is the sound of one hand? Read this Zen poem: Leaves falling/ Lie on one another;/ The rain beats the rain.

Each of these, rain beating the rain, your original face before you were born, or the sound of one hand, is not an equation or a relationship that can be conceptually pieced together by the human mind.

Therefore, none of these may have any deep significance for the human mind. But as a direct and transcendental perception beyond the mind, each of these is profound. Each is insightful beyond words, beyond any set of symbols.

As Chuang Tsu pointed out," If one asks what is Tao and another answers, then neither of them knows it.” As Lao Tsu put it," He who knows does not speak/ He who speaks does not know.” Tao, or the essential nature of reality, is beyond the realm of the atom. It is all about the ambience of the atman, not the atom.

Seeking to understand and comprehend the nature of the divine through the mind is like trying to figure out the nuances of solid geometry through the theorems of plane geometry. It is like trying to understand the intricacies of the theory of relativity through Newtonian physics. Einstein explained that the universe is a four- dimensional space-time construct which is finite but unbounded.

Trying to visualise a four-dimensional space-time universe that is finite, but yet unbounded, is impossible for those of us who have been brought up on Newtonian physics. We are used to thinking on spatial terms. Therefore, the two attributes of being finite, and being unbounded or boundary-less, seem to be mutually irreconcilable. How can something be finite, and yet have nothing around it or surrounding it? If the universe is not infinite, then there must be something else outside of the universe. But according to Relativity theory the universe is finite. Yet it is boundary-less.

Like the sensing of this time dimension, spirituality is the mystical and direct experiencing of a higher dimensional reality.

Lama Govinda offers this explanation: "An experience of higher dimensionality is achieved by experiencing of different centres and levels of consciousness. Hence the indescribability of certain experiences of meditation on the plane of three-dimensional consciousness.”

Questions posed by Zen masters are hence often unconventional. The very exercise of finding answers leads one to evolve to higher levels of consciousness. Taoism, Buddhism and Zen thought are profound expressions of mystic spirituality.”

All about mysticism
Times Of India