MYSTICAL ENCOUNTERS WITH THE NATURAL WORLD

The question of spirituality is a key issue for the Scientific and Medical Network. What do we mean by the term, and is it a fit subject for a scientifically biased organisation to consider ? For anyone interested in any aspect of the controversy, this book is a mandatory read. Paul Marshall distinguishes between "introvertive" and "extravertive" mystical. experience. The former is an inward development of consciousness which usually ends with the dissolution of the ego into a formless Absolute beyond space and time. The latter is an illumination of both the self and the world which has some sensory structure. Certainly at the beginning of any analysis of mystical experience, this is a useful distinction.

This book concentrates on the "extravertive" experience, and Marshall explores its varieties. It can come about under a wide variety of circumstances, and manifest in many different forms. It can be brought about by severe shock, injury, mental break down, or childbirth. It can occur in childhood, or appear suddenly, and unbidden, in the midst of ordinary life. It can be cultivated. and sometimes achieved, through religious exercises: it also may be caused by psychologically active drugs. In some way or another the external world is transformed, and transfused with meaning. There can be an overwhelming sense of light, or love, or connectedness, or there may be the vision of some religious figure. Whatever the form, extravertive mystical experience is intensely meaningful to those who have had it, even if it is only once in a life time.

This has been the inspiration of romantic poets such as Wordsworth and Goethe, but as Marshall shows, it has been a widespread source of inspiration within many religious traditions. Nevertheless he concentrates on modern Western thinkers who have had the experience themselves, or have devoted themselves to its study. Bucke and Carpenter saw "cosmic consciousness" as the next evolutionary leap for mankind. Others like Inge saw it as confirming the Platonic trend of Christian theology which seeks truth in enlightened experience, not in ecclesiastical authority. Zaehner distinguished sharply between theistic mysticism, and nature mysticism, and regarded the latter as the product of manic illness. Aldous Huxley speculated that drugs removed the filters in the brain which shut out the wider reality. Freud thought that mysticism was a regression to infantile consciousness. It has been suggested that mysticism is dipping into Jung's collective unconscious. More recently extravertive mysticism has been deconstructed in terms of its cultural or psychological content, while neurophysiologists have explained all forms of mysticism away in terms of the hyper activity of certain parts of the brain.

Marshall performs a neat meta analysis on these philosophers of mysticism, and demonstrates how their particular understanding fits into the context of their careers and beliefs. He also argues persuasively that none of the theories set out convincingly fits all the facts of extrovertive mysticism. Mysticism has a social context : Catholics seek visions of the Virgin Mary while Hindus seek Krishna dancing, and Protestants and Moslems see neither. But we might see a chair, while a native of Borneo, whose culture does not include chairs, might see a bundle of firewood or a clumsy weapon. The difference does not prove that the chair is not there. The particular forms of our thought may be paranormally illuminated : this does not prove that the source of the illumination may not come from outside ourselves. Again neurophysiologists might identify a "God Spot" which becomes active when spiritual experiences are recorded. This however raises the whole problem of whether the brain manufactures the mind, or whether it merely records it physically. A purely reductionist view of consciousness is open to powerful objections.

Paul Marshall ends by suggesting that the best interpretation of mysticism is to be found in some version of Vedantic monism which also combines extravertive and introvertive monism. The self discovers the One in all things, and also discovers the One as the root of itself.

A full study of mysticism across all religious traditions needs 50 volumes not just one book. It is therefore a little cavalier of this reviewer to note that his favourite 20th cent mystic Sri Aurobindo is ignored despite him having much useful to say on this topic. Nevertheless this is a very helpful reference book for members of the SMN interested in the question of spirituality. It is a pity that the publisher's price means that many will have to either use a library, or borrow a copy. It is worth the effort, though.