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The mystical state

CHENNAI : The ecstatic state of spiritual union has to be experienced for oneself and cannot be understood from second-hand sources. But great saints have out of compassion for their devotees given insights into this state that are invaluable for spiritual seekers. Any amount of objective knowledge that a person gains will not bestow on him humane qualities like compassion, love and devotion necessary to get spiritual insights for realising God.

In his discourse, Swami Gautamananda said Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa had on several occasions spoken to his devotees in his mystical states. One such instance was when he explained how a spiritual aspirant must meditate, and then he described the mystical state (Samadhi). He likened it to being immersed in the ocean of the Absolute Reality (which is of the nature of existence, consciousness and bliss) totally oblivious to the world outside.

He further compared this state of consciousness to a fish swimming in the ocean with water above and below it, and also to a pot immersed in water. Man's ego is like the pot, which separates the water inside from the outside. When the pot slowly disintegrates the separation of water ceases to be. So also, it is due to ego that man feels distinct from the Self (Atman) and in spiritual experience there is total obliteration of the ego. The man of wisdom thus realises that it is the Self that exists within him and outside, and pervades all. The bliss of spiritual union is indescribable. Another analogy the saint used to give for the mystical state is that of a bird gliding in a cloudless sky, the bird representing the individual Self and the sky the Absolute.

God is manifest in a greater measure in saints as they totally identify themselves with the Self. The individual Self (Atman) and the Absolute (Brahman) are one and the same. The human body, mind and the intellect function only because the Self resides within. It is mistaken identity (identifying with the body-mind-intellect personality instead of with the Atman) that is the root of man's bondage. The objective of spiritual practices is to shift the self-identity from the body to the Atman.

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