Welcome To THE MYSTIC'S VISION!
Hosted by Swami Abhayananda
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Hello. My name is Swami Abhayananda, and this website is founded, not on belief or religious doctrine, but on my own mystical experience.
Mystical experience, or “the mystic’s vision,” occurs as one’s individual consciousness is uplifted by Grace to union with the eternal Source of all consciousness and all being. That vision has been referred to as “enlightenment,” “the vision of God,” "samadhi," "nirvana," “Self-realization,” “the mystic marriage,” or “union with God;” but no matter what it is called, that unitive mystical experience reveals an eternal truth that is one and the same for all, regardless of one's religious affiliation.
In that revelatory mystical experience, an individual directly experiences the Source and substance of his being, and thereby realizes his own eternal identity. This is the experience by which Jesus came to know his oneness with God; this is the experience by which Siddhartha, the Buddha, became enlightened; this is the experience by which the authors of the Upanishads realized their eternal Self; and this is the experience by which al-Hallaj and Rumi and ibn-Arabi came to know ana'l Haqq, “I am The Eternal.” My friends, that rare God-given realization is the same for all who experience it.
“Ask of those who have attained God; all speak the same word. All the enlightened have left one message; ...it is only those in the midst of their journey who hold diverse opinions.”
—Dadu
The journey of the soul is a journey over numerous lifetimes to the ultimate realization that you are eternally one with God. It is a journey toward the purification of your heart, and as Jesus has taught us: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” God brings his children through their unique life-experiences to the eventual purification of their heart through love, and the reward of that purification is “the vision of God.”
Please understand that when you experience “the vision of God,” God is not seen as something or someone else standing before you; the vision of God is the divine revelation that you and all creatures, as well as all things that exist, are made of God, reside in God, and are ultimately nothing else but God; it reveals the knowledge that all this is indeed 'the kingdom of God.'
The 'vision of God' is an opening of your own consciousness to the realization that you and all beings are contained in and consist of the one divine and all-pervasive Consciousness that is God. To experience that awakening is your sole goal and purpose in this journey of many lives. In reaching this goal, you will clearly know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.
Your soul will begin its journey when God mercifully awakens His love in your heart. That love is His own and has the power to draw your heart to Him, despite all other attractions. Give Him the one-pointed devotion of your heart and follow wherever He leads. O my friends, do not pass by such good fortune as this! He is in your heart, for He has fashioned you as His own image. Acknowledge His presence and follow His guidance, and He will lead you to your perfect joy in Him.
The unitive mystical vision experienced by the enlightened radically challenges the way one ordinarily sees the world, for in that vision all is seen as divine, all is seen to be the one eternal Consciousness appearing as the various objects of the world. One who has experienced that vision and has known his or her transcendent Identity as the one all-pervading Spirit is said to be a mystic. By that vision, he or she is enlightened, knowing with certainty that all beings are but waves on the ocean of God, immersed in God, united with God, and made entirely of God.
Believe it or not, my friends, there really is such a thing as enlightenment—a sudden revelation of your own divinity and the divinity of all reality. I know, because it happened to me. And that divine experience has overwhelmingly transformed my life. Now, I can't tell you how you can attain enlightenment; that is in the hands of God! I can only tell you how I did and what was revealed to me.
My mystical experience occurred in 1966, when I was twenty-eight years of age. I had been drawn to a remote cabin in the Santa Cruz mountains of California by my desire to know God. Prior to that time, I was an ordinary fellow who knew nothing of mysticism or mystical experience; but it was there in that remote cabin in the woods on one November night that God blessed me with His revealing vision and changed my life forever.
On that night, I prayed to our Father that He let me be one with Him—not that I might glory in His love—but that I might speak out in His praise and to His glory for the benefit of all His children. And, in that instant, He revealed to my inner eye that even I am in Him and belong to Him. The first words out of my mouth were, "O my God, even this body is Thine own!" He made me to see with His eye that everyone and everything exists in Him, is enveloped in Him, and consists of His own being. Since that time, I have endeavored to fulfill my promise to Him by speaking out in His praise and to His glory, solely for your benefit. By His Grace, I have seen the everlasting truth, and my only task in this life is to share that truth with you.
In my first book, THE SUPREME SELF, published in 1984, I described my mystical experience and the circumstances surrounding it. This book is the best introduction to everything that I have written since that time, and should be read in its entirety or downloaded free at the READ OR DOWNLOAD BOOKS page. However, if you would prefer to see a brief excerpt from that book, describing only the occurrence of my mystical experience, go to the Menu in the column on the left side of the page, and click on MY MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE."
My second book, HISTORY OF MYSTICISM, published in 1987, tells the extraordinary chronological story of some of the best-known of those to whom God has revealed Himself through the ages, and it may also be read or downloaded free on the READ OR DOWNLOAD BOOKS page.
HISTORY OF MYSTICISM will introduce you to The Great Mystical Tradition and the brilliant mystics who have comprised its ranks from ancient times to the present. Here you can share in the divine revelations of Heraclitus, Hermes, Jesus, Plotinus, Shankara, Ibn Arabi, Sri Ramakrishna, and many other spiritual geniuses of our modern times.
I highly recommend these two books, THE SUPREME SELF and HISTORY OF MYSTICISM, as fundamental to anyone wishing to familiarize themselves with the mystical experience and its perennial occurrence throughout history.
(NOTE: All of the Books and Articles on this website are in the Public Domain and may be downloaded free. All downloadable Files on this website are in PDF format. To open these Files, you will need to have a PDF Reader installed on your computer or device. The Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader may be downloaded free at this link: https://get.adobe.com/reader/)
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THE MENU
In the narrow column on the left of this page is a Menu, in which you will find a number of alternate selections. You can learn more about who I am and view some personal photos by clicking on ABOUT SWAMI ABHAYANANDA. That is followed in the Menu by the BOOK CATALOG, which describes my published books in order of publication. That is followed by the READ OR DOWNLOAD BOOKS page, where all of my books are available for reading or free downloading.
That is followed by THE NONDUALITY PAGE, a newly added page containing information about the Philosophy of Nonduality.
That is followed by the thirty-six ARTICLES on various topics contained in the three Volumes of ESSENTIAL ARTICLES, each of which may be opened or downloaded individually. You may select any of these thirty-six numbered topical ARTICLES listed in the Menu, the first of which is entitled ABOUT MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE. Just click on the title of any of these topical Articles and have access to some highly inspirational information, containing groundbreaking mystical insights.
To those of you who are new to the subject of Mystical Experience I suggest that you read the Articles "About Mystical Experience," "The Grace of God," "The Life of a Mystic," and "All This Is God."
Those who have grown up in the West and have been greatly influenced by the Christian tradition are urged to read the Article, "Enlightened Christianity."
Those who have an interest in Metaphysics will find "Spiritual Knowledge," Fundamentals of Mystical Theology," and "Metaphysics from a Mystic's Perspective" of most interest.
And those of a scientific bent will most appreciate "How God Made The World," "Mind And Matter," Science And Gnosis," Exemplary Scientists," and "Mystical Experience As Future Science." Each of these Articles may be read online or freely downloaded to your device.
OR you may choose to download any or all of the three volume Collections of these ESSENTIAL ARTICLES from the Menu or from the READ OR DOWNLOAD BOOKS page.
The three-volume Collection of THE ESSENTIAL ARTICLES OF SWAMI ABHAYANANDA, is the ultimate Collection of the best of my writings culled from all of my books and articles. It is the result of a lifetime of reflection, clarified in God's illuminating light, and documented solely for your benefit. These Articles are not published in printed book form, but are available only in electronic form, and can only be passed on to posterity by your foresight and generosity. I will not be around forever, so please download them to your computer, and preserve them. They are His gifts and blessings to all. But they will be preserved for others only if you preserve them.
Also, I have recently added to the Menu a one-volume Collection of THE SUPPLEMENTAL ARTICLES OF SWAMI ABHAYANANDA, containing the following seven Articles:
1. REMEMBERING BABA MUKTANANDA
This is my recollections of the great Guru with whom I was associated.
2. INTRODUCTION TO VEDANTA
This is from my 1991 book, The Wisdom of Vedanta.
3. THOUGHTS OF A MYSTIC.
This is a collection of brief thoughts designed to provide a summary of the Mystic's Vision for both the initiate and the seasoned scholar, bringing together the very best of my brief writings for your edification and benefit.
4. THE QUESTION OF DESTINY
This is an Article affirming the notion that such a thing as Destiny exists.
5. THE NEO-COPERNICAN REVOLUTION
This Article calls for a revolution in spiritual understanding as universally significant as the revolution in our understanding of the physical cosmos that came with the empirical revelations of Copernicus.
6. THE ASTROLOGER'S VISION
This is from my alternate website, "The Astrologer's Vision" (www.theastrologersvision.weebly.com). This collection of writings contains much valuable information about karma, free will, and the transmigration of the soul It may be read or downloaded from the Menu or at the Read Or Download page without the inconvenience of switching to my other website.
7. WHO WE ARE
This is a recent brief essay on our eternal Identity.
Each of these seven Articles may be read or downloaded individually from the Menu page, or as the complete Collection of THE SUPPLEMENTAL ARTICLES from either the Menu or the READ OR DOWNLOAD page.
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I have also included on this website a Page for READER'S COMMENTS, to which you are invited to contribute your thoughts and comments about anything related to this website.
Finally, I've included some LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES that also focus on personal accounts of mystical experience.
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NOTE: The Mystic's Vision has been online since April 22, 2013, and as of May 2, 2021, the firm of Statcounter.com confirms that more than 119,000 pages of this website have been viewed by the public. God’s great gifts to me, not the least of which is the opportunity to share with you His revelations, has granted me a most happy and satisfying life. I am now eighty-two years of age, and it is uncertain when this life will end, but regardless, this website is paid for and will continue through September, 2023. So, if there is anything here within this website, The Mystic’s Vision, that you wish to preserve for yourself and others, please download it before then. God bless you every one.
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IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Dedication of Works To The Public Domain
Monday, March 12, 2018: On this date, I, Swami Abhayananda, born Stanley R. Trout, do hereby permanently dedicate all of my previously copyrighted written works and all of my future written works to the Public Domain. This means that I no longer maintain the exclusive rights to the publication of the books and articles written by me and listed on my website. Now these works may not only be downloaded freely but may be published and distributed in whole or in part in any language by anyone wishing to do so without any requirement of permission.
Included in the works dedicated to the Public Domain are the following books, all of which are authored by me:
The Supreme Self
History of Mysticism: The Unchanging Testament
The Wisdom of Vedanta
Jnaneshvar: The Life And Works
Dattatreya: Song of The Avadhut
Thomas á Kempis: On The Love of God
Plotinus: The Origin of Western Mysticism
Mysticism And Science: A Call for Reconciliation
The Divine Universe
Reflections On The Soul
Body And Soul
Mystical Theology
The Essential Articles of Swami Abhayananda, Vol. One
The Essential Articles of Swami Abhayananda, Vol. Two
The Essential Articles of Swami Abhayananda, Vol. Three
Thoughts of a Mystic
The (Complete) Astrologer's Vision
The Supplemental Articles of Swami Abhayananda
The copyright pages of the books on my website have been rescinded to indicate their Public Domain status, and I shall continue to maintain this website, “The Mystic’s Vision” (at www.themysticsvision.com) into the indefinite future in order to provide and maintain authentic texts of these Public Domain works to anyone who wishes to download or copy them. I ask only that, in reproducing or disseminating this material, proper attribution be given regarding the title of the work, author, publisher, and date of publication.
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If you have any questions or comments, you may email me at:
abhayananda @bellsouth.net Or at: abhayananda1@comcast.net
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www.themysticsvision.com.
Established 2013 by Swami Abhayananda
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