Welcome To THE MYSTIC'S VISION!
Hosted by Swami Abhayananda
--See IMPORTANT NOTICE Below--
This website is dedicated to the praise and glorification of God. It is founded on my own mystical experience, and is intended to confirm, clarify, and propagate the perennial teaching of the mystics that the one Divine Spirit and source of this universe can be known and experienced as one's own eternal Self.
All of the books and articles found on this website are concerned, not with religious doctrines, but with direct personal experience. This 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", "Self-realization", "the mystic marriage", or "union with God", but no matter what its called, this unitive experience is one and the same for all regardless of religious affiliation.
Mystical Experience, or 'the mystic's vision', challenges the ordinary way in which we see 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. He/she is enlightened and knows with certainty that he/she is a wave on the ocean of God, immersed in God, united with God, and made entirely of God.
Many believe that mystical experience opens a window into the true nature of existence, and that, therefore, the mystical perspective must be a significant determinant in framing any modern theory concerning the nature of reality. However, traditionalists, deeply rooted in physical materialism, stand resolutely against this mystical or spiritual interpretation, and continue to overwhelmingly dominate the public’s perception of reality. The reformation of this public perspective will no doubt coincide with a radical evolution in human knowledge and awareness comparable to the Copernican revolution, but such a reformation appears to be yet a long way off. Nevertheless, it is certainly humanity’s future paradigm and the unmistakable goal on the horizon of spiritual evolution to which all of us must aspire.
My own 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 had known nothing of mysticism or mystical experience. But it was there that God blessed me with His vision, His revelation, which was to change my life forever. Later, in the early 1980’s, I wrote about that mystical experience and the circumstances surrounding it in my first book, The Supreme Self.
This book, The Supreme Self, is the best introduction to everything that I have written since that time, and should be read in its entirety or downloaded 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, and click on "MY ENLIGHTENMENT EXPERIENCE."
My other books, such as History of Mysticism, which tells the amazing story of the best-known of those few others whom God has touched with His Grace through the ages, may also be found on the 'READ OR DOWNLOAD BOOKS' page. I highly recommend these two books especially as fundamental to anyone wishing to familiarize themselves with the mystical experience.
Here, below, is the Preface to History of Mysticism:
PREFACE TO HISTORY OF MYSTICISM:
I am one of those who have been privileged, by the grace of God, to experience the ultimate Truth of existence. This “mystical experience” occurred, for me, on the night of November 18, 1966. Since that time, I have easily recognized, by their various descriptions of it, those who have also directly experienced that absolute Truth. And it has become abundantly clear to me that, over the course of man’s long history, many individuals of differing cultures, languages, and religious traditions have known that same unitive experience. Contained in this book are the accounts of the lives and teachings of some of the best known of those individuals, for whom I feel great empathy and comradery, as my own experience coincides with and confirms their own. In fact, their experience is my experience; for all who have realized the Truth have known that same eternal Self.
The material contained herein presents no speculative philosophy; it offers no metaphysical hypothesis. Rather, it is the collected legacy of those who have experienced, first-hand, the unitive Truth underlying all existence. It is a record of the voices of the illumined souls of the past, all of whom gave their hearts, their very lives, to sharing their transcendent knowledge with unborn humanity. And so, to the prospective reader, I say: mark well what you read here. This is no ordinary history of people, places and events; it is the secret history of man’s perennial journey on the ultimate Quest, where all the travelers, arriving from widely diverse paths, arrive at the self-same unitive Truth. It is really the greatest, the most thrillingly wonderful, story ever told. May it awaken you and inspire you to join the great Quest.
-- Swami Abhayananda
You can see Reader's Comments on History of Mysticism at the BOOK CATALOG page.
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For more choices, see the Menu in the left column: For example, you can learn more about me at ABOUT SWAMI ABHAYANANDA. Next is the BOOK CATALOG, which describes my published books in order of publication. That is followed in the Menu by READ OR DOWNLOAD BOOKS, where all of my books are available for reading or free downloading (you will be comforted to know that all downloadable files on this website are protected by Avast Antivirus software).
Next is THE MYSTIC'S VISION, Volume One & Two, an archival collection of my Articles on the mystical experience and related topics which have appeared on this site over the last several years. Here, you will find numerous articles listed according to topic. By scrolling through the Contents Page of each Volume, you can find and read the article of your interest, or you may download each entire Volume.
Next in the Menu is MY ENLIGHTENMENT EXPERIENCE, which I've already described. That is followed by some topical Essays that are compilations of selected articles taken from the two volumes of The Mystic's Vision. These varied topical Essays, beginning with SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE, are listed individually in the Menu appearing in the left column.
And lastly, I've included some LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES that also focus on Mystical Experience.
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NOTE: Since April 22, 2013, all of my books and articles have been freely available for downloading to your computer or other device. Currently (as of August 12, 2018), this website has registered more than 66,000 visitors, and has registered many times that number of downloads.
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IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Dedication of Works To The Public Domain
I, Stanley Ross Trout, also known as Swami Abhayananda, on the date of Monday, March 12, 2018, do hereby permanently dedicate all of my previously copyrighted 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, and that now these works may not only be downloaded freely but may be published and distributed in whole or in part 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 Mystic’s Vision: Volume One
The Mystic’s Vision: Volume Two
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.com.
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