Cosmic Consciousness

A form of mystical experience characterized by consciousness of the whole cosmos, of the life and order of the universe. It was originally defined by Dr. Richard M. Bucke (1837-1902) in his book of the same name. Bucke considered cosmic consciousness a higher peak in human evolution that the race will universally attain in the distant future.

According to Bucke, it seemed to appear primarily in men between the ages of thirty and forty, who were highly developed, of good intellect, high moral quality, superior physique, and earnest religious belief. He considered the 13 greatest cases to be Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul, Plotinus, Mohammed, Dante, Las Casas, John Ypes, Francis Bacon, Jacob Behmen, William Blake, Balzac, and Bucke's friend Walt Whitman.

As described by Bucke the experience comes suddenly, with a sensation of being immersed in a flame or rose-colored cloud. It is accompanied by a feeling of ecstasy and moral and intellectual illumination in which the mind has a clear concept of the meaning of the universe.

The man or woman who goes through the experience sees and knows that the cosmos is a living presence, that life is eternal, the soul of man immortal, the founding principle of the world is love, and the happiness of every individual in the long run is absolutely certain. All fear of death, all sense of sin is lost, and the personality gains added charm and becomes transformed. In a few moments of the experience the individual will learn more than in months or years of study, and will learn much that no study can teach.

Whitman spoke of cosmic consciousness as "ineffable light, light rare, untellable, lighting the very light beyond all signs, descriptions, languages." His insights correlated with the insights of a large body of mystical and religious literature, and had additional appeal because of his scientific credentials and his mystical approach to God, a perspective somewhat compatible with Eastern thought.

As described by Bucke, cosmic consciousness is equated with the early steps of mysticism.

Sources:

Bucke, Richard Maurice. Cosmic Consciousness: A Study of the Evolution of the Human Mind. 1910. Reprint, New Hyde Park, N.Y.: University Books, 1961. Reprint, New York: Citadel Press, 1970.

——. Richard Maurice Bucke, Medical Mystic: Letters of Dr. Bucke to Walt Whitman and His Friends. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1977.

Nomad, Ali. Cosmic Consciousness. Chicago, 1913.

Row, M. C. Nanjunda Row. Cosmic Consciousness, or the Vedantic Idea of Realization or Mukti in the Light of Modern Psychology. Madras, India, 1910.