Hindu Mysticism

This book is a systematic introduction to Hindu Mysticism as it evolved in India through the ages. Hindu Mysticism was presented first in the form of six lectures given by Prof. Dasgupta in 1926 as the Norman Wait Harris Foundation Lectures at Northwestern University. Mysticism is not an intellectual theory, it is fundamentally an active, formative, creative, elevating and ennobling principle of life. According to the author, mysticism means a spiritual grasp of the aims and problems of life in a much more real and ultimate manner than is possible through mere reason. A developing life of mysticism means a gradual ascent in the scale of spiritual values, experience, and spiritual ideals. It is many-sided in its development and as rich and complete as life itself. In all the mystics of the world, there is a keen sense of the necessity of purity of mind, contentment, ever alert striving for moral goodness, self-abnegation and one pointedness to God. This small book gives a brief general outline of some of the most important types of mysticism, indicating their mutual relations, sometimes genetically and sometimes logically. These include early sacrificial, Upanisadic, Yogic, Buddhistic and Classical as well as Popular Bhakti Cult explaining concisely and clearly their main characteristics, basing the interpretations directly on the original sources.