BIOLOGICAL RHYTHMS IN VEDANTIC MYSTICISM: THE EXAMPLE OF RAMAKRISHNA

This study is a process analysis of probably the longest reported mystical experience: the six-month nirvikalpa samadhi of the Indian saint Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-1886). Throughout this period he participated in Brahman, which is understood in the Vedantic tradition of India as the blissful, intrinsically conscious substance of being. Ramakrishna cycled between the states aligned with Brahman’s saguna (manifest) and nirguna (unmanifest) aspects. He was insensate and cataleptic during the nirguna phase of mystical cycles. Liminal consciousness, ecstatic emotion, and visions of God characterized the saguna phase. The respective states are likened to the onset and the resolution of the Minimally Conscious State, the least severe form of coma. The temporal pattern of individual cycles is attributed to the Basic RestActivity Cycle, a fundamental biological rhythm. Yoga practices that may have contributed to the onset and continuation of samadhi are reviewed. Ramakrishna’s nirvikalpa samadhi incorporated two basic forms of mystical experience: union with the personal God, and transient probing of the undifferentiated ground of being. Other mystical experiences may have a cyclical structure and conform with a biological rhythm.