Willis W. Harman, in a sensitively written essay "The Issue of the Consciousness-Expanding Drugs" (Main Currents, Vol. 20, No. 1, 1963) asserted that down through the ages of recorded history, various groups within the several religious traditions alike have insisted that man has far vaster potentiality for knowledge, and hence power over his fate, than he ordinarily dreams of as possible. These included the ancient Gnostics to the modern Theosophists, including also the Hindu, Buddhist, Moslem and Christian religions.
They have always claimed that it is possible to •
know - in a way that is completely different from the mere accumulation of facts - to realize man's essential nature and his true relationship to the creative force behind or within the universe. There, wrote Harman, his fulfillment lies - that is, what it is he values most highly when the meaning of life is clearly seen.
For ts particular species of knowledge, men have
followed religious teachers of every shade and opinion, and joined secret societies.
They have willingly submitted to the travails of elaborate
initiation procedures and trained for years in different yoga and meditation techniques. They have practiced fasting, flagellation and all kinds of austerity. Among them all, the experience of gnosis, of direct perception and knowledge, has been most highly prized of all human experiences and attainments.
Willis W. Harman, in a sensitively written essay "The Issue of the Consciousness-Expanding Drugs" (Main Currents, Vol. 20, No. 1, 1963) asserted that down through the ages of recorded history, various groups within the several religious traditions alike have insisted that man has far vaster potentiality for knowledge, and hence power over his fate, than he ordinarily dreams of as possible. These included the ancient Gnostics to the modern Theosophists, including also the Hindu, Buddhist, Moslem and Christian religions.
They have always claimed that it is possible to •
know - in a way that is completely different from the mere accumulation of facts - to realize man's essential nature and his true relationship to the creative force behind or within the universe. There, wrote Harman, his fulfillment lies - that is, what it is he values most highly when the meaning of life is clearly seen.
For ts particular species of knowledge, men have
followed religious teachers of every shade and opinion, and joined secret societies.
They have willingly submitted to the travails of elaborate
initiation procedures and trained for years in different yoga and meditation techniques. They have practiced fasting, flagellation and all kinds of austerity. Among them all, the experience of gnosis, of direct perception and knowledge, has been most highly prized of all human experiences and attainments.
