Eastern mystics have often asserted that the presence or absence of altered states of consciousness (such as mental silence) comprise the crucial difference between religious ritual and religious experience. Western scholars such as William James (1902) mirror the Eastern ideas:
In just the degree that we come into a conscious realisation of our oneness with the Infinite Life, and open ourselves to this divine inflow, do we actualise in ourselves the qualities and powers of the Infinite Life, do we make ourselves channels through which the Infinite Intelligence and Power can work. In just the degree in which you realise your oneness with the Infinite Spirit, you will exchange dis-ease for ease, in harmony for harmony, suffering and pain for abounding health and strength…
James particularly pointed to the Indian tradition of yoga and meditation as a source of such systematic knowledge about the interconnectedness of health, personal development, consciousness and spirituality.
Dr Ramesh Manocha