f yoga, we are told that, “its purpose is to cultivate pure contemplation and attenuate the forces of corruption,” (Miller 44.) To enter into this contemplative poise, one must be free of his/her own manners of thought, so as to correctly perceive a mystical experience. It is one’s goal to achieve this state; the fact of the matter is that we are not in a constant state of pure contemplation. Our background and habitual modes of thought prevent us from reaching this state. The Yoga Sutra is a guide that teaches us how we can attain this state, so it is clear that it does not exemplify Stephan Katz’s theory that there are no pure or unmediated mystical experiences. If a mystical experience is a result of one’s own views of the world, as Katz suggests, then why does Patanjali’s text insist that we have to place ourselves in a state of pure contemplation? Patanjali feels that it is necessary to shed all the subliminal impressions. They gather as we move through life and create the filter that Katz believes all mystical experiences must pass through. It is stated in the Yoga Sutra that “subliminal impressions are held together by the interdependence of cause and effect,” (Miller 77). Life is but a long series of events causing and affecting other occurrences; our personalities are defined by the way we choose to react to those situations. When Katz claims that, “there are no pure experiences,” he does not describe the qualities of a mystical experience but rather the natural state of a person who does not practice Yoga. Through the practice of Yoga as outlined in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, one actually opens his/herself to a pure, unattached experience that he/she can deem “mystical.”On the other hand, we have Robert Forman’s ideas about the mystical experience, which clearly oppose poor Stephen Katz’s rejected misconceptions. Forman states th...
