Magic moments in life are technically known as transcendental experiences or ideas beyond normal human understanding. Transcendentalism is the belief that knowledge can be obtained by studying thoughts than by practical experience. Transcendental meditation (TM) is a method of becoming calm by repeating words in your mind.
Most of us have a secret wish to reach for what is beyond us. That is like flowers turning to the rising sun. The sun of our wishes is the transcendent or going beyond the limits of consciousness. We have a vague feeling that only those who meditate regularly are able to experience it. However, experiences of transcendence can come through visions that drive some of us to enjoy a supreme kind of bliss.
Margaret Prescott Montague in her book Twenty Minutes of Reality gives an account of her serious illness. One day, she found only leafless trees and half melted piles of snow around her. Something unexpected happened suddenly. She says, “I have looked into the heart of reality, beholding life for the first time in all its loveliness, its unspeakable joy, beauty and importance.”
Transcendence
Montague was not the only person who had experienced transcendence. The celebrated English poet Rupert Brooke found himself among his loyal friends. He felt that something special was happening to him. Then he wrote:
Under a vast and starless sky
I saw the immortal moment lie.
An instant I, an instant knew
As God knows all.
Even scientists are likely to experience such special moments. The physicist Fritjof Copra one day saw everything around him as a “cosmic dance.” He saw cascades of energy coming down from outer space, in which particles were created and destroyed in rhythmic pulses. He “saw” the atoms of the elements and those of his body participating in a cosmic dance of energy.
Such experiences of transcendence do not happen very often. However, it is a natural occurrence. Sometimes, you will experience it when you pray, meditate or read a poem. When you get that feeling, you will realise that you are in the company of heroes, great men such as philosophers and scientists. Transcendence will lift you out of the humdrum routine of everyday living. Then you begin to entertain new thoughts and feelings. You will find answers to some of your pressing problems. If you are a devout Christian, you will feel the presence of God.
Unknown to most of us, all our moments of happiness have transcendent dimensions. When a child or family member falls ill seriously, you are concerned about their recovery. After a long period of suffering, you see a smile on your child’s face. At that moment you will feel a different kind of happiness. When you touch him, he will also feel a sense of transcendence. You will also be overcome by a feeling of extreme happiness.
Centre of the universe
Whenever you think of your loved one or when you consider your lover or spouse as the centre of the universe, you shift yourself into a state of transcendence. I have lived in other people’s houses as a boarder for many years. Whenever my father came to take me home, I felt extremely happy. At that time I did not know that it was transcendence. Sometimes it is very difficult to explain the feelings you experience. As Frederic Buechner says in his book The Hungering Dark, “In some way your deepest self is the self of all men – you are in them as they are in you.”
As a child I used to run along dusty roads in a village for the sheer exuberance of it. I got the feeling that I was flying across the village. As there was no vehicular traffic the road was quite a safe place to run along. I did not get that kind of happiness when I started running round a playground in the city. When you run along a deserted road, you see, hear, feel and comprehend nature’s supreme power in all its dimensions.
A statue of the Buddha or Jesus Christ evokes a sense of transcendence. That is why devotees flock to places of religious worship. Most of us keep miniature images and symbols of our religious leaders for the same purpose. Some people wear religious symbols made of gold or silver not to show off their religions but for mental satisfaction. When you stand before a Vesak pandol or a Christmas tree your heart is filled with an extreme kind of happiness. All of them are instances of transcendence.
Mysterious edge
Have you ever sat under a tree and watched the floating clouds on a sunny day? As children we used to watch the moon and listen to all kinds of sound made by nocturnal creatures hiding in trees and bushes. When you do so, you will naturally feel the mysterious edge of something beyond yourselves. We cannot explain it fully in words but we can feel it.
To enjoy the night you should spend some time in a remote village. While spending my formative years in a remote village down south, I could not sleep on days when the moon was in full bloom. Although I was afraid of the darkness, I used to watch the moon through the window. There were stirrings in the nearby woods but I knew that they were harmless. The sense of peace I enjoyed was nothing but transcendence.
Sometimes transcendence happens when you are in the presence of a great religious teacher or philosopher. I felt it in the presence of the celebrated Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti when he visited Sri Lanka. Some people claim that the experienced a sense of transcendence when they met Satya Sai Baba. Even if you cannot see the gods you worship, your devotion is sufficient to experience a sense of happiness.
Gods are waiting
To experience a sense of transcendence, you have to expect it. If you close the gates, you will never experience it. As they say, “Gods are waiting for an invitation from their devotees.” Gods do not visit you, you have to visit them. If you do not believe in gods and miracles, you are unlikely to experience transcendence.
You should not blunt your sense of wonder. The world itself is a wonderful place. Everything you see, hear, or touch is wonderful. At least once in a way live close to nature moving out of your air-conditioned rooms. Enjoy the breeze, sunsets and watch a magnificent waterfall cascading down a mountain side. Then you are sure to experience the magic moments in life.