Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind

_Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind_, first published in 1901 and republished by Arkana books, by Richard Maurice Bucke, M.D., is a classic investigation of the development of man's mystic relation to the infinite. Richard Maurice Bucke was a Canadian psychiatrist (or "alienist") who served as the head of an asylum for the insane. Bucke had little formal education and during his youth had traveled to the West where he lost a foot due to frostbite. Bucke became a doctor of medicine after putting himself through medical school and won many awards as a psychiatrist. After hearing of the poetry of Walt Whitman (particularly his "Leaves of Grass"), Bucke underwent a profound change and devoted much of his time to mystical matters. His first book was dedicated to Whitman, and Whitman plays a unique role in this book as well. In 1872, Bucke experienced an Illumination (which he took to be glimmerings of "cosmic consciousness") which led him further into his researches into mysticism. Furthermore, Bucke was long fascinated by the question of the authorship of the works of Shakespeare and long maintained that Francis Bacon was the real author of the Shakespeare plays and poems. This book came to have an important influence on later generations of mystical writers, including the Russian mathematician and philosopher P. D. Ouspensky, the American psychologist and philosopher William James, and the British writer on mysticism Evelyn Underhill. Throughout this book, Bucke maintains that a new form of consciousness is developing in man (that of "cosmic consciousness"), that this form of consciousness is as different from man's normal consciousness as "self consciousness" is from "simple consciousness", and that this development is part of an evolutionary process (Bucke bases much of his theory on the writings of Charles Darwin). This book begins with a dedication to Richard Maurice Bucke from his father, following the death of his son. Following this a brief introduction to "The Man and the Book" by George Moreby Acklom appears. The first section of this book is entitled "First Words" and is dedicated to expounding Bucke's theory of cosmic consciousness. Bucke writes, "Cosmic Consciousness, then, is a higher form of consciousness than that possessed by the ordinary man." Bucke distinguishes between what he terms "simple consciousness" (possessed by the upper half of the animal kingdom; consciousness of oneself, one's body, and thing's around oneself), "self consciousness" (the consciousness in man in which one becomes aware of oneself as a distinct entity from all the rest of the universe), and "cosmic consciousness" (a consciousness of the cosmos accompanied by feelings of illumination, joyfulness, elevation, and moral exaltation). Bucke contends that this new form of consciousness is developing in man, just as self consciousness developed out of simple consciousness through the process of evolution. Bucke goes on to explain various instances of cosmic consciousness, accompanying processes, and relates it to God, Christ, Nirvana, and Brahmanic splendour. The second section of this book is entitled "Evolution and Devolution". Here, Bucke traces the development from simple consciousness to self consciousness (as animals progressed to man). Bucke makes several interesting observations, including particularly noting that the ancients apparently had fewer words for colors than modern man does (perhaps indicating an evolutionary development in color consciousness). Bucke also provides a chart showing the development of the levels of consciousness (and their apparent proportion of occurrence in the general population). Bucke also mentions the idea of "devolution" (noting the prevalence of insanity and "idiocy" as instances of this). The third section of this book is entitled "From Self Consciousness to Cosmic Consciousness". Here, Bucke notes the various accompanying phenomena of cosmic consciousness (including that of moral elevation), the rarity of cosmic consciousness, the fact that instances of it are apparently increasing (since the beginning of recorded history), the fact that it is more likely to occur in men than women, and the fact that it tends to occur at the age of full maturity. The fourth section of this book is entitled "Instances of Cosmic Consciousness". Bucke maintains that the following individuals experienced definite instances of cosmic consciousness (and uses the increasing frequency of such cases to argue for his evolutionary theory): Gautama the Buddha (called "Nirvana"), Jesus the Christ (Bucke maintains that Jesus was a man; called "the Kingdom of God"), Paul (called "Christ"), Plotinus, Mohammed, Dante (called "Beatrice"), Bartolome Las Casas, John Yepes (Saint John of the Cross), Francis Bacon (Bucke maintains that Bacon was the real author of Shakespeare's plays and poems and quotes extensively from them to "prove" this), Jacob Behmen (the Teutonic Theosopher), William Blake, Honore de Balzac, Walt Whitman (Bucke quotes extensively from his "Leaves of Grass" believing Whitman to be among the highest levels of cosmic consciousness so far produced in man), and Edward Carpenter. The fifth section of this book is entitled "Additional - Some of Them Lesser, Imperfect And Doubtful Cases" and details some additional cases of cosmic consciousness, though of a lesser or more doubtful degree. Bucke mentions here various authors, poets, writers, and prophets known to him as well as a few cases from individuals that he personally met or corresponded with. The sixth section of this book is entitled "Last Words". Here, Bucke expounds upon some other instances of cosmic consciouness, again details his evolutionary theory, and explains why it is necessary for the individual so illuminated to be of the right mental and physical physique. In this book, Bucke provides a unique study of the mystical phenomenon and its apparent increase among members of the human race. As with many scientists from the Victorian era, Bucke was perhaps too wedded to the ideas behind evolutionary theory and the notion of progress. Indeed, Bucke maintains that with the coming development of cosmic consciousness a new social order will be made possible, echoing many of the socialist theories popular at the time. Nevertheless, this book played a very important role in furthering our understanding of mysticism, our sense of the cosmos, and the attempt to study it using scientific methods. Bucke's work would be carried on by later thinkers and researchers who were to reference repeatedly in their own studies of mysticism.

no problem fast and accurate

Yes, it's dated. But as an interfaith educator, I got new insights into each of the people he describes and new insight into my own experiences. Yes, it is perhaps too optimistic. Will we blow ourselves up before enough of us gain cosmic consciousness? But like Renee GIrard's Things Hidden, it provides insight into who Jesus was, who the Buddha was, who Mohamed was. I read Leaves of Grass shortly after my own experience, and concluded that Walt Whitman had a mystical experience. I don't know that there's been a movement in the last 120 years to show that Whitman is the highest cosmic soul ever. But a very valuable book.

Found this book by watching Carrie (1976) and the Dewey Decimal System talk about following a rabbit down a hole- verified all my “beliefs “

I found an old hardcover copy of this book in an antique store on the central coast of California. I didn't buy it then, but after reading only a few sentences of it at the bookstore, I ordered this paperback. The paperback is a nice larger size for reading and easier to read than the older book. It seems to be a forgotten about book, but for me, it is life changing and has propelled me into a new level of consciousness. I had a cosmic consciousness awakening just as described in this book in 2011, and I literally became a different person. This book describes my experience just as it happened, and happens to be a guide and support for me now. It allows me to be a "new species" of human and expand in a direction I didn't know about until I read this book, and I'm only 40 pages into it! I can only read a few pages at a time, because it all needs to be absorbed well before reading more.

A wee bit repititious, and the olde english can be a challenge - but all in all, a good read. It certainly puts a whole new light on a number of well known historical figures, and their contributions to humankind.

This book was a remarkable study for it's time, written in 1905. It should be read by every theology and psychology student in college, who wants to understand deeper levels of consciousness. It is simple study in some ways and uses a simple method. Our methods and editing would make this a much different book today and would include woman and many authentic Indian saints of recent days past. (e.g. Autobiography of a Yogi). However for it's time, it' s a remarkable book. He at one place writes that the Indian yogi techniques are not legitimate...but did the author ever even travel to India? I assume not, whereas he would have been on a ship for months to cross the ocean. He did very well in light of his information. However, these days, there are many who have reached this state of Cosmic Consciousness...including sadhus in the Himalayas and some ordinary house-holders who don't advertise their level of spiritual development, and a few rare gurus (although most now have not reached this state!). I would of liked the author to tell the reader about his own interest in this topic and spiritual experiences but he does not mention it and focuses instead on other's experience.

This is the best book I have ever read on any subject related to religion or mysticism. [ Indeed, I devoted an entire chapter to it in my book WHO KNOWS and in my forthcoming book on Transcendentalism and Cosmic Consciousness.] It advances the remarkable thesis that through the process of evolution, the entire human race is slowly but surely developing the kind of consciousness possessed by the great religious leaders,mystics, artists and poets of the past. The author predicts that with this kind of consciousness, one will be in direct sight of that which was formerly believed only on the basis of faith or authority. The book quotes the writings of many of those whom the author claims to have had Cosmic Consciousness, and these writings are superb! Regardless of whether or not the author's thesis is true, the book has enormous literary value.

Very interesting book and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

J'ai commande ce livre car il était mentionné dans un ouvrage très sérieux traitant de l'histoire des idée religieuses (de Mircea Eliade). Le seul hic est que ce bouquin (en anglais) est très peu commode à la lecture: c'est écrit tout petit et le texte est présenté en 3 colonnes par page...C'est pénible à lire.

This edition is not fit for kindle. I wish it is mentioned there in the shop. Please mention so. Sorry

For Christians, this book will be too New-Agey. For atheists, this book will be too spiritual woo-woo nonsense. But in essence, it's short biographies of people throughout history who have represented divinity on earth. In this way, it ends up being a guide to comparative religion and will leave you considering being more open-minded by the beliefs you've held up till now. As someone who has gone through some of the experiences outlined, I tend to think the author is more on the money than perhaps even he realised.

Despite the outdated information from the first two chapters, there will be a few readers who will find the book truly useful. The writing offers a "roadmap" into the labyrinth for individuals who have questions that are hardly tapped by any science or philosophic currents today. The rich biography presented at the beginning of the writing is more than a commitment that the very few readers will do, because the life-time event of illumination it's more than a perceived reality that should be explored, it's a mission. Churches and religious currents have banned the book at the beginning of 20's century for "good" reasons; unadvised or unexposed readers could misinterpret the writing easy. Yet the truths depicted from the illumination excerpts offered by Dr. Bucke prove today that the book stands still before any misconceptions or interests. The book from "Arkana" publisher is not easy to follow due to the three different types of font blocks presenting excerpts from various authors that were exposed to illumination, or Dr. Bucke's explanatory notes, which are extremely small and would require a magnifying glass.