Question

Question: Could you tell us what mysticism entails?
Sri Chinmoy: There are three major paths, or roads, of
spirituality: Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga. Jnana
is the path of knowledge or wisdom. Within Jnana Yoga there
is a special branch called Raja Yoga or the Royal Road, on
which one runs the fastest. You can call it a short cut. It
deals with tremendous aspiration, eagerness and constant
dedication. A mystic follows the path of Raja Yoga.

A mystic is not someone who is vague, or who lives in the
moon-world, even though, unfortunately, people identify a
mystic as such. A mystic is a seeker who, with dynamic
energy, wants to discover the Truth in the fastest way,
through intuition-power. Using the third eye, he will see the
Truth faster than anything, faster than a bullet. But if an
individual wants to have that kind of weapon, then naturally
he has to give up everything that is undivine in him.
Everything that is divine, he will accept and try to
cultivate in his life. A mystic is he who wants to see the
Truth as soon as possible in the most illumining and
fulfilling way. A mystic is not someone who spurns everything
practical. But here in the West and in India also, people do
not pay attention to the mystic. They simply say, "He is not
practical. He cares only for God; he does not care for the
world. He is only looking at the sun, looking at the moon,
looking at the hills. He is not for this world." But a real
mystic is he who wants to see the divine mystery in
everything, in nature and in human beings.

He wants to go to the essence, to the Source, faster than any
human being dares to imagine. This is a real mystic.