This term has been applied to a level of consciousness and insight of which the prime characteristic is a consciousness of the cosmos and of the life and order of the universe as an experienced whole. It has been distinguished from mystical experiences and from spiritual or metaphysical awareness which imply that it is not also extremely concrete and physical although some of the features of such experiences may also be present in cosmic consciousness. Reported characteristics of such consciousness include: a sense of objective light, moral elevation, intellectual illumination, sense of immortality, loss of fear of death, loss of sense of sin, instantaneousness of the awakening, transfiguration of the person as seen by others. To the individual thus enlightened it appears as a vivid and overwhelming certainty that the universe, precisely as it is at this moment, as a whole and in every one of its parts, is so completely right as to need no explanation or justification beyond what it simply is. The universe may be seen, not as dead matter but as a living presence. The immediate now, whatever its nature, becomes the goal and fulfilment of living. An emotional ecstasy is associated with this core experience, a sense of intense relief, freedom, and lightness, and often of almost unbearable love for the world. Although the experience may last only a few seconds it may have a permanent effect on the life of the person experiencing it, a lasting knowledge that, whatever the appearances, this is how things really are.
In the 19th Century, William James defined four characteristics of the experience: (1) There is a sense of unity or oneness, so that experience is comprehensive, not fragmented, and one sees relationships between things that are normally separate. (2) There is an awareness that the experience of relations between things is more real, closer to the truth, than normal experience. (3) The experience is ineffable and cannot be communicated in words. (4) There is a vividness and richness, a freshness and clarity, not normally present.
One study of well-known cases suggests that cosmic consciousness appears in individuals (mostly men, who are otherwise highly developed physically, morally and intellectually,) between the age of 30 and 40. Intimations of this state may be experienced by many people for no apparent reason and possibly with the aid of psychedelic drugs.
Some believe that such consciousness is an emerging faculty which represents a direction of future human evolution; others equate it with the [illumination]
achieved from the practice of yoga, for example, as described by Patanjali. The individual has achieved conscious self-relatedness and has the courage to go against his tribe, community or race in pursuit of international justice and peace.
