' Total Understanding '...

Most Hindu mystical thought displays four common features.. First,, it is based on experience:, the state of realization,, whatever it is called,, is both knowable and communicable,, and the systems are all designed to teach people how to reach it.. It is not,, in other words,, pure speculation.. Second,, it has as its goal the release of the spirit-substance of the individual from its prison in matter,, whether matter is considered real or illusory. Third, many systems recognize the importance or the necessity of the control of the mind and body as a means of realization;, sometimes this takes the form of extreme asceticism and mortification,, and sometimes it takes the form of the cultivation of mind and body in order that their energies may be properly channeled.. Finally,, at the core of Hindu mystical thought is the functional principle that knowing is being.. Thus,, knowledge is something more than analytical categorizing: it is total understanding. ............. Britannica