rather than a sudden influx, in which the phenomenon of _light_ is not
greatly marked.

Mohammed is said to have swooned with the "intolerable splendor" of the
flood of white light which broke upon him, after many days of constant
prayer and meditation, in the solitude of the cavern outside the gates of
Mecca.

Similar is the description of the attainment of cosmic consciousness, given
by the Persian mystics, although it is evident that the Sufis regarded the
result as reunion with "the other half" of the soul in exile.

The burden of their cry is love, and "union with the beloved" is the
longed-for goal of all earthly strife and experience.

Whether this reunion be considered from the standpoint of finding the other
half of the perfect one, as exemplified in the present-day search for the
soul mate, or whether it be considered in the light of a spiritual merging
into the One Eternal Absolute is the question of questions.

Certainly the terms used to express this state of spiritual ecstacy are
words which might readily be applied to lovers united in marriage.

One thing is certain, the Sufis did not personify the Deity, except
symbolically, and the "beloved one" is impartially referred to as masculine
or feminine, even as modern thought has come to realize God as
Father-Mother.

In all mystical writings, we find the conclusion that there is no _one way_
in which the seeker may find reunion with The Beloved.