Mysticism is as real as fundamentalist religion

Yesterday David Lane left this comment on a recent blog post:

Yes, good point you make here about the epistemology of "knowing" in fundamentalist religion versus mysticism. Here is a link to something I wrote that dovetails with your point:

https://sites.google.com/site/msacmagazinesparttwo/home/POLITICSOFMYSTICISM.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1

Because I always enjoy what David has to say, I clicked away and found an interesting six page PDF-file essay, "The Politics of Mysticism."
Download Politics of Mysticism

Here's some excerpts — the formatting is a bit screwed up, since I copied text from the PDF file. No big deal, since you really should read the whole thing.

Perhaps  the  most  problematic  issue  confronting   transpersonalists  is  the  veracity of  inner  experiences.  For   many  involved  in  new  religious  groups  mystical  encounters,  like  near-­‐‑death  and  out-­‐‑of-­‐‑body  excursions,  offer  evidence  of their  respective  guru'ʹs  rightful  position  or  succession.   This  has  been  especially acute  in  several  Sant  Mat  related  groups,   particularly  Kirpal  Singh'ʹs  Ruhani Satsang,  where  mastership  disputes   are  often  resolved  by  resorting  to  one'ʹs inner  meditation  experiences.  But   there  is  a  rub  in  all  this  that  for  the  most part  lies  uninspected  by  those   newly  initiated.  

No  doubt  a  religious  devotee  may  use  such  experiences  as  proof  for   the authenticity  of  his/her  guru  or  group,  but  what  he/she  fails  to  realize   is  that  there  are  thousands,  if  not  millions,  of  people  who  also  claim   personal revelations  which  convince  them  of  the  truthfulness  of  their   chosen  path.  Even Elvis  has  hundreds  of  devotees  who  reported  seeing   his  radiant  form  at  the end  of  a  long  dark  tunnel  when  they  underwent  a   near-­‐‑death  experience.  So if  someone  in  Memphis  can  see  Elvis  in  their   meditation,  are  we  then  supposed  to  believe  in  the  spiritual  mastership   of  Elvis?  Don'ʹt  get  me  wrong,  I am  the  first  to  admit  that  the  King  had   some  great  songs  during  his  career, but  just  because  a  crew  of  devoted   fans  have  glimpses  of  him  in  the  alleged after-­life  does  not  constitute   documented  proof  of  his  spiritual  attainment.

…What  is  the  primary  difference  between  a  fundamentalist  Christian   and  a  mystically  inclined  yogi,  especially  when  it  comes  to  evaluating   their  ultimate truth  claims?  Both  think  they  have  uncovered  the  truth.   The  former  by  the revealing  "ʺWord"ʺ  of  the  Bible;  the  latter  by  the   manifesting  inner  "ʺWord"ʺ  of the  higher  regions.  Yet,  in  both  cases,  the   neophyte  is  subject  to  doubt,  to skepticism,  to  deception,  since   revelations  of  truth  (both  inner  and  outer)  are manifold.  The  Muslims   have  their  Koran;  the  Sikhs  have  their  Guru  Granth Sahib;  and  the   Christians  have  their  Bible.  And,  for  the  mystics,  yogis,  and sages  who   turn  inward  what  do  we  find?  The  Hare  Krsnas'ʹ  see  Lord  Krishna; the   Saivites  see  Lord  Shiva;  and  Ruhani  Satsangis  (depending  upon  your   affiliation)  see  Sant  Rajinder  Singh,  or  Sant  Baljit  Singh,  or  Sant  Sadhu   Ram. 

But,  as  the  argument  goes,  the  devoted  mystic  will  say  that  his  or  her   experiences  are  authentic  (because  of  the  utter  certainty  of  the  encounter)   and  the  experiences  of  others,  especially  if  they  belong  to  a  rival  group   which  splintered  off  after  a  succession  dispute,  are  misguided,   secondary,  or illusory.  So  what  we  actually  have  in  effect  here  in  in  terms   of  truth  claims is not  essentially  different  than  that  of  a  fundamentalist.