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Hallucinations and visions*

That which men term a hallucination is the reflection in the mind and senses of
that which is beyond our ordinary mental and sensory perceptions. Superstition
arises from the mind’s wrong understanding of these reflections. There is no other
hallucination. 1

Can hallucinations be compared to visions?

A vision is a perception, by the visual organs, of phenomena that really exist in a world
corresponding to the organ which sees.

For example, to the individual vital plane there corresponds a cosmic vital world. When
a human being is sufficiently developed he possesses an individualised vital being with
organs of sight, hearing, smell, etc. So a person who has a well-developed vital being can
see in the vital world with his vital sight, consciously and with the memory of what he has
seen. This is what makes a vision.

It is the same for all the subtle worlds — vital, mental, overmental, supramental — and for
all the intermediate worlds and planes of the being. In this way one can have visions that
are vital, mental, overmental, supramental, etc.

On the other hand, Sri Aurobindo tells us that what is termed a hallucination is the
reflection in the mind or the physical senses of that which is beyond our mind and our
ordinary senses; it is therefore not a direct vision, but a reflected image which is usually
not understood or explained. This character of uncertainty produces an impression of
unreality and gives rise to all kinds of superstition. This is also why “serious” people, or
people who think themselves serious, do not accord any value to these phenomena and
call them hallucinations. And yet, in those who are interested in occult phenomena, this
type of perception often precedes the emergence of the capacity of vision which may be
in course of formation. But you must guard against mistaking this for true vision. For, I
repeat, these phenomena occur most often in a state of almost complete ignorance and are
too frequently accompanied by much error and wrong interpretation; not to mention the
cases of unscrupulous people, who introduce into the account they give of their experiences

*Heading provided by the Editor

1 Sri Aurobindo. Birth Centenary Library, Volume 17. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust;
1971, p. 80.

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