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Comparative Religion quotes

World Faiths spirituality & mysticism

There are several pages on our site that feature content related to Christian mysticism and spirituality, and World Faiths mysticism and spirituality.

We have decided to present a series of Comparative Religion quotes pages based on the commonalities of spirituality and mysticism to be found across all the major World Religions.

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A brief selection of Comparative Religion quotes about ~ how Christian spirituality and mysticism, and the spirituality and mysticism taught by other World Faiths, tend to recommend a "Distrust" of Intellect; and to "Assert" Possibilities of Enlightenment ~ now follow:

Intellect is to be Distrusted

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

St. Paul

If thou reliest more upon thine own reason or industry than upon the virtue that subjects to Jesus Christ, thou wilt seldom and hardly become an enlightened man; for God wishes us to be perfectly subject to Himself, and to transcend all reason by inflamed love.

Thomas à Kempis
Of the Imitation of Christ


Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment;
Cleverness is mere opinion, bewilderment intuition.

Rumi ~ Masnavi - (Islam)

"The wise who knows the Self as bodiless within the bodies, as unchanging among changing things, as great and omnipresent, does never grieve". "That self cannot be gained by the Veda, nor by understanding, nor by much learning. He whom the Self chooses, by him the Self can be gained. The Self chooses him (his body) as his own". But he who has not first turned away from his wickedness, who is not tranquil, and subdued, or whose mind is not at rest, he can never obtain the Self (even) by knowledge.

Katha Upanishad - (Hinduism aka Vedanta)


Enlightenment is possible

  Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

The Book of Proverbs

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind. Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

St. Paul

 To the humble He revealeth His secrets, and sweetly draweth and inviteth him to Himself.
The humble man, having received reproach, maintaineth himself well enough in peace, because he is fixed in God and not in the world. Never think that thou hast made any progress till thou look upon thyself as inferior to all.

Thomas a Kempis
Of the Imitation of Christ


Little is known by any one but the spiritual man, Who has in his heart a touchstone of vital truth. The others, hovering between two opinions, Fly towards their nest on a single wing. Knowledge has two wings, opinion only one wing; Opinion is weak and lopsided in its flight. The bird having only but one wing quickly drops down, And again flies on two steps or more. This bird of opinion goes on rising and falling On one wing, in hope to reach his nest. When he escapes from opinion and knowledge is seen, This bird gains two wings and spreads both of them. Afterwards he "goes upright on a straight path, Not grovelling on his face or creeping." He flies up on two wings even as the angel Gabriel, Free of opinion, of duplicity, and of vain talk.

Rumi ~ Masnavi - (Islam)

Perseverance in (seeking to gain) the knowledge of the Supreme Spirit, and perception of the gain that comes from knowledge of the truth: This is called knowledge : all that is contrary to this is ignorance.

Bhagavad Gita - (Hinduism aka Vedanta)



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The World Religions & their spirituality and mysticism


Commonalities as to spirituality and mysticism teachings between Christianity and the other major World Religions are perhaps surprisingly extensive.
We hope that a demonstration of said extensive commonality will be able to be appreciated by our visitors if they visit our series of Comparative Religion quotes pages.

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The following linked pages are intended to more fully demonstrate the degree of Common Ground between the Inner-most Spiritual Teachings of several major World Religions on Charity, Purity of Heart, Humility, Meekness, A Disdain for Materialism (compared to the Spiritual), A Distrust of the Intellect (compared to Divine Inspiration) and A Thirst for Spiritual Enlightenment.
These quotations are presented on a series of very brief pages where each faith is considered individually.

We have seen it as worthwhile to add another category of quotation ~ where recognition has been given "by the wise and holy of several faiths" to the possibility of Mystical Communion with God ~ as this addition may rather directly tend the range of agreement from Comparative Religion studies about "Core Spiritual Truths" already demonstrated towards actually becoming real evidence of the existence of "Spiritually Discernible" aspects to the one God or Spirit which is central to Mystical Faith.


World Religions Spirituality Quotations


Buddhist       Islamic       Hindu


Christian


Sikh       Taoist       Jewish


Alongside our efforts to demonstrate extensive profundities in Christian spirituality we also have great respect for the spiritualities that exist at the cores of the Buddhist, Islamic, Jewish, Sikh, Taoist and Vedic-Hindu faiths and have laid out the above table of links in a manner consistent with our aspiration towards promoting a mutually respectful co-existence of The Great Faiths of the World.