What is the essence of theosophy? It is the fact that man, being himself divine, can know the divinity whose life he shares. As an inevitable corollary to this supreme truth comes the fact of the brotherhood of man.
Annie BesantRead
Meditation means this opening out of the soul to the Divine and letting the Divine shine in without obstruction from the personal self. Therefore it means renunciation. It means throwing away everything that one has, and waiting empty for the light to come in.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Meditation involves surrendering oneself to a divine presence and emptying the personal ego to receive spiritual light.
Annie Besant's quote emphasizes the essence of meditation as a spiritual practice of opening oneself up to the Divine, which requires a deep renunciation of the personal self and its attachments. This process of throwing away personal desires and ego is seen as essential to creating a space for enlightenment and divine inspiration to enter one's life.
Themes
MeditationSoulDivineRenunciationSpirituality
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker at a wellness retreat might use this quote to emphasize the transformative power of meditation.
More from Annie Besant
All quotes →No durable things are built on violent passion. Nature grows her plants in silence and in darkness, and only when they have become strong do they put their heads above the ground.
Annie BesantRead
Death consists, indeed, in a repeated process of unrobing, or unsheathing. The immortal part of man shakes off from itself, one after the other, its outer casings, and - as the snake from its skin, the butterfly from its chrysalis - emerges from one after another, passing into a higher state of consciousness.
Annie BesantRead
Let Indian history be set side by side with Europe history with what there is of the latter century by century and let us see whether India need blush at the comparison.
Annie BesantRead
My own life in India, since I came to it in 1893 to make it my home, has been devoted to one purpose, to give back to India her ancient freedom.
Annie BesantRead
Knowledge is essential to conquest; only according to our ignorance are we helpless. Thought creates character. Character can dominate conditions. Will creates circumstances and environment.
Annie BesantRead
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