A nation can assume that the addition of the words "under God" to its pledge of allegiance gives evidence that its citizens actually believe in God whereas all it really proves is that they believe in "believing" in God
Huston SmithRead
When I read the Upanishads, which are part of Vedanta, I found a profundity of worldview that made my Christianity seem like third grade.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The author contrasts the depth of the Upanishads with his own experience of Christianity, suggesting a profound spiritual insight in Eastern philosophy.
In this quote, Huston Smith reflects on his encounter with the Upanishads, ancient Indian texts that explore profound philosophical and spiritual concepts. He implies that the insights and worldview presented in the Upanishads are so rich and complex that they overshadow his previous understanding of Christianity, which he likens to a simplistic education. This comparison highlights the transformative power of philosophical exploration and the quest for deeper understanding in spirituality.
Themes
UpanishadsChristianityPhilosophyWorldviewSpirituality
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the depth of different spiritual texts, this quote can highlight the varied perspectives on spirituality.
More from Huston Smith
All quotes βOne reason education undoes belief is its teaching of evolution; Darwin's own drift from orthodoxy to agnosticism was symptomatic. Martin Lings is probably right in saying that more cases of loss of religious faith are to be traced to the theory of evolution ... than to anything else.
Huston SmithRead
So always, if we look back, concern for face-to-face morality, and its modern emphasis on justice as well, have historically evolved as religious issues.
Huston SmithRead
The crisis that the world finds itself in as it swings on the hinge of a new millennium is located in something deeper than particular ways of organizing political systems and economies.
Huston SmithRead
...conversation can be as mutually incomprehensible as foreign languages. We need the different and complementary perspectives of the various yogas - and ideally of all religions - not only to reach God but to reach each other.
Huston SmithRead
In the post-individualistic era, science and spirituality will become allies, and human beings will realize a vast potentiality now only dimly felt.
Huston SmithRead
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If we possessed a thorough knowledge of all the parts of the seed of any animal (e.g. man), we could from that alone, be reasons entirely mathematical and certain, deduce the whole conformation and figure of each of its members, and, conversely if we knew several peculiarities of this conformation, we would from those deduce the nature of its seed.
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