Many / One

A database of 11,000+ illuminated guiding quotations in 40 categories from 600+ inspired books by our most brilliant and influential authors.
Compiled by JoAnn Kite

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1		"Behind the veil of all mystical allegories of ancient doctrines [teachings], behind the darkness and strange ordeals of all initiations, under the seal of all sacred writings…in the cryptic emblems of our old books on alchemy, in the ceremonies practised at reception by all secret societies, there are found indications of a doctrine which is everywhere the same." Eliphas Levi (1810-1875) Revelations: The Wisdom of the Ages (Paul Roland)

2		"Always be kinder than the situation demands. Earth's greatest Teachers and Sages have taught this." Basic Theosophy (Geoffrey Hodson)

3		"There always has been…the way of Gnosis, an acquaintance with, or knowledge of, the God within." Omens of Millennium (Harold Bloom)

4		"In the extraordinary archeology of Spirit, those spiritual pioneers (saints and sages) were ahead of their time, and they are still ahead of ours. They are thus voices, not of our past, but of our future; they point to emergents, not exhumations; they urge us forward, not backward. As the growing tip of humanity, they forged a future telos through which the trunk of humanity is now slowly heading, not as a rigid pregiven, but as a gentle persuasion. They are figures of the deepest layers of our own true Self, layers that whisper to us from the radiant depths of a greater tomorrow." Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy (Ken Wilber)

5		"Creativity is built into the very fabric of the Kosmos. This creativity – Eros is one of its many names – drives the emergence of ever higher and ever wider holons, a drive that shows up, in the interior domains, as an expansion of identity (and morals and consciousness) from matter to body to mind to soul to spirit. And the proof of that seqence is found, not by staring at the physical organism and its environment, but by looking into the subjective and intersubjective domains. But humanity has ALREADY done that very carefully for at least several thousand years." Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy (Ken Wilber)

6		"Harvard theologian John Chirban's conclusion: 'Although each saint describes his own experience (often in his own unique way), basic parallels emerge as one compares the stages of the saints with one another. This sameness confirms the catholicity of their experience….' – and the catholicity (or universal applicability) of the basic waves of consciousness themselves, which are similarly reflected in these numerous cross-cultural sources. Whether one is looking at Saint Teresa, Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi, Lady Tsogyal, Saint Dionysius, Patanjali, Hazrat Inayat Kahn, or Mahamudra, one is again struck by the broadly similar morphogenetic field or developmental space over which their stages migrate." Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy (Ken Wilber)

7		"Behind the many guises of truth there is ONE truth." Martin James, 'Art News', 1957 Reincarnation: The Phoenix Fire Mystery (Cranston/Head, editors)

8		"Whether or not a particular religion is our personal path, its core mystical teachings apply to everyone." The Gift of Change, Spiritual Guidance for a Radically New Life (Marianne Williamson)

9		"A revolution is a 'revolving'. It is a coming full circle. And this is what Life as expressed through Humanity is doing right now. You are on a circle, from the fullness of knowing to the emptiness of forgetfulness to the fullness of knowing again. From Oneness to Separation to Oneness again. From Total Consciousness to Unconsciousness to Total Consciousness again. This movement, this process, is part of the endless Cycle of Life….It is spoken of in your philosophies and revealed in your religions and expressed in all of your cultural stories. It is found in your poems and songs, in your dances and rituals of every kind. It is held in your minds and embraced in your hearts and known in your souls." Tomorrow's God, Our Greatest Spiritual Challenge (Neale Donald Walsch)

10		“Spiritual truths come from the same place in us where there is only one of us. The Sutras and Bibles of all the ages meet and are summarized in the archetypal oracular wisdom of our linked souls, and no accidents or ravages of history can dispossess us of our heritage. Each of us is a holograph of the entirety of revelation.” Mary Within (David Richo)

11		"The great teachers of mankind have walked the earth showing men how to live by dispensing both practical and spiritual wisdom. Their instructions have been simple. They have taught men not to hate but to love. Their admonishments were codified in the Ten Commandments and in the founding principles of the world's major religions. These principles include a belief in one Supreme Being." Understanding Yourself: A Spiritual Approach to Self-Discovery and Soul-Awareness (Mark L. and Elizabeth Clare Prophet)

12		"May that Universal Good Will of the Great Teachers of Wisdom speedily prevail, so that mankind may recognize their divine at-one-ment." The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation (W. Y. Evans-Wentz, compiler and editor)

13		"The testimony of the mystics of all time is so vast that it now in itself constitutes a body of proven facts and cannot be gainsaid." The Labours of Hercules (Alice A. Bailey)

14		"It is undeniable that the theologies of all the great nations dovetail together and show that each is a part of one stupendous whole." Isis Unveiled (Helena P. Blavatsky)

15		"The perennial philosophy first arose in matriarchy, and thus cannot be charged with inherent sexism; it arose in illiterate peoples, and thus is not logocentric; and it first flourished in what are now Second and Third world countries – it is hardly Eurocentric. Furthermore, it offers what 'politically correct' thought cannot: an integrative vision that, while allowing each expression its own free space, points to a better state of affairs, namely, the supreme Identity. It thus has inherent in it a genuine liberal agenda: increasing freedom on both an individual and societal level." Grace and Grit: Spirituality and Healing in the Life and Death of Treya Killam Wilber (Ken Wilber)

16		“That sages, widely separated geographically and with diverse environments and temperaments, should arrive at the same general conclusions attests the accuracy of their findings.” Lectures on Ancient Philosophy (Manly P. Hall)

17		"Strictly speaking, there is but one sole philosophy, the Sophia Perennis; it is also – envisaged in its integrality – the only religion." Frithjof Schuon, 'The Transfiguration of Man' The Best Spiritual Writing 1998 (Philip Zaleski, editor)

18		"God sent prophets to all three areas of the soul: philosophers to enlighten the intellect, prophets to straighten out the will, and myth-makers to tease and touch the emotions with a desire for himself." Heaven, The Heart's Deepest Longing (Peter Kreeft)

19		"Truth never yet fell dead in the streets: it has such affinity with the soul of man, the seed however broadcast will catch somewhere and produce its hundredfold." Theodore Parker One Thousand Inspirational Things (Audrey Stone Morris, Compiler)

20		"This revelation concerning the identity of the individual with the divine is the ultimate secret that lies at the core of all great spiritual traditions, although it might be expressed in somewhat different ways….In Hinduism Atman, the individual consciousness, and Brahman, the universal consciousness, are one. The followers of Siddha Yoga hear in many variations the basic tenet of their school: 'God dwells within you as you.' In Buddhist scriptures, we can read: 'Look within, you are the Buddha.' In the Confucian tradition, we are told that 'Heaven, earth, and human are one body.' The same message can be found in the words of Jesus Christ: 'Father, you and I are one.' And St. Gregory Palamas, one of the greatest theologians of the Christian Orthodox Church, declared: 'For the kingdom of heaven, nay rather, the King of Heaven…is within us.' Similarly, the great Jewish sage and Cabalist Avraham ben Shemu'el Abulafia taught that 'He and we are one.' According to Mohammed, 'whoso knoweth himself knoweth his lord.' Mansur al-Hallaj, the Sufi ecstatic and poet known as 'the martyr of mystical love,' described it in this way: 'I saw my Lord with the Eye of the Heart. I said: 'Who art thou?' He answered: 'Thou.'" The Cosmic Game, Explorations of the Frontiers of Human Consciousness (Stanislav Grof)

21		"Studying, contemplating, and living in agreement with universal principles is a social responsibility and can be a spiritual path. It is becoming clear that when we cooperate with nature's ways we succeed; when we resist, we struggle. Implications for our environmental crises are obvious." A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: The Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art & Science (Michael S. Schneider)

22		"Good traditions of all ages must inspire the achievement of world peace." Buddhism and Psychotherapy, The Healing of Heart Doctrine (Manly P. Hall)

23		"All the great teachers have said: As you make your way through the mists of uncertainty, trust that the combined wisdom of your heart and mind will lead you to the truth." Making Peace With God, A Practical Guide (Harold Bloomfield, M.D. & Philip Goldberg, Ph.D.)

24		"Indeed, the true meaning of the world is that generation after generation emerges from a great and mysterious depth, and each generation is entrusted by the preceding one with the sacred heritage. Each generation must enrich it and pass it on. And only by passing on the enriched heritage, creative energies keep flowing." Lectures on the I Ching: Constancy and Change (Richard Wilhelm)

25		"Think of the enlightened ones as having earned the equivalent of an advanced degree. Their descriptions of communion with the Infinite are so remarkably similar, despite their differences in language, culture and religious context, that they can be considered as reliable as repeated observations in science." Making Peace With God, A Practical Guide (Harold Bloomfield, M.D. & Philip Goldberg, Ph.D.)