"You see many stars in the sky at night, but not when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that there are no stars in the heavens during the day? O man, because you cannot find God in the days of your ignorance, say not that there is no God."
Sri Ramakrishna
I have been reading a collection of essays by Aldous Huxley, from a book titled The Divine Within - Selected Writings on Enlightenment.
One of these essays, Man and Reality, captures the essence of the challenges when seeking a deeper understanding of what it means to be truly human while living in this world.
This video quotes a large portion of the essay, and carries the essentials quite well I think. The images might distract more than aid, but you can judge.
Man, proud man,
Drest in a little brief authority,
Most ignorant of what he’s most assur’d;
His glassy essence, like an angry ape,
Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven,
As make the angels weep.
Shakespeare, Measure for Measure act 2, sc. 2
Wow! and Gosh! That imagery is powerful and, in places, brutal. But it makes the point very well.
ReplyDeleteThose who made the video were not holding back with their choices of the brutality they see in the modern world. I found it difficult to hear the words properly at times - my mind was processing the visual.
DeleteQuite interesting- I gather Huxley views (perennial philosopher) were followed on by the great religious philosopher Huston Smith who nor nevertheless took on a slightly more positive view to religion. At any rate it seems Smith liked most of what he read from Huxley. Best wishes
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