Great Throughts Treasury

"Thou wilt never escape from thy self until thou slay it. Thy self, which is keeping thee far from God, and saying “So-and-so has treated me ill… such a one has done well by me” - all this is polytheism; nothing depends upon the creatures, all upon the Creator."

"If men wish to draw near to god, they must seek Him in the hearts of men."

"To bring joy to a single heart is better than to build many shrines for worship."

"The veil between God and you is neither earth nor heaven, nor the throne of the footstool; your selfhood and illusions are the veil, and when you remove these, you have attained God."

"Even on the path to God, All is God. You are freed from your own desires only when God frees you. This is not effected by your own exertion, but by the grace of God... Then you entirely recognize that you do not have the right to say “I” or “mine.” At this stage you behold your helplessness; desires fall away from you and you become free and calm. You desire what God desires; your own desires are gone, you are emancipated from your wants, and I have gained peace and joy in both worlds. First, action is necessary, then knowledge, in order that you may know that you know nothing and are no one. This is not easy to know. It is a thing that cannot be rightly learned by instruction, nor sewed on with needle nor tied on with thread. It is the gift of God."

"The true man of God sits in the midst of his fellow-men, and rises and eats and sleeps and marries and buys and sells and gives and takes in the bazaars and spends the days with other people, and yet never forgets God even for a single moment."