The Great Illusion : the best-known work of Sir Norman Angell.
... is what really exists, and in all that we see, hear, feel, it is He alone who exists. It is He alone whom we feel and see. Parameshwara builds up this world by His maya . He is the master of the great illusion which we call maya . This He made to express Himself, the One. All these things around us are transitory. Within us is that which cannot change, which is eternally free and happy. If man feels... the master of this lila . He thinks that it is I who act, I who am the lord of my body, and because he thinks so, he is bound by his action. By these forces he is driven from birth to birth. The great illusion is that this body which he inhabits is himself; next he identifies himself with the mind and thinks it is I who think, see and feel. In reality, according to the Gita, God is within the heart ...
... Japanese cult of Amitabha Buddha which is a cult of bhakti. It is now being said even of Shankara that there was another side of his doctrine—but his followers have made him stand solely for the Great Illusion, the inferiority of bhakti, the uselessness of Karma— jagan mithyā . Buddhism and Vedanta The impressions in the approach to Infinity or the entry into it are not always quite the same; ...
... reception, reaction and retention, in human soul as the brutal animal, the active, creative man and the calm, clear-souled god. It must always be remembered that Prakriti is no other than Avidya, the great Illusion. She is that impalpable indeterminable source of subtle and gross matter, Matter in the abstract, the idea of difference and duality, the impression of Time, Space and Causality. The limited ...
... past our doors, but we do not recognise them, nor align ourselves with them. The trapped divinity seeks release in vain. The race of seers, the sages and the poets, have exhorted us in vain. The great illusion has us still in thrall, and we wriggle helplessly, plan purposelessly, and fail. As the stern voice of admonition and compassion is stilled at last, there advances towards Aswapati ...
... innocence. Ignorance or unconsciousness or inconscience—different degrees of the same thing —that is to say lack of consciousness, mean, at bottom, falsehood. It is through the ignorance that Maya, the great illusion, was born. Ignorance is false apprehension, it begins with the sense of separation, "I am other than the Divine." That is how Jiva is born in or through the ignorance. The world is separate ...
... Japanese cult of Amitabha Buddha which is a cult of bhakti. It is now being said even of Shankara that there was another side of his doctrine—but his followers have made him stand solely for the Great Illusion, the inferiority of Page 24 bhakti, the uselessness of Karma— jaganmithya [the world is a lie]. The review is a very good one and the account of the aims of the Yoga quite ...
... by experience attained." And so be not offended if I tell you That all you say is true and yet false, false, Like love or death enacted on the stage, Whose aim is to perpetuate the Maya, The great Illusion, which is cosmic life Espousing compromise to breed perversion. Forgive me if, when I applaud your thesis, I flout it still as null — as when you quote: "Who finds Him here must find ...
... even bondage and release can be only such an illusion, a part of temporal phenomena: they amount only to the conscious continuity of the illusory experiences of the ego, itself a creation of the great Illusion, and the cessation of the continuity and the consciousness into the superconsciousness of That which alone was, is and ever will be, or rather which has nothing to do with Time, is for ever unborn ...
... were still possible and the battle-fury of man superior to the fury of his death-dealing engines, another book was published, called by a title which has turned into a jest upon the writer, The Great Illusion , to prove that the idea of a commercial advantage to be gained by war and conquest was an illusion and that as soon as this was understood and the sole benefit of peaceful interchange realised ...
... ways lead to the Divine; the importance for us of not subscribing to the Shankara idea is that we need freedom to move towards the dynamic realisation of the Divine in the world and the idea of the Great Illusion bars the road to that. But for them the important thing is to reach the Divine. It was therefore not at all useful to point the difference before him at this time. 18 January 1937 Traditional ...
... Ignorance or unconsciousness or inconscience – different degrees of the same thing – that is to say lack of consciousness, mean, at bottom, falsehood. It is through the ignorance that Maya, the great illusion, was born. Ignorance is false apprehension, it begins with the sense of separation, "I am other than the Divine." That is how Jiva is born in or through the ignorance. The world is separate from ...
... of the earth, to be exact — with a peace, a stillness unknown to the physical. And that whole attack seemed like an absolute falsehood, without any element of truth behind it [that is to say, the great illusion of the fishbowl]. Yet at the same time, simultaneously (it can't be said, but it was simultaneous), everywhere, all over the town, and especially over the Ashram here, I had a microscopic perception ...
... the past, an extension of the past; there is only apprehension for the future, uncertainty in the Page 5 present. 1 It was Buddha's signal achievement to uncover this great illusion, the illusion of an inexhaustible and inexorably continuing past, continuing into the present and into the future. He saw that to be is not continuity but a sequence of discrete moments (and events).... from a dream you will find they all disintegrate and disperse and end in nothing. The only reality is that Nothing. Shankara however says that it is not mere Nothing but Pure Existence, instead of an illusion of existences you have the original Existence, the absolute existence. The Upanishad speaks of the creation as a garland and all the elements of life—that are like precious jewels—are... This is not merely children's homesickness; it is a fundamental note of the human nature as it is at present constituted. We always look backward, we always are tied to our roots and it is with great difficulty and much effort that we advance and go forward or upward away from our origins. In a nobler language this is called tradition. Often tradition is made identical with and taken for both life ...
... inevitable faith and trust in the past, an extension of the past; there is only apprehension for the future, uncertainty in the present.¹ It was Buddha's signal achievement to uncover this great illusion, the illusion of an inexhaustible and inexorably continuing past, continuing into the present and into the future. He saw that to be is not continuity but a sequence of discrete moments (and events)... a dream you will find they 'all disintegrate and disperse and end in nothing. The only reality is that Nothing. Shankara however says that it is not mere Nothing but Pure Existence, instead of an illusion of existences you have the original Existence, the absolute existence. ¹ It is not that the conscious intelligence of man is ignorant of the truth, his reason and higher perception surely sees... THIS is not merely children's homesickness; it is a fundamental note of the human nature as it is at present constituted. We always look backward, we always are tied to our roots and it is with great difficulty and much effort that we advance and go forward or upward away from our origins. In a nobler language this is called tradition. Often tradition is made identical with and taken for both life ...
... aggressive and combative—of the economic strength of a community, and also the stupendous inequality and maldistribution of wealth and opportunity. But it brings in its own poison. It is a great illusion, as has been pointed out by many, that a collective and impersonal body cannot be profiteers and war-mongers. A nation as a whole can very well be moved by greed and violence and Sieglust (passion... symptom of the disease society suffers from and not as a remedy. The disease is a twofold bondage from which man has always been trying to free himself. It is fundamentally the same bondage which the great French Revolution sought most vigorously and violently to shake off—an economic and an ideological bondage, that is to say, Page 123 translated in the terms of those days, the tyranny... unknown to each other or clashing with each other. But that is good so far as it goes. Powerful as economic forces are, they are-not the only deciding or directing agents in human affairs. That is the great flaw in the "Internationale", Page 128 the Marxian type of internationalism which has been made familiar to us. Man is not a political animal, in spite of Aristotle, nor is he an economic ...
... gone far beyond to reveal something of another world. This world as a result turns into a great illusion; and then when one can look upon it as such – wonderful to say – it assumes the beauty of a mirage! This beauty therefore can last as long as the world is taken as a whole. But in an individual life the illusion presents an aweful sight. In spite of a unity in the creation the individual life is... away. In fact, the figure of Christ is ever present before his vision. Christ himself is his master, the ideal of human life. The love for his Lord Christ has brought him liberation. When the great crisis came and He had to choose did He not too cry out: Abba, Father, if it be possible, Let this cup pass from me. Still He accepted the Dark Night and passed beyond. He was able to... the descent into the cellar with a candle, And the candle snuffing out in fright When the resurrected mail stood up. It seems that the problem of life can be solved only through the two great sayings of Christ. And the life-principle of Pasternak has developed on the basis of these two sublime ideas. The first is: The kingdom of heaven is within you. It is in the depths of our ...
... aggressive and combative-of the economic strength of a community, and also the stupendous inequality and maldistribution of wealth and opportunity. But it brings in its own poison. It is a great illusion, as has been pointed out by many, that a collective and impersonal body cannot be profiteers and war-mongers. A nation as a whole can very well be moved by greed and violence and Sieglust ... symptom of the disease society suffers from and not as a remedy. The disease is a twofold bondage from which man has always been trying to free himself. It is fundamentally the same "bondage which the great French Revolution sought most vigorously and violently to shake off – an economic and an ideological bondage, that is to say, translated in the terms of those days, the tyranny of the court and the... unknown to each other or clashing with each other. But that is good so far as it goes. Powerful as economic forces are, they are not the only deciding or directing agents in human affairs. That is the great flaw in the "International", the Marxian type of internationalism which has been made familiar to us. Man is not a political animal, in spite of Aristotle, nor is he an economic animal, in spite of ...
... but as something only looking down on us from the heights and drawing us only towards the heights and away from the rest of existence. So we get the idea of our cosmic and individual being as a great illusion, and departure from it and extinction in our consciousness of both individual and cosmos as the only hope, the sole release. Or we build up the idea of the earth as a world of ignorance, suffering... ry movement here could very well deny the capacity of earth for a divine life: a divine existence could only be achieved by a departure from earth and the body. Even if cosmic existence is not an illusion or Maya, a divine or a completely spiritual being is likely to be possible only in another less material world or only in the pure spirit. At any rate, to the normal human reason the odds seem to ...
... but as something only looking down on us from the heights and drawing us only towards the heights and away from the rest of existence. So we get the idea of our cosmic and individual being as a great illusion, and departure from it and extinction in our consciousness of both individual and cosmos as the only hope, the sole release. Or we build up the idea of the earth as a world of ignorance; suffering... ry movement here could very well deny the capacity of earth for a divine life: a divine existence could only be achieved by a departure from earth and the body. Even if cosmic existence is not an illusion or Maya, a divine or a completely spiritual being is likely to be possible only in another less material world or only in the pure spirit. At any rate, to the normal human reason the odds seem to ...
... relation to his inner life and light, or a Madhusudan dying in a hospital as a pauper, are examples significant of the nature of the social structure man lives in. It is one of the great illusions – or perhaps a show plank for propaganda – to think or say that the so-called poorer classes are the poorest and the most miserable. It is not so in fact. Really poor are those who have a standard... nursery of art and culture, of all the art and culture of the ancient times. One remembers Shakespeare reading or enacting his drama before the Great Queen, or the poignant scene of Leonardo dying in the arms of Francis the First. Those were the truly great classical ages, and art or man's creative genius hardly ever rose to that height ever since. The downward curve started with the advent and growth... Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol. 1 On Social Reconstruction I IT is one of the great errors of the human mind to take equality as identical with uniformity. When Rousseau started the revolutionary slogan "Men are born equal", men were carried away in the vehemence of the new spirit and thought that there was absolutely no difference ...
... inner life and light, or a Madhusudan dying in a hospital as a pauper, are examples significant of the nature of the social structure man lives in. Page 113 It is one of the great illusions—or perhaps a show plank for propaganda—to think or say that the so-called poorer calsses are the poorest and the most miserable. It is not so in fact. Really poor are those who have a standard... art and culture, of all the art and culture of the ancient times. One remembers Shakespeare reading or enacting his drama before the Great Queen, or the poignant scene of Leonardo dying in the arms Page 112 of Francis the First. Those were the truly great classical ages, and art or man's creative genius hardly ever rose to that height ever since. The downward curve started with the advent... Towards A New Society ON SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION I It is one of the great errors of the human mind to take equality as identical with uniformity. When Rousseau started the revolutionary slogan "Men are born equal", men were carried away in the vehemence of the new spirit and thought that there was absolutely no difference between man and man, all difference ...
... A truly great man does not know himself to be great. That is a very doubtful statement. Most great men Page 244 know perfectly well that they are great. The outer greatness is but an illusion. The true quality of greatness lies inside and to know it we must go within. Why is the outer greatness an illusion? While... While speaking about greatness I was thinking of the psychic and spiritual greatness and not of the outer kind like any great capacity nor of any powerful mind or vital. I thought the Divine does not care as much for this outer greatness as for the inner — especially in the real seekers of the Truth. That is why I called the outer greatness a mere illusion. Why should the Divine not care... universe or the place of great men of action, great poets and artists etc. Nowadays men's minds have taken such a peculiar turn that they take delight in pointing out the defects and whims of great men. People have begun to try to prove that great men were not great, which is a very great mistake. If greatness is not appreciated by men, the world will become small, dull, narrow ...
... Repeatedly it's: patience, patience, patience But the others, too, must be patient. 10 “I hardly belong to the old world anymore….” What was going to happen between those two states? A great illusion of Matter and … an unknown reality. Tomorrow’s Unknown It is difficult to describe the hell She traversed those last three years and to say where it was leading to or what it was hiding... of meaning. Near Mother, one had the impression that She walked with a perpetual open sesame⎯each thing had its open sesame, down to the least trifle, everything was a perpetual open sesame. And the great Door can open at any page, any line of that Agenda : there is no need to understand, perhaps it is not even necessary, but to grasp hold of that straight little vibration which goes through all appearances... what I keep knocking myself against at present, in every field—every field. In the body too. The body is used to, “This and not that; this or that....”—No, no, no: this AND that. And of course, the great Division: life and death—there you are. Everything is the effect of that. Well (words are stupid but...), overlife is life and death together. 26 Overlife. The state of the superman. And ...
... from Pondicherry all the way to the French Atlantic coast. One can only wonder how I went there without knowing anything, at the very moment he was dying. Forewarned how? This is the constant great illusion of separateness (such is the real "dream” of the world); we cannot help thinking and feeling that there is there and here, you and me separated in two little bags of skin, and lots of little unknown... long walked together, long dreamed together, and each time their dream drew closer, each time they cleared the way a little more for the great ray. They had “the imagination of Truth”; they drew onto earth the real reality that the ordinary world calls illusion. 29 × Mothers Agenda... ultimately, the dark determinism of this world confined within a thin and supposedly scientific layer, with each one shut up in a bag of Matter which he thought rigid, separate and mortal. May the illusion be dispelled! She exclaimed in one of her earliest writings. May this painful universe emerge from its frightening nightmare, shake off its dreadful dream. 24 And what did She have at her disposal ...
... sudden, the illusion falls away. There is nothing more to "believe": it is a fact. And everything falls from our hands, it no longer means anything. Perhaps this is how the first invasion of the Real will take place: in reverse. A sudden "dis-invasion" of everything that fills us. A fantastic vacant and "empty" hour. Everything eludes us. It no longer has any meaning. A great, senseless moment... find themselves where they had not expected to be. The Mystery consists perhaps in our not understanding all the mystery of this present little second. At each second the mystery is there. The great "dis-illusion" of the end (or of the new beginning) is at each instant piercing the crust of appearances for those who know how not to look in the "usual way." An enormous veil of habit eclipses to us the... are completely destroyed or damaged, then we say it is real—indeed, a real illusion. It is all a matter of choice. At each second and in each thing or each circumstance, both vibrations are there, superimposed. The rending of the veil is not for tomorrow: it is being rent microscopically each instant. Exactly like the "great Harmony that changes into a serious illness" Mother spoke of. Each instant ...
... mother of unnumbered souls. 1 There is a sweep, a fulfilling vision, a height of spiritual experience. There is a spontaneous winging beyond the normal mode of existence. Or: A great Illusion then has built the stars. 2 Or Man in the world's life works out the dreams of God. 3 In both these examples there seems a breaking of bonds, there is a release and an escape... Here there is no such exotic beauty as Milton evokes. The whole passage reads like a great spiritual discovery. Each word seems to bear a weight of divine felicity; each word, even in its utter simplicity, opens up a world of undiscovered beauty. If Milton uses his words like a great and conscious craftsman, a connoisseur of tonal values, the value of vibrations, Sri Aurobindo uses... on cloud. What strikes one is the difference of approach: if Milton is grand, Keats is entrancing; one has the intensity of power, the other has the intensity of beauty. Both are great; but the greatness of both are poles apart. But while Milton's verse has the breath of a true epic, the poetry of Keats is essentially lyrical. This comment holds true for Shelley and Wordsworth as well. Length ...
... at which the thinking mind arrives that there is an illusion behind all human effort and terrestrial endeavour, the illusion of his Page 432 political and social gospels, the illusion of his ethical efforts at perfection, the illusion of philanthropy and service, the illusion of works, the illusion of fame, power, success, the illusion of all achievement. Human social and political endeavour... enough to throw a regard on the principal ideas which are grouped around the conception of the great cosmic Illusion, Maya, and to set against them those that are proper to our own line of thought and vision; for both proceed from the conception of the One Reality, but one line leads to a universal Illusionism, the other to a universal Realism,—an unreal or real-unreal universe reposing on a transcendent... is relative, all that is of time is a dream, a hallucination of the mind or a vast delirium, an immense cosmic Illusion, a delusive figure of apparent existence. The principle of negation prevails over the principle of affirmation and becomes universal and absolute. Thence arise the great world-negating religions and philosophies; thence too a recoil of the life-motive from itself and a seeking after ...
... that I had already outgrown that "humanity-stage". It is one of the great illusions. Disciple : But, then, would nothing be done for humanity? Disciple : He says it is a big illusion, don't you see? Sri Aurobindo : Yes, it is one of the most powerful Sattwic illusions which people have. It has a very great hold. Disciple : Do you mean to say that nothing can be done... founded the greatness of imperial Rome which is one of the greatest periods of human civilization; and Napoleon because he was a great organiser who stabilised the Revolution. He organised France and through France Europe. Are not his immense powers and abilities great? Disciple : I suppose men admire them because they find in them the realisation of their own potential greatness. Sri... is to-day. The vital devotion demands and demands. It imposes its own conditions. It says to God : "You are so great, therefore I worship you; and now satisfy this desire at condition of mine; make me great; make me a Page 145 great Sadhaka, a great Yogin, etc. It does not use this language of course, but that is what is behind it. It assumes many justifying forms ...
... Chapter VI Reality and the Cosmic Illusion The Eternal is true; the world is a lie. Vivekachudamani. (Verse 20.) The Master of Maya creates this world by his Maya and within it is confined another; one should know his Maya as Nature and the Master of Maya as the great Lord of all. Swetaswatara Upanishad. (IV. 9, 10.) The... eternity and his liberation has so great an importance, it must be because he too is a reality of the Transcendence; he has to discover himself individually, because his individuality also has some truth of itself in the Transcendence which is veiled from it and which it has to recover. It is an ignorance of self and world that has to be overcome and not an illusion, a figment of individuality and w... conclusions erected by the logical intelligence. Here the theory of Illusionism is in occupation of a very solid ground; for, although it is in itself no more than a mental formulation, the experience it formulates into a philosophy accompanies a most powerful and apparently final spiritual realisation. It comes upon us with a great force of awakening to reality when the thought is stilled, when the ...
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