The Wisdom of Vedanta Quotes

“Western Christianity, for example, is very much influenced by Western materialism, and is predominantly anthropocentric. In the Western churches, there is almost never any mention of meditation or contemplative prayer, but instead a great concern with "serving our brethren" or "serving the world." Too often, such anthropocentrism forgets that, unless it replenishes itself in the waters of contemplation, unless it becomes illumined through contact with the Divine Light, it will have nothing of any value to give, and no way to dispel the darkness of the world.”
― Swami Abhayananda, The Wisdom of Vedanta

“Joy is a two-way street. It is being human turned to God; and it is being (the instrument of) God, turned to humankind. The soul, turned to God, becomes irradiated with Divinity, simply by becoming transparent to that Divine Light, which is its Source. And that Divine Light shines through the soul, illumining all who come in contact with it. Recall that Jesus held this very same position (...): 'First', he said, 'seek the kingdom of God'; in other words, you cannot really do much for others or shed any light in the world until first you find that light within yourself. The Light Itself will do what is necessary for humankind; our only task is to rid ourselves of all that tends to obscure that Light---in other words, our ignorance, our selfish attachment to our make-believe world of self-gratification, our inner darkness.”
― Swami Abhayananda, The Wisdom of Vedanta