What Others Say

Here are words of some of the better introspectors of the human race on the subject of the self, and of finding it. We hope this provides you some first insight into what is available to you, and what we hope to help you find.

Know thyself
- The Delphic Oracle

Man is at birth by nature good
- Confucius

For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
- Moses, Deuteronomy 30: 11-14

O nourisher, only seer, controller of all - O illumining Sun, fountain of life for all creatures - withhold thy light, gather together thy rays. May I behold through thy grace thy most blessed form. The Being that dwells therein - even that Being am I.
- Isha Upanishad

This Self, who understands all, who knows all, and whose glory is manifest in the universe, lives within the lotus of the heart...
- Mundaka Upanishad

The Self, Maitreyi, is to be known. Hear about it, reflect upon it, meditate upon it. By knowing the Self, my beloved, through hearing, reflection, and meditation, one comes to know all things.
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

Be established in the consciousness of the Atman*, always...
The uncontrolled mind does not guess that the Atman is present...
Strive without ceasing to know the Atman, seek this knowledge and comprehend clearly why you should seek it: such, it is said, are the roots of true wisdom...Knowledge, the one thing real we may study or know, the heart's dweller. (*Atman - the god within us)
- Sri Krisna, Bhagavad Gita

Give up sainthood, renounce wisdom
And it will be a hundred times better for everyone.
Give up kindness, renounce morality,
And men will rediscover filial piety and love.
Give up ingenuity, renounce profit,
And bandits and thieves will disappear.
These three are outward forms alone; they are not sufficient in themselves.
It is more important to see the simplicity,
To realize one's true nature, to cast off selfishness and temper desire
- Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Truth is within ourselves; it takes no rise
From outward things, whatever you may believe.
There is an inmost center in us all,
Where truth abides in fullness; and around, Wall upon wall, the gross flesh hems it in,
This perfect clear perception which is truth.
A baffling and perverting carnal mesh
Binds it and makes all error: and to know
Rather consists in opening out a way
Whence the imprisoned splendor may escape,
Than in effecting entry for a light
Supposed to be without.
- Gautama Sakyamuni (the Buddha)

The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
- Jesus Christ, Luke 17: 20, 21

To thine own self be true; it follows as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.
William Shakespeare

If man wants to be happy he should turn within and know who he is. Man collects so many things for the sake of happiness, but he does not know where true happiness lies. He tries to cure others' minds, yet he does not know how to set right his own mind. He invents wonderful new things, but he does not know how to discover the treasures which lie inside him. He goes to the moon, but does not know how to go within himself. Therefore, his first duty is to know himself, by knowing which he will know everything and experience true happiness.
- Baba Muktananda

There is a glorious sun, not the sun you see in the sky, but a sun which is within ourselves which is much brighter than the sun you see in the sky...It is all within us, just within us.
- Guru Maharaj ji

Human nature has been sold short...[humans have] a higher nature which... includes the need for meaningful work, for responsibility, for creativeness, for being fair and just, for doing what is worthwhile and for preferring to do it well.
- Abraham H. Maslow, Eupsycian Management: A Journal

I was just thinking that of all the trails in this life...
there is one that matters most. It is the trail of a true human being.
I see that you are on this trail, and it is good.
- Michael Blake as Kicking Bird, Dances With Wolves