' Inner Stillness '...

The absolutist metaphysics of Subramanya Iyer in the East and Lilian de Waters in the West declares only the One Reality; it would reject the whole universe as non-existent and the whole human race along with it.

The dualist metaphysics declares that this Reality reveals and manifests itself in the time-space finite world.

The integral metaphysics of philosophy says, however, that it is unwise and unbalanced to separate these two solutions of the mystery of life and then to oppose one against the other.

They are to be fitted together, for only in such completeness can the full solution be found.

Dualism answers the intellect's questions and satisfies the heart's yearnings but monism responds to the intuition's highest revelations.

Both standpoints are necessary, for man is both a thinking and a feeling being; it is not enough to regard him only as an intuiting one.

But this does not mean they are all on the same level.

What is silently revealed to us by inner stillness must always be loftier than what is noisily told us by intellectual activity.




-- Notebooks Category 20: What Is Philosophy? > Chapter 1:
Toward Defining Philosophy > # 476 Paul Brunton