Philosophy is based on speculation, on logic, on thought, on the synthesis of what we know and on the analysis of what we do not know. Philosophy must include within its confines the whole content of science, religion and art.

A symbol may serve to transfer our intuitions and to suggest new ones only so long as its meaning is not defined.

Effort plus motive equals result.

Begin with the possible: begin with one step. There is always a limit you cannot do more than you can do. If you try to do too much you will do nothing.

Art is the communication of ecstasy.

Besides, all evil is relative. Something that is evil at one level of evolution can be good at an earlier stage because it provides the essential stimulus for development. But you want to judge everything by your own standards. You have reached a comparatively high level and so you see what you fight against as evil. Just think of the others, those who are at an earlier stage of development. Do not bar them from the path toward progress and evolution.

Two things can get people to make efforts: if people want to get something, or if they want to get rid of something. Only, in ordinary conditions, without knowledge, people do not know what they can get rid of or what they can gain.

When one realises one is asleep, at that moment one is already half-awake.

Possibly the most interesting first impression of my life came from the world of dreams.

The most difficult thing is to know what we do know, and what we do not know.

The number of laws is constantly growing in all countries and, owing to this, what is called crime is very often not a crime at all, for it contains no element of violence or harm.

One cannot keep all old views and opinions and acquire new ones.

It is by overcoming obstacles that man develops those qualities he needs.

Many things are mechanical and should remain mechanical. But mechanical thoughts, mechanical feelings—that is what has to be studied and can and should be changed. Mechanical thinking is not worth a penny. You can think about many things mechanically, but you will get nothing from it.

The greatest barrier to consciousness is the belief that one is already conscious.

Seek the Path, do not seek attainment, Seek for the Path within yourself. Do not expect to hear the truth from others, nor to see it, or read it in books. Look for the truth in yourself, not without yourself.

I've found that the chief difficulty for most people was to realize that they had really heard new things: that is things that they had never heard before. They kept translating what they heard into their habitual language. They had ceased to hope and believe there might be anything new.