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THE HOLY TRINITY.
685
by us in connection with the worship of Brahma and other mythological gods, applies with even greater force to demonology or the worship of angels and ghosts and the powers of darkness generally; it only goes to strengthen delusion. On this point, we need only give the emphatic declaration of Vedanta, in the language of S. Abhedananda, who says (Spiritualism and Vedanta,' p. 17):--
"No amount of good thoughts and good deeds can produce as their effect that which is beyond thought and mind, and consequently beyond the reach of their efforts, because divine realization is not within the realm of psychic phenomena, nor can it be reached by mind, intellect or sense powers. And the path which leads the individual soul to the realization of the Absolute is neither through religious works, nor through the belief in departed spirits, nor by the worship of the spirits of the ancestors, but through self-knowledge and the knowledge of the relation which the individual soul bears to the Universal Spirit. That path is called in Vedanta Devayana, the divine path, or the path which leads to Divinity. The travellers on this path are those who are the most sincere and earnest seekers after the Absolute, who do not care for phenomena, whether physical or psychic, whose souls soar high above the clouds of desires that cover the light of the spiritual sun in the ordinary mortals; but whose highest aim, loftiest aspiration, and deepest longing of the soul are to realize that unchangeable Truth which is beyond mind, beyond intellect, which the Father in heavens of the spiritualists cannot reach."
We may now conclude this chapter; but, before inviting the reader to accompany us to the next one, wherein we give the views of what, to our thinking, is the only true philosophy of religion in the world, it will not be quite amiss to cast a cursory glance at the result of our enquiry thus far. We have seen how the natural but mostly fear-smothered craving of every soul is to attain to
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