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James, William, 1842-1910

"Pragmatism"

Neither death nor disease, nor sorrow nor misery, nor
discontent is there ... in the centre, the reality, there is no one
to be mourned for, no one to be sorry for. He has penetrated
everything, the Pure One, the Formless, the Bodiless, the Stainless,
He the Knower, He the Great Poet, the Self-Existent, He who is
giving to everyone what he deserves."
Observe how radical the character of the monism here is. Separation
is not simply overcome by the One, it is denied to exist. There is
no many. We are not parts of the One; It has no parts; and since in
a sense we undeniably ARE, it must be that each of us is the One,
indivisibly and totally. AN ABSOLUTE ONE, AND I THAT ONE--surely we
have here a religion which, emotionally considered, has a high
pragmatic value; it imparts a perfect sumptuosity of security. As
our Swami says in another place:
"When man has seen himself as one with the infinite Being of the
universe, when all separateness has ceased, when all men, all women,
all angels, all gods, all animals, all plants, the whole universe
has been melted into that oneness, then all fear disappears. Whom to
fear? Can I hurt myself? Can I kill myself? Can I injure myself? Do
you fear yourself? Then will all sorrow disappear.


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