--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Above all we have to go beyond words and…" description: "\"Above all we have to go beyond words and images and concepts. No imaginative vision or conceptual framework is adequate to the great reality.\" — Bede G..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/bede-griffiths-22822_adequate_above-all-we-have-to-go-beyond-words-and_293897.jpg" --- # Above all we have to go beyond words and images and… ![“Above all we have to go beyond words and images and concepts. No imaginative vision or conceptual framework is adequate to the great reality.” quote by Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/bede-griffiths-22822_adequate_above-all-we-have-to-go-beyond-words-and_293897.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/bede-griffiths-22822_adequate_above-all-we-have-to-go-beyond-words-and_293897.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/bede-griffiths-22822_adequate_above-all-we-have-to-go-beyond-words-and_293897.jpg) > “Above all we have to go beyond words and images and concepts. No imaginative vision or conceptual framework is adequate to the great reality.” [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True understanding transcends language and images; direct experience of reality is needed. **In simple terms:** Words and pictures are insufficient. Key Takeaway Pursue direct insight beyond concepts. Themes spirituality perception reality Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - art appreciation - scientific inquiry - personal reflection Key Concepts mysticism non‑dualism Questions to Reflect On - How can you experience reality beyond thought? - What practices help you move past images? A Different Perspective Concepts can still guide practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Imaginative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginative/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## Related quotes > [The Biggest Loser,' 'The Voice,' and 'American Idol'... they're giving people opportunities to do what they've always dreamed of doing... to me, that's great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-warner/the-biggest-loser-the-voice-and-american-idol-they-re-giving-people/) [Kurt Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-warner/) > [Freedom is a very great reality, but it means above all things, freedom from lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/freedom-is-a-very-great-reality-but-it-means-above-all-things-freedom/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Poverty is the great reality. That is why the artist seeks it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/poverty-is-the-great-reality-that-is-why-the-artist-seeks-it/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [A sure-fire way to know you're crazy is if more than one person has told you you'd be great on a reality show -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-mcmillan/a-sure-fire-way-to-know-you-re-crazy-is-if-more-than-one-person-has/) [Tracy McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-mcmillan/) > [I don't want to be one of those 'hour' guys who is all bitter about reality TV. It's as viable as any other genre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-minear/i-don-t-want-to-be-one-of-those-hour-guys-who-is-all-bitter-about/) [Tim Minear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-minear/) > [There's some great reality TV, and I'm not bagging on it completely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/there-s-some-great-reality-tv-and-i-m-not-bagging-on-it-completely/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [A strong accountability system needs to broaden, not narrow, the curriculum. That cannot happen if you only have accountability without adequate school funding. Until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-gelber/a-strong-accountability-system-needs-to-broaden-not-narrow-the/) [Dan Gelber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-gelber/) > [Conversation in its happiest development is a link, equally exquisite and adequate, between mind and mind, a system by which men approach one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/conversation-in-its-happiest-development-is-a-link-equally-exquisite/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [All the world’s major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance and forgiveness, can and do promote inner values. But the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/all-the-world-s-major-religions-with-their-emphasis-on-love/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The President has once again failed us. Millions of Americans are at risk of going without the flu vaccine this year because the administration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-corzine/the-president-has-once-again-failed-us-millions-of-americans-are-at/) [Jon Corzine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-corzine/) > [Art can only be truly art by presenting an adequate outward symbol of some fact in the interior life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-fuller/art-can-only-be-truly-art-by-presenting-an-adequate-outward-symbol-of/) [Margaret Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-fuller/) > [And I am quite serious when I say that I do not believe there are, on the whole earth besides, so many intensified bores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/and-i-am-quite-serious-when-i-say-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are-on/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Seen from the point of view of the composer, the most nonsensical practice is that of casting people in musicals who are unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gold/seen-from-the-point-of-view-of-the-composer-the-most-nonsensical/) Ernest Gold > [The action carries a sense of incompleteness and frustration, but not of guilt. Victorious living does not mean perfect living in the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-stanley-jones/the-action-carries-a-sense-of-incompleteness-and-frustration-but-not/) [E. Stanley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-stanley-jones/) > [What I search for continuously in my art is adequate language, language I hope can stand beyond any particular occasion. What I'm finding is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/what-i-search-for-continuously-in-my-art-is-adequate-language/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) ## More by Bede Griffiths > [The main theme of the Bible is the restoration of humanity and, through humanity, of the whole of creation to its original harmony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/the-main-theme-of-the-bible-is-the-restoration-of-humanity-and/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [Stillness within one individual can affect society beyond measure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/stillness-within-one-individual-can-affect-society-beyond-measure/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [Atheism and agnosticism signify the rejection of certain images and concepts of God or of truth, which are historically conditioned and therefore inadequate. Atheism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/atheism-and-agnosticism-signify-the-rejection-of-certain-images-and/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [“When we approach the Upanishads for an understanding of the Cosmic Mystery, we are coming to the very heart of the Hindu experience of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/when-we-approach-the-upanishads-for-an-understanding-of-the-cosmic/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [“To enter deeply into meditation is to enter into the mystery of suffering love. It is to encounter the woundedness of our human nature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/to-enter-deeply-into-meditation-is-to-enter-into-the-mystery-of/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [Obedience is detachment from the self. This is the most radical detachment of all. But what is the self? The self is the principle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/obedience-is-detachment-from-the-self-this-is-the-most-radical/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [I suddenly saw that all the time it was not I who had been seeking God, but God who had been seeking me. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/i-suddenly-saw-that-all-the-time-it-was-not-i-who-had-been-seeking/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [“...Nobody know when he is going to die. It is no good simply putting it off all the time, as we tend to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/nobody-know-when-he-is-going-to-die-it-is-no-good-simply-putting-it/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [You must be ready to give up everything, not only material attachments but also human attachments - father, mother, wife, children - everything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/you-must-be-ready-to-give-up-everything-not-only-material-attachments/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [God had brought me to my knees and made me acknowledge my own nothingness, and out of that knowledge I had been reborn. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/god-had-brought-me-to-my-knees-and-made-me-acknowledge-my-own/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [...the need to overawe people and demand obedience from them is powerful and seductive. It is a part of that world that the kingdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/the-need-to-overawe-people-and-demand-obedience-from-them-is-powerful/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [This was the very purpose of creation that each unique, individual being should participate in its own way in the divine Being, should realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/this-was-the-very-purpose-of-creation-that-each-unique-individual/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [This is criterion by which the Church is to be judged, not by the forms of its doctrine or ritual, but by the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/this-is-criterion-by-which-the-church-is-to-be-judged-not-by-the/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [There is a beautiful expression of this in the Chandogya Upanishad: 'There is this City of Brahman, (that is the body), and in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/there-is-a-beautiful-expression-of-this-in-the-chandogya-upanishad/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) > [God has graced every tradition with insight into the divine mystery, from the most primitive to the most sophisticated-each has a gift to bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bede-griffiths/god-has-graced-every-tradition-with-insight-into-the-divine-mystery/) [Bede Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) [Explore all 27 Bede Griffiths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bede-griffiths/) ## More Adequate quotes > [What I search for continuously in my art is adequate language, language I hope can stand beyond any particular occasion. 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Stanley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-stanley-jones/) > [Seen from the point of view of the composer, the most nonsensical practice is that of casting people in musicals who are unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gold/seen-from-the-point-of-view-of-the-composer-the-most-nonsensical/) Ernest Gold > [And I am quite serious when I say that I do not believe there are, on the whole earth besides, so many intensified bores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/and-i-am-quite-serious-when-i-say-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are-on/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Art can only be truly art by presenting an adequate outward symbol of some fact in the interior life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-fuller/art-can-only-be-truly-art-by-presenting-an-adequate-outward-symbol-of/) [Margaret Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-fuller/) > [The President has once again failed us. 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But the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/all-the-world-s-major-religions-with-their-emphasis-on-love/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Conversation in its happiest development is a link, equally exquisite and adequate, between mind and mind, a system by which men approach one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/conversation-in-its-happiest-development-is-a-link-equally-exquisite/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [A strong accountability system needs to broaden, not narrow, the curriculum. That cannot happen if you only have accountability without adequate school funding. Until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-gelber/a-strong-accountability-system-needs-to-broaden-not-narrow-the/) [Dan Gelber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-gelber/) > [All propaganda or popularization involves a putting of the complex into the simple, but such a move is instantly not constructive. 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