--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great spiritual geniuses, whether it…" description: "\"The great spiritual geniuses, whether it was Moses, Buddha, Plato, Socrates, Jesus, or Emerson… have taught man to look within himself to find God.\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/ernest-holmes-2229_genius_the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it_25893.png" --- # The great spiritual geniuses, whether it was Moses… ![“The great spiritual geniuses, whether it was Moses, Buddha, Plato, Socrates, Jesus, or Emerson… have taught man to look within himself to find God.” quote by Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/ernest-holmes-2229_genius_the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it_25893.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/ernest-holmes-2229_genius_the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it_25893.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/ernest-holmes-2229_genius_the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it_25893.png) > “The great spiritual geniuses, whether it was Moses, Buddha, Plato, Socrates, Jesus, or Emerson… have taught man to look within himself to find God.” [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote asserts that major spiritual thinkers across cultures have directed humanity toward inner reflection as a path to the divine. **In simple terms:** Inner reflection reveals the divine. Key Takeaway Self‑exploration is a spiritual practice. Themes spirituality self‑knowledge inner wisdom religious tradition philosophy Mood contemplative inspirational Type aphorism philosophical statement When to use this quote - personal meditation - theological study - interfaith dialogue - self‑help workshops Key Concepts inner self divine presence teaching methods Practical Applications - mindfulness training - spiritual counseling Questions to Reflect On - How does looking within change one's perception of God? - What common practices do these figures share? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Geniuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geniuses/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moses/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) ## Related quotes > [We are to look for God in each other and love this God, forgetting all else...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/we-are-to-look-for-god-in-each-other-and-love-this-god-forgetting-all/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [Fear is so fundamental to the human condition that all the great spiritual traditions originate in an effort to overcome its effects on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/fear-is-so-fundamental-to-the-human-condition-that-all-the-great/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-l-andersen/we-hold-in-our-arms-the-rising-generation-they-come-to-this-earth/) [Neil L. Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-l-andersen/) > [Some of the sweetest spirits are housed in frail frames. Great spiritual strength is often developed by those with physical challenges precisely because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/some-of-the-sweetest-spirits-are-housed-in-frail-frames-great/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [The great purpose is to set aside a reasonable part of the vanishing wilderness, to make certain that generations of Americans yet unborn will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-church/the-great-purpose-is-to-set-aside-a-reasonable-part-of-the-vanishing/) [Frank Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-church/) > [Rome is the one great spiritual organisation which is able to resist and must, as a matter of life and death, the progress of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/rome-is-the-one-great-spiritual-organisation-which-is-able-to-resist/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Through sex, mankind may attain the great spiritual illumination which will transform the world, which will light up the only path to earthly paradise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/through-sex-mankind-may-attain-the-great-spiritual-illumination-which/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [We are recipients of God's choicest blessings. We enjoy an abundance of material things beyond that enjoyed by any other nation in the history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/we-are-recipients-of-god-s-choicest-blessings-we-enjoy-an-abundance/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Mounting an expedition to actualize a Compassionate Commonwealth of all peoples...is the great spiritual challenge of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/mounting-an-expedition-to-actualize-a-compassionate-commonwealth-of/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [All the great spiritual traditions have placed major emphasis upon meditation as a path to personal growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fontana/all-the-great-spiritual-traditions-have-placed-major-emphasis-upon/) [David Fontana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fontana/) > [Are the great spiritual teachings really advocating that we fight evil because we are on the side of light, the side of peace? Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/are-the-great-spiritual-teachings-really-advocating-that-we-fight/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain. If we do not transform our pain, we will transmit it to those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/all-great-spirituality-is-about-what-we-do-with-our-pain-if-we-do-not/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [To live in this precious animal body on this earth is as great a part of spiritual life as anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/to-live-in-this-precious-animal-body-on-this-earth-is-as-great-a-part/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [I feel there is a great spiritual awakening on the planet right now. More than any previous time, people are drawn to meditation, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agapi-stassinopoulos/i-feel-there-is-a-great-spiritual-awakening-on-the-planet-right-now/) [Agapi Stassinopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agapi-stassinopoulos/) > [Without mysticism man can achieve nothing great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/without-mysticism-man-can-achieve-nothing-great/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) ## More by Ernest Holmes > [The road to freedom lies not through mysteries or occult performances, but through the intelligent use of natural forces and laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/the-road-to-freedom-lies-not-through-mysteries-or-occult-performances/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [The Apostle John said, " Beloved, now we are the sons of God." He didn't say by and by we are going to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/the-apostle-john-said-beloved-now-we-are-the-sons-of-god-he-didn-t/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [Prepare your mind to recieve the best that life has to offer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/prepare-your-mind-to-recieve-the-best-that-life-has-to-offer/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [Begin where you are. It would be unscientific to begin anywhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/begin-where-you-are-it-would-be-unscientific-to-begin-anywhere-else/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [“Knowledge is of the intellect; wisdom and understanding are of the heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/knowledge-is-of-the-intellect-wisdom-and-understanding-are-of-the/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [Today I do affirm that I am Divinely guided...There is that within which knows what to do and how to do it, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/today-i-do-affirm-that-i-am-divinely-guided-there-is-that-within/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [Fear brings failure; faith brings success. It's just that simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/fear-brings-failure-faith-brings-success-it-s-just-that-simple/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [Each one should realize there is nothing in (us) which denies that which (we) desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/each-one-should-realize-there-is-nothing-in-us-which-denies-that/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [The universal Mind contains all knowledge. It is the potential ultimate of all things. To it, all things are possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/the-universal-mind-contains-all-knowledge-it-is-the-potential/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [What you are looking for is what you are looking with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/what-you-are-looking-for-is-what-you-are-looking-with/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [Definitely I know that every negative condition of the past is cleared away from my consciousness. I no longer think about it, see it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/definitely-i-know-that-every-negative-condition-of-the-past-is/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [“Confronted with unhappiness, I will unmask it also by seeing through this false face to the true countenance of joy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/confronted-with-unhappiness-i-will-unmask-it-also-by-seeing-through/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [That which distinguishes the new thought from the old is not a denial of this Divine Reality, but an affirmation of its immediate availability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/that-which-distinguishes-the-new-thought-from-the-old-is-not-a-denial/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [Our vision is beclouded and the pathway of our progress is obstructed until we come to know that god can and does express as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/our-vision-is-beclouded-and-the-pathway-of-our-progress-is-obstructed/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [Expectancy speeds progress. Therefore, live in a continual state of expectancy. No matter how much good you are experiencing today, expect greater good tomorrow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/expectancy-speeds-progress-therefore-live-in-a-continual-state-of/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) [Explore all 178 Ernest Holmes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) ## More Genius quotes > [“If people fully understand you, they will think of you as a normal, if they half understand you, will think of you as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-people-fully-understand-you-they-will-think-of-you-as-a-normal-if/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The truth is I've just never had any kind of plan at all for my career, which is probably not a very flattering thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-burrell/the-truth-is-i-ve-just-never-had-any-kind-of-plan-at-all-for-my/) [Ty Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-burrell/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I have known many chess players, but among them there has been only one genius - Capablanca!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-lasker/i-have-known-many-chess-players-but-among-them-there-has-been-only/) [Emanuel Lasker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-lasker/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The beginning of genius is being scared shitless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-beginning-of-genius-is-being-scared-shitless/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [With the proper training, I could've been an evil genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/with-the-proper-training-i-could-ve-been-an-evil-genius/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Never try to judge any one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajat-dogra/never-try-to-judge-any-one/) [Rajat Dogra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajat-dogra/) > [“genius is a path that we can all take and derive much benefit, happiness, fulfillment, and success from...not a genetic windfall or divine gift.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-patrick/genius-is-a-path-that-we-can-all-take-and-derive-much-benefit/) [Sean Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-patrick/) [Browse all 5,125 Genius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The great spiritual geniuses, whether it was Moses, Buddha, Plato, Socrates, Jesus, or Emerson… have taught man to look within himself to find God.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Holmes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it-was-moses-buddha-plato/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Genius" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it-was-moses-buddha-plato/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/ernest-holmes-2229_genius_the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it_25893.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/ernest-holmes-2229_genius_the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it_25893.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/ernest-holmes-2229_genius_the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it_25893.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The great spiritual geniuses, whether it was Moses, Buddha, Plato, Socrates, Jesus, or Emerson… have taught…” — Ernest Holmes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ernest Holmes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The great spiritual geniuses, whether it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it-was-moses-buddha-plato/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it-was-moses-buddha-plato/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```