Attribution Quote by Joseph Campbell
“In the Orient the ultimate divine mystery is sought beyond all human categories of thought and feeling, beyond names and forms, and absolutely beyond any such concept as of a merciful or wrathful personality, chooser of one people over another, comforter of folk who pray, and destroyer of those who do not. Such anthropomorphic attributions of human sentiments and thoughts to a mystery beyond thought is-from the point of view of Indian thought-a style of religion for children.”
About This Quote
Source Lecture: Comparative mythology, 1975
Divine mystery transcends human categories; attributing human traits to it is a simplistic, childlike view.
In simple terms: God is beyond human labels; personifying it is immature.
Key Takeaway
Seek the ineffable without anthropomorphizing.
Themes
mythology
spirituality
human limitation
Mood
reverent
inquisitive
Type
mythic
educational
When to use this quote
- religious study
- artistic creation
- personal meditation
Key Concepts
transcendence
symbolism
theology
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we discuss the divine without reducing it?
- What symbols convey the unknowable?
A Different Perspective
Human language may still be useful for expressing the ineffable.
![“The fall [of your soul] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical version of a myth known to many lands.” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9ff/joseph-campbell-300_biblical_the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-in_22526.jpg)
