Self Enlightened Quotes & Sayings

We are born into this precious human existence to achieve the uni cation of opposites and become enlightened, or liberated, from the illusion of separation. — Dashama Konah Gordon

Enlightened enquiry alone leads to liberation. Supernatural powers are all illusory appearances created by the power of maya (mayashakti). Self-realization which is permanent is the only true accomplishment (siddhi). Accomplishments which appear and disappear, being the effect of maya, cannot be real. They are accomplished with the object of enjoying fame, pleasures, etc. They come unsought to some persons through their karma. Know that union with Brahman is the real aim of all accomplishments. This is also the state of liberation (aikya mukti) known as union (sayujya). — Ramana Maharshi

Soul (Atma) remains very far from where kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed) are created, the Soul is quite far from there. Where there is absence of kashays, there lies the 'religion of Vitrags (the enlightened ones)', and where kashays are present, lies the 'relative religion'! — Dada Bhagwan

Master Teachers who genuinely embody an enlightened state of being never stop "doing the work". The ego is what assumes it knows enough, causing cessation of these daily practices, and therefore, Masters without attachment to ego are forever students of the Universe. The Masters attain an illuminated state of "Being" as the outcome, yet it is the consistent "doing" that promotes and maintains their enlightenment. — Alaric Hutchinson

Only listen to the observations of the enlightened because everyone else is self-centered, egocentric and bound by the net of desire. — Frederick Lenz

Irrespective of what religious or intellectual philosophy guides an enlightened person's life plan, self-mastery plays an important, if not quintessential role. — Kilroy J. Oldster

He who stands on tiptoe is not steady. He who strides cannot maintain the pace. He who makes a show is not enlightened. He who is self-righteous is not respected. He who boasts achieves nothing. He who brags will not endure. According to followers of the Tao, "These are extra food and unnecessary luggage." They do not bring happiness, therefore followers of the Tao avoid them. — Laozi

This is how social change ultimately happens: enlightened values do not change behavior; the contours of self-interest are altered and new values rush into the vacuum. — William Powers

Through lesson after lesson, we are becoming, individually and collectively, more enlightened. Understanding this helps you to see how, in relationships, for example, you may be dealing with parents or siblings or children who are at different stages from you. This is not a value judgment, but an opportunity to accept others at whatever stage they may be working in at a given moment in time. It's also an opportunity to accept and respect your own self at whatever stage you are in now, knowing that it is inevitable that you will grow. — Marilyn Gordon

Self-discovery is realistic. It's not built on ideas and philosophies. It's what works. Philosophies are nice if you like philosophies. But self-discovery is predicated on something that really brings you into enlightened states of mind. — Frederick Lenz

In order to make the egoism non-existent [zero], the Gnani Purush [the enlightened one] establishes the awareness of the Pure Soul within. — Dada Bhagwan

Studying the Buddha way is studying oneself. Studying oneself is forgetting oneself. Forgetting oneself is being enlightened by all things. Being enlightened by all things is to shed the body-mind of oneself, and those of others. No trace of enlightenment remains, and this traceless enlightenment continues endlessly. — Dogen

My commitment to the security and future of Israel is based upon basic morality as well as enlightened self-interest. Our role in supporting Israel honors our own heritage. — Gerald R. Ford

Tolerance, openness to argument, openness to self-doubt, willingness to see other people's points of view - these are very liberal and enlightened values that people are right to hold, but we can't allow them to delude us to the point where we can't recognise people who are needlessly perpetrating human misery. — Sam Harris

Our identities have no bodies, so, unlike you, we cannot obtain order by physical coercion. We believe that from ethics, enlightened self-interest, and the commonweal, our governance will emerge. — John Perry Barlow

If one knows how to 'digest' an insult after attaining Self-realization, he will become a 'Gnani' [the enlightened one]. And if he 'digests' an insult before attaining Self-realization, he will become shameless (impudent). — Dada Bhagwan

To be enlightened is to know oneself and not run away. — Veronique Vienne

She set about preparing her supper. It would have to be one of those classically simple meals, the sort that French peasants are said to eat and that enlightened English people sometimes enjoy rather self-consciously - a crusty French loaf, cheese, and lettuce and tomatoes from the garden. Of course there should have been wine and a lovingly prepared dressing of oil and vinegar, but Dulcie drank orange squash and ate mayonnaise that came from a bottle. — Barbara Pym

The good reporters of that era, those who were well educated and who were enlightened themselves and worked for enlightened organizations, liked the Kennedys and were for the same things the Kennedys were for. In addition, the particular nature of the President's personal style, his ease and confidence with reporters, his considerable skill in utilizing television, and the terrible manner in which he was killed had created a remarkable myth about him. The fact that a number of men in his Cabinet were skillful writers themselves and that in the profound sadness after his murder they wrote their own eloquent (and on occasion self-serving) versions of his presidency had strengthened that myth. — David Halberstam

Inertia is the most powerful force in business. Things stay just as they are until something - brute force, reason, fear, enlightened self-interest, the survival instinct - effects movement. — Patrick G. Riley

The Knower of the Soul is considered Self Realized (The Enlightened one). The knower of all the eternal elements is known as Omniscient (sarvagna). — Dada Bhagwan

Unity does not exist in the world. Only when the Gnani Purush [the enlightened one] grants moksha [liberation], does unity arise. Unity cannot prevail without Gnan [knowledge of the self]. — Dada Bhagwan

Truly enlightened people never seek to be like others. Rather, they seek to be superior to their former selves. — Robin Sharma

How do we give credible hope to the billion poorest people in the world? It requires compassion to get ourselves started, and enlightened self-interest to get serious ... If economic divergence continues, combined with global integration, it will build a nightmare for our children. — Paul Collier

When the outside intent (other than the intent of Pure Soul, Parbhaav) stops, he attains enlightened bliss of the Self (samadhi). — Dada Bhagwan

Chit impurity is due to the relative vision. When the vision becomes real (enlightened), purification of chit occurs. — Dada Bhagwan

These are all 'ghosts'. If you are afraid, the ghosts will possess you. If there is inner fear of 'what if they hang me?'; then one should say, 'yes, that is correct'. The Soul can never be hung; nothing [worldly] can touch the Soul. All the doings are that of the pudgal (matter; non-Self). The noose for hanging is pudgal and the one doing hanging (the hangman), is also pudgal. The Soul has never been hung. This [fact] does not fit one's vision and that is why he has fear. But once his vision becomes like the Gnani's [the enlightened one], then it's over! For that, one has to stay in touch with the Gnani [the enlightened one]. — Dada Bhagwan

The main difference is that the enlightened believe that the poor criminal should be rehabilitated while the righteous believe that the immoral criminal should be locked up in jail. Since almost the only available system of rehabilitation in America is to be locked up in jail, the difference remains highly abstract. — William Ryan

Writing isn't necessarily a gift it is a passion. You can write a one page masterpiece to 99 pages of crap. What keeps you coming back is that Zen moment when you enlightened your own self with a few cleverly arranged words and saved yourself a $200 trip to the shrink, by simply buying a #2 pencil. — Shannon L. Alder

Never for a moment believe that the great body of the citizens of any State or States can deliberately intend to do wrong. They may, under the influence of temporary excitement or misguided opinions, commit mistakes; they may be misled for a time by the suggestions of self-interest; but in a community so enlightened and patriotic as the people of the United States argument will soon make them sensible of their errors, and when convinced they will be ready to repair them. — Andrew Jackson

Striving is fine, as long as it's tempered by the realization that, in an entropic universe, the final outcome is out of your control. If you don't waste your energy on variables you cannot influence, you can focus much more effectively on those you can. When you are wisely ambitious, you do everything you can to succeed, but you are not attached to the outcome - so that if you fail, you will be maximally resilient, able to get up, dust yourself off, and get back in the fray. That, to use a loaded term, is enlightened self-interest. — Dan Harris

There's something about writing that demands a leave-taking, an abandonment of the world, paradoxically, in order to see it clearly. This retreat has to be accomplished without severing the vital connection to the world, and to people, that feeds the imagination. It's a difficult balance. And here is where these ruminations about writing touch on morality. The same constraints to writing well are also constraints to living fully. Not to be a slave to fashion or commerce, not to succumb to arid self-censorship, not to bow to popular opinion - what is all that but a description of the educated, enlightened life? — Jeffrey Eugenides

We need to graduate from the ridiculous notion that greed is some kind of elixir for capitalism - it's the downfall of capitalism. Self-interest, maybe, but self-interest run amok does not serve anyone. The core value of conscious capitalism is enlightened self-interest. As Jim Cramer on CNBC says, "Bulls make money, bears make money, pigs get slaughtered." — Patricia Aburdene

Because the relationship between self and world is reciprocal, it is not a matter of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As we work to heal the Earth, the Earth heals us. No need to wait. As we care enough to take risks, we loosen the grip of ego and begin to come home to our true nature. — Joanna Macy

The kid has to learn by his own experience how to learn to balance the short- and long-term pursuit of what he wants.'
'He must be freely enlightened to self.'
'This is the crux of the educational system you find so appalling. Not to teach what to desire. To teach how to be free. To teach how to make knowledgeable choices about pleasure and delay and the kid's overall down-the-road maximal interests. — David Foster Wallace

The Spirit is like the steady axis of a wheel. If our attention reaches the immovable firm axis at the very centre of the wheel of our existence (which is constantly moving), we become enlightened by the Spirit, the source of inner peace, and reach a state of complete calm and self-knowledge. — Nirmala Srivastava

Liberals and conservatives tend to view the economy in purely materialistic terms. They make growth, security, and prosperity ends in themselves. They exalt enlightened self-interest. They tell us that productive work is the fundamental source of human dignity.

But for Christians, (Greg) Forster insists, the materialistic view is a lie. The modern economic man is prone to workaholism, Envy, greed, anxiety, and a host of other ills. The great task for Christians is to become, broadly speaking, innovative entrepreneurs: people who are not only more productive in their work then there would be leaving neighbors, but also more creative, generous, honest, and humane. — Greg Forster

Whether you believe it a moral imperative or in the rich world's enlightened self-interest, securing the conditions that will lead to a healthy, prosperous future for everyone is a goal I believe we all share. — Bill Gates

It can be helpful to remember that the enlightened mind and the ordinary mind are two sides of the same coin. The mind is like the sea, which can be rough on the surface, with mountainous waves stirred up by ferocious wind, but calm and peaceful at the bottom. Sometimes we can catch sight of this peaceful mind even in times of trouble. These glimpses of peace show us that we may have more inner resources to draw upon than we had realized. With skill and patience, we can learn how to be in touch with our peaceful selves. — Tulku Thondup

The new enlightened self-understanding reminds us that there is no final destination to our journey. The process itself is the destination. There is nowhere we need to arrive to. — Raphael Zernoff

Because of anger-pride-deceit-greed, selfishness [self-interest] remains and consequently one has no awareness of who dies or who takes birth. It is simply a wrong belief that has arisen. But after a long time, as one progresses, if he meets a Gnani Purush [the enlightened one], he will acquire the awareness that birth and death is simply a phase. — Dada Bhagwan

Enlightened self-interest" was how Solo himself had described it. — Greg Rucka

To be able to see one's own faults; this is known as Enlightened vision (Samkit; Self-realization; right belief). — Dada Bhagwan

In the state of enlightenment, you are yourself - "you" and "yourself" merge into one. You do not judge yourself, you do not feel sorry for yourself, you are not proud of yourself, you do not love yourself, you do not hate yourself, and so on. The split caused by self-reflective consciousness is healed, its curse removed. There is no "self" that you need to protect, defend, or feed anymore. When you are enlightened, there is one relationship that you no longer have: the relationship with yourself. Once you have given that up, all your other relationships will be love relationships. — Eckhart Tolle

Cats are the runes of beauty, invincibility, wonder, pride, freedom, coldness, self-sufficiency, and dainty individuality - the qualities of sensitive, enlightened, mentally developed, pagan, cynical, poetic, philosophic, dispassionate, reserved, independent, Nietzschean, unbroken, civilised, master-class men. — H.P. Lovecraft

Psychological despotism, whether enlightened or not, is gross misuse of psychology. The main purpose of psychology is to acquire insight into, and mastery of, oneself. Not for nothing were what we now call the behavioral sciences originally called the moral sciences and "Know thyself" their main precept. To use psychology to control, dominate, and manipulate others is self-destructive abuse of knowledge. It is also a particularly repugnant form of tyranny. — Peter F. Drucker

Without order or authority in the spirit of man the free way of life leads through weakness, disorganization, self-indulgence, and moral indifference to the destruction of freedom itself. The tragic ordeal through which the Western world is passing was prepared in the long period of easy liberty, during which men ... forgot that their freedom was achieved by heroic sacrifice ... They forgot that their rights were founded on their duties ... They thought it clever to be cynical, enlightened to be unbelieving, and sensible to be soft. — Walter Lippmann

Consciousness is all there is, flowing, streaming through these instruments in a manner which, in accordance with the perfect unfolding of totality, is perceived as discreet individual entities autonomously performing actions, but in truth this is not the case. There is no individual, no entity, no separate self here to do anything or to be anything, awakened or enlightened included. — David Carse

What is the discovery of the Vitarags, the fully enlightened Ones? It is: 'the slightest violence is the sign of losing. Even the slightest negative thought about someone is the sign of losing. God resides in every living being; how can this hidden fact be known? The Vitarags have called the elemental Self (the Soul), the most hidden element. — Dada Bhagwan

A Gnani [the enlightened one] does not have to turn beads of a rosary; He turns the beads of own's own Self (the Soul). — Dada Bhagwan

If you ever want to study acting you should be around an enlightened person for a while, because all they do is play roles, since they no longer have a self. — Frederick Lenz

If you personally advocate that I be caged if I don't pay for whatever "government" things YOU want, please don't pretend to be tolerant, or non-violent, or enlightened, or compassionate. Don't pretend you believe in "live and let live," and don't pretend you want peace, freedom or harmony. It's a simple truism that the only people in the world who are willing to "live and let live" are voluntaryists. So you can either PRETEND to care about and respect your fellow man while continuing to advocate widespread authoritarian violence, or you can embrace the concepts of self-ownership and peaceful coexistence, and become an anarchist. — Larken Rose

If you want to know the answer to 'Who am I?', then you will have to go to a Gnani purush [the enlightened one]. The Gnani Purush will give you Knowledge of your real Self [Who Am I] in the presence of the egoism. Thereafter your accounts (karmic) will be settled [& things will start falling in place]. — Dada Bhagwan

How can one go from good [auspicious state] to pure (state)? There are no words for it. It will happen when the Gnani Purush (the enlightened one) gives the awareness of the Self; it will happen when He bestows God's grace upon you. — Dada Bhagwan

I would define morality as enlightened self-interest ... That old Platonic ideal that there are certain pure moral forms just isn't where we are. — Andrew Young

To be unattached in every phase of one's life is indeed full enlightened bliss of the Self (Purna samadhi)! — Dada Bhagwan

An enlightened trust in the sovereignty of human reason can be every bit as magical as the exploits of Merlin, and a faith in our capacity for limitless self-improvement just as much a wide-eyed superstition as a faith in leprechauns. — Terry Eagleton

Christmas and Easter are attitudinal bookends for an enlightened world view. With an enlightened view of Christmas, we understand that it is within our power through God to give birth to a divine self. With an enlightened view of Easter, we understand that this self is the power of the universe before which death itself has no real power. Resurrection is the symbol of joy, it is the great 'ah-ha!' The acceptance of the resurrection is the realization of the fact that we need wait no longer to see ourselves as healed and whole. — Marianne Williamson

The new world economic order is not an exercise in philanthropy, but in enlightened self-interest for everyone concerned. — Carlos Fuentes

Self-interest, be it enlightened, works indirectly for the public good. — William H. Prescott

This 'Knowledge' manifested in 1958! That day I became a 'Gnani' (the enlightened one)! The day before that, 'I' too was agnani (ignorant of the Self), wasn't I? — Dada Bhagwan

To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all the myriad things. — Ruth Ozeki

The public forum is not, of course, the most helpful place to conduct a profitable confrontation with one's parents. If we are to allow the feelings of childhood to be revived, we need an enlightened witness and not the pent-up, undigested hatred of formerly abused children who, as adults, totally identify with the perpetrators. To expose oneself defenselessly to public view while harboring such feelings from childhood can amount to a kind of self-inflicted punishment, something one seeks when, in spite of everything, one still feels guilty at having expressed the criticism and is prepared to accept hate reactions as a well deserved punishment. — Alice Miller

Chit's tendencies can become pure [transparent] in front of God, but people don't have this knowhow. The easiest solution to purify chit's tendencies is to associate with a person who has the least amount of desires and the ultimate solution to make them pure is the inner visual contemplation (niddidhyasan) of the Vitarag (the enlightened ones who are free of all attachments). — Dada Bhagwan

An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic. Self-government is not possible unless the citizens are educated sufficiently to enable them to exercise oversight. It is therefore imperative that the nation see to it that a suitable education be provided for all its citizens. — Thomas Jefferson

Neither an enlightened philosophy, nor all the political wisdom of Rome, nor even the faith and virtue of the Christians availed against the incorrigible tradition of antiquity. Something was wanted, beyond all the gifts of reflection and experience
a faculty of self government and self control, developed like its language in the fibre of a nation, and growing with its growth. — Lord Acton

A church split builds self-righteousness into the fabric of every new splinter group, whose only reason for existence is that they decide they are more moral and pure than their brethren. This explains my childhood, and perhaps a lot about America, too. The United States is a country with the national character of a newly formed church splinter group. This is not surprising. Our country started as a church splinter group. The Puritans left England because they believed they were more enlightened than members of the Church of England, and they were eager to form a perfect earthly community following a pure theology. — Frank Schaeffer

The breath I take, the thoughts I think, the emotions I develop, the blood I circulate, the neurons that are wired, everything is completely controlled and has a deep meaning behind it. My soul is enlightened. — Magith Noohukhan

Maybe I ought to have put her together with Coco, who might have enlightened us both about the impracticality and undesirability of giving one's whole self to any man - for all the good it would have done. — Therese Anne Fowler

If you experience bliss of the Self (samadhi) amidst complete problematic stage, then know that you have met a "Gnani Purush" [the enlightened one]! — Dada Bhagwan

The essence of spirituality does not consist in a specialised or narrow interest in some imagined part of life, but in a certain enlightened attitude to all the various situations which obtain in life. It covers and includes the whole of life. All the material things of this world can be made subservient to the divine game, and when they are thus subordained they become auxiliary to the self-affirmation of the spirit. — Meher Baba

The strange thing about adulthood, when you're single, is that it's possible to go for fairly extended periods without facing blatant sin against. Sure there was plenty of sin against God but with such infrequent consequence - it was easy to self-congratulate on how much our relationship owed to my 'righteousness,' generosity, and enlightened theological views. Though for the past twenty months or so I'd been hearing a pastor who's constant theme was grace, it didn't hit home until I faced this proof of what the Bible says God considers depravity. — Anna Broadway

A person who has the slightest fear of insult cannot be called a "Gnani" [the enlightened one] and a person who desires self-recognition [maan] is not a Gnani [the enlightened one]. — Dada Bhagwan

Yes I say that I am enlightened. What does that mean? It means I live in a condition of light ... There really is no primary self anymore. — Frederick Lenz

A phenomenon noticeable throughout history regardless of place or period is the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests. Mankind, it seems, makes a poorer performance of government than of almost any other human activity. In this sphere, wisdom, which may be defined as the exercise of judgment acting on experience, common sense and available information, is less operative and more frustrated than it should be. Why do holders of high office so often act contrary to the way reason points and enlightened self-interest suggests? Why does intelligent mental process seem so often not to function? — Barbara W. Tuchman

When writing functions in this fashion as self-directed psychotherapy, we err if we demand that people be entertained and enlightened by the process. — Lawrence Block

Enlightened self-interest from those involved in hydrocarbons should lead to the support of technologies enabling the clean use of hydrocarbons, such as carbon capture and storage, and not to the defence of deniers and cranks. — Nicholas Stern

There is no "good," just passages and pathways to greater depths of pain brought to bear as markets diversify and specialise. In thinking he is winning - be it through miraculous medical advancements, enlightened self-interest which fosters a degree of social stability, or a planet wide agricultural revolution - man is in fact throwing himself into heightened states of artfully dressed turmoil: mayhem which could only thrill a Creator disposed to being thrilled at such sweet turbulences. — John Zande

As we learn to embrace our authentic longings and feelings - and cultivate self-empathy and the corresponding compassion toward others - our society will gradually evolve in a direction that is more tolerant, humane, and enlightened. — John Amodeo

Monstrous wars that had killed tens of thousands of innocent people weren't enough to inspire enlightened self-interest. Tiny loans, on the other hand, were. Money has no religion. — Bob Harris

The basic nature of all conscious beings is 'self-existing wakefulness'.
Self-existing meaning spontaneous or without effort and wakefulness meaning natural awareness.
To ignore our basic nature, is to wander in fear and confusion,
to directly realise our essential nature is to be Enlightened. — Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

The Agna, liberating instructions of the 'Gnani' [the enlightened one], purifies the mind. Knowledge of the Self [self realization] will give the mind, solutions in every circumstance. — Dada Bhagwan

The health of an enlightened and progressive society is measured by how vibrant is its science fiction, since that is where true self-critique and appraisal and hope lie. — David Brin

The aspirant who frequently measures how far he has advanced, or retrograded, upon this path, or how long he has stood still, is seeking something to be gained for himself, is looking all the time at himself. He is measuring the ego instead of trying to transcend it altogether. He is clinging to self, instead of obeying Jesus' injunction to deny it. Looking at the ego, he unwittingly stands with his back to the Overself. If he is ever to become enlightened, he must turn round, cease this endless self-measurement, stop fussing over little steps forward or backward, let all thoughts about his own backwardness or greatness cease, and look directly at the goal itself. — Paul Brunton

We don't really want to know what soldiers go through in combat. We do not really want to know how many children are being molested and abused in our own society or how many couples - almost a third, as it turns out - engage in violence at some point during their relationship. We want to think of families as safe havens in a heartless world and of our own country as populated by enlightened, civilized people. We prefer to believe that cruelty occurs only in faraway places like Darfur or the Congo. It is hard enough for observers to bear witness to pain. Is it any wonder, then, that the traumatized individuals themselves cannot tolerate remembering it and that they often resort to using drugs, alcohol, or self-mutilation to block out their unbearable knowledge? — Bessel A. Van Der Kolk

Where are you looking for samadhi (enlightened blissful state)? You just come into your own original Self-form of the Soul, final liberation and samadhi are the natural qualities of the Soul! — Dada Bhagwan

Ashoka supplemented this general moral and political principle by a dialectical argument based on enlightened self-interest: 'For he who does reverence to his own sect while disparaging the sects of others wholly from attachment to his own sect, in reality inflicts, by such conduct, the severest injury on his own sect. — Amartya Sen

The person who wants to progress on the path of Vitrag (the enlightened ones), should keep the focus of the awareness to progress from the non-auspicious (bad) to the auspicious (good). And if one wants to go to final Liberation [moksha], he should keep 'pure focus as the Self (Soul)' (shuddha upayog). The person, who wants to go to Moksha, should not concern himself with the auspicious (good) or the inauspicious (bad). He should keep them both as the things to be cleared out. — Dada Bhagwan

What is the way of the Buddha? It is to study the self. What is the study of the self? It is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to enlightened by everything in the world. — Dogen

The Enlightened one (Gnani Purush) never wastes his time in counting money; focus of the awareness of the self (upayog) is wasted in doing this. One's focused awareness (upayog) is where he has 'interest'! — Dada Bhagwan

Sexuality is one of the ways that we become enlightened, actually, because it leads us to self-knowledge. — Alice Walker

Now the stage today is to know that Self Realization gives you experiences and then your faith is established. Not blind but open enlightened faith. — Nirmala Srivastava

Gnani Purush' [the enlightened one] has the [knowledge of the-Self] essence of all religions. — Dada Bhagwan

Commercial concerns have expanded from family business to corporate wealth which is self-perpetuating and which enlightened statesmen and economists now dread as the most potent oligarchy yet produced. — Helen Keller

One's liberation begins once he does the darshan of kashaya-free (absence of inner anger, pride, deceit and greed) Gnani purush [the enlightened one]. Who is considered kashaya-free? The one whose state is that where there was no kashaya, there is no kashaya, and there never will be any. The one who is never in the state of the non-Self. Doing darshan of such a One brings ultimate well being. — Dada Bhagwan

A pagan, a person of profound corruption, may do acts externally conforming to the demands of the law. The internal motivation, however, is that of selfish interest or what the theologians call "enlightened self-interest," a motive that is not in harmony with the Great Commandment. Our external deeds may measure up to the external demands of the law, while at the same time our hearts are far removed from God. — R.C. Sproul

Many felt a profound malaise at the idea that the sources of benevolence should be just enlightened self-interest, or simply feelings of sympathy. This seemed to neglect altogether the human power of self-transcendence, the capacity to go beyond self-related desire altogether
and follow a higher aspiration. This — Charles Taylor

The Soul is neither a Jain nor a Vaishnav. The Soul is Vitarag (free from attachment). This is the religion of the Vitarag (the enlightened ones). — Dada Bhagwan

We hope the world will act in the spirit of enlightened self-interest. — Atal Bihari Vajpayee

No self-effort in the direction of enlightenment is ever wasted. Even if you don't become fully enlightened in a given lifetime, you will be much happier and more aware. — Frederick Lenz