I honour and revere these saints. It is good for us that such men have been on earth. Nevertheless man cannot perfect himself in this world although he must do so through this world. Hence we must grant the fact that the greatest teachers of the race were human, after all, and therefore subject to human limitations. They did not cease to be human beings merely because they became spiritual geniuses. If their declarations reveal the heights above, they also reflect the plains below. Respectful courteous criticism in my own private notebooks, to clarify my ideas of their theoretical standpoint and practical attitude for the purposes of elucidating the truth, is allowable. This is different from public denunciation in print. Where is the alleged resemblance of doctrine and unity of spirit among the different mystical schools really to be found? The contradictions and even oppositions are as numerous as the similarities and harmonies. If this means anything, it means that mystics do colour their perception with their individual characteristics, however much they may claim to be above the ego. It means, too, that such colouration is most often effected quite unconsciously. The white light of the pure experience is always coloured by prepossessions or emotions, and always suffers from the change.
-- Notebooks Category 16: The Sensitives > Chapter 9 : Inspiration and Confusion > # 40
