Paul Brunton Philosophic Foundation homepage > Notebooks of Paul Brunton

---

In the Orient it is the general belief that a man turns toward this quest for either of two reasons. If he is young, it is because he has an inborn genius for it. If he is somewhat older, it is because he is dissatisfied with life, disappointed in it, or bereaved by its calamities. But the philosophical view, while including these reasons, goes farther and wider. For it sees that some, notably those who are aesthetically sensitive and those who are maritally fulfilled, are indeed satisfied with their existing form of life. Only, they sense the greater possibilities open to a human being and wish to expand it to realize them more completely.

-- Notebooks Category 1: Overview of the Quest > Chapter 2 : Its Choice > # 239