And the independent reality of the individual, when we examine it, is in truth mere illusion. Apart from the community, what are separate men? It is the common mind within him which gives reality to the human being, and taken by himself, whatever else he is, he is no human … If this is true of the social consciousness in its various forms, it is true certainly no less of that common mind which is more than social. The finite minds that in and for religion form one spiritual whole have indeed in the end no visible embodiment, and yet, except as members in an invisible community, they are nothing real. For religion, in short, if the one indwelling spirit is removed, there are no spirits left. ~ F H Bradley, Truth and Reality

Religious feeling must establish itself as a rational way of living. If ever the spirit is to be at home in this world, and not merely a prisoner or a fugitive, spiritual foundations must be laid deep and preserved worthily. Religion must express itself in reasonable thought, fruitful action and right social institutions. ~ Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Types of Illusions

There are three types of illusion:

• Optical (or perceptual) illusion
• Logical illusion
• Transcendental Illusion

Optical Illusion

An optical illusion arises from a misperception. For example, one “sees” a snake in the grass. This illusion is dissolved when the perception is clarified. One then sees that the snake was really a harmless stick.

Logical Illusion

A logical illusion is the result of a faulty chain of reasoning, resulting in an incorrect conclusion. When the logical mistake is pointed out — and understood — then the illusion ends and the proper conclusion reached.

Transcendental Illusion

The third class of illusions is the transcendental illusion — that is, taking appearances (and space/time) as reality. However, even when one understands intellectually the falsity of the transcendental illusion, the illusion itself remains. Or does it? This seems to be the divide between Western and Eastern systems. Kant claimed the transcendental illusion was ineradicable, because the rational mind could not penetrate or conceive anything beyond that. The Eastern claim is that the illusion can disappear in a moment of intuitive insight.