These passages from the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson on religion and spiritual philosophy reveal a metaphysical thought that is quintessentially American and universally relevant to the spiritual needs of today's world. It is seldom that an American philosopher is found among the gurus, mystics and masters present in the spiritual mileau. Emerson combined the spiritual intuition of the East with the philosophical acumen of the West. In his words, "we hear echoes of the great truths of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and the wisdom of the Greeks.

Cover photograph by Richard Blair.