The risk is too great. The pitfalls are too deep. The snares are too dangerous. If I cannot find a genuine indication of the presence of God-consciousness in a man by some fleeting or permanent reflection in the mirror of my own internal experience, then I must perforce abandon my would-be discipleship to the care of the divinity that lies hidden somewhere at the back of my mind.

-- Notebooks Category 1: Overview of the Quest > Chapter 3: Independent Path > # 280