Page:The Science of Religion (1925).djvu/114



The universality and necessity of the Religious Ideal (Ever-existent, Ever-conscious Bliss-God) and the practical methods to reach it have been discussed in the previous chapters. Now we wish to discuss the grounds of validity of the methods. The methods are essentially practical, and if they are followed the ideal must be reached, whether we deal with the theories or not. Their ground of validity is the practical result itself, which is palpable and real. It is not, be it understood, really necessary to show the theoretical’ grounds of validity. But simply to satisfy others we treat a priori of the validity of the theories of knowledge on which the methods are based, that their validity may also be theoretically shown. This will launch us