"Despite all the religious propaganda about full enlightenment and infallible prophets, probably no one has ever perfectly embodied Infinity. And it doesn’t matter. Total transcendence is unnecessary, because even a transient experience of the eternal has enormous transformative potential. Any encounter with the Infinite, however fleeting, initiates an inner metamorphosis. All subsequent experience is endowed with subtle new shades of meaning; all subsequent action is held to a higher standard; and all subsequent thought must now be measured against the magnificent wisdom of the empyrean."