Truth

Before proceeding further, it helps to step back and review some of the ground we have covered so far.

Earlier we stated that each of us are here to explore our own Being, and that Life has a prime directive that says “Being, Know Thyself!”. We also said that this directive comes to fruition through the Principle of Reflection. The Principle of Reflection states that Being finds or discovers itself in the mirror of matter, through a process of Becoming. Patterns reflected back in this mirror of matter include inner natures as well as all actions of Being.

We mentioned that Being generates diversity, exploring what we may call as “possibility space”, as a means of knowing its own limits. We also mentioned that the exploration of this “possibility space” is governed by forces of selection and that these forces direct the evolution of Diversity and guide it ultimately back to Unity.

Let’s dwell a little bit more on what this diversity and exploration of “possibility space” really means to us as human beings. The diversity generated by the Creative Principle cannot be limited to what human beings might classify as “good” only. The Prime Directive decrees that all possible modes and manifestations of Life be explored, and indeed that is what happens. If this were to be limited, many aspects of Being would forever remain in shadow, unexplored and unknown. Diversity is not just the “spice” of Life, it is the essence of Life.

What does this mean in every day terms? Next time you have an argument with an atheist, an agnostic, or a devout religious ‘fanatic’, it helps to remember that such viewpoints are indeed part and parcel of Diversity, where Being explores possibilities. From a higher perspective all these viewpoints have their place, form valid systems of belief, and are as important as any other. In fact all of these are even required in the evolution of Being. Philosophical differentiation is but a very tiny aspect of the great diversity that manifests.

There is such tremendous diversity in physical, mental, emotional and spiritual realms that it is humanly impossible to cover any of it to any degree of satisfaction. On the physical side we have such diversity of landscapes and millions of species inhabiting trillions of physical forms just here on earth, which is but a speck of dust in the universe. Even the physical form of man is endowed with such dexterity that we are still discovering its abilities.

On the mental side we have science and technology achieving heights that could previously be only dreamed of, yet with its great future potential as yet undiscovered. We have political philosophies and their manifestations like democracies, theocracies, dictatorships, monarchies, oligarchies and so on.

On the emotional side we have explored diversity par excellence. The human race has been working particularly with emotion more than with any other aspect of Being. We have pointed this out in the chapters ‘Mountain’ as well as ‘Sea’, in our book ‘The God Principle’. Exploration of the oceans of emotion can be as difficult as it can be joyous, as the race has discovered in its long sojourn on this watery planet. No possible aspect of emotion is left untouched and unexplored in this magnificent endeavor of humanity. Yet it is often difficult to see this for what it is, for the race is beset by emotion and held captive by it. Until the vast depths and heights of emotion have been explored, the race will not and cannot let go. In our book, The God Principle, we pointed out in great detail how this aspect of the race is mirrored in the oceans and the atmosphere of the planet, and the various phenomena that occur there.

On the spiritual side we have hundreds, if not thousands of religious, spiritual mystical and magical traditions, each vying for dominance. From paganism to monotheism, from religions spread by blood-shed to those that dare not kill a fly or even a germ, from nature worship to mysticism, from black magic to white magic, diversity of what is usually termed ‘spiritual’ is also just as great. All of these are explorations of the possible.

This may bring a question to the perceptive reader’s mind. If all these diversity is part and parcel of the scheme of things, is there then something called Truth? Or is it that any point of view or mode of life is just as valid as any other in the big picture?

Truth is the return path from Diversity to Unity. One can discern among conflicting view points and modes of life by their relative degree of Truth, depending on how much they facilitate this return to Unity. When we say Unity, we do not necessarily mean the Ultimate unity, but unity at any level. In science, for example, the grand unification of forces is a goal, and theories or view points that facilitate this movement toward that grand unification may be considered as possessing a higher degree of truth.

The Ultimate Truth is the grand Unity of Being which we may now call The Godhead, which encompasses the fullness of Life. For human beings however, Truth is the way back to this Unity through diverse expressions, view points, and modes of life. At the risk of being misunderstood, we quote a religious scripture which states: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”. There is no better statement we could find indicating this return to Unity so succinctly.

We do not mean to say that human beings must pursue the Truth. At some point every fragment of Being, a group, or a race, seeks the unitary path from diversity. A flower returns to the ground only after it blooms, and it does not behoove one fragment of Being to force or mandate a return path prematurely for any other fragment of Being. We should also mention that the return path is in general a progressive return, completing experiences within higher manifestations before moving further on to deeper unity.

But how does a Being set about pursuing the Truth? We categorically state that the best source as well as test of Truth lies within, and we repeat the Master’s advice: ‘Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened.’ This source of Truth has been called the Holy Ghost in the Christian literature, or being in touch with one’s God Self in other traditions. But even otherwise there are ways and means of discerning and following Truth. We wish to point out that every religious or spiritual tradition, framework, belief system, or scientific truth as it is known, without exception, at every level, suffers from anomalies. Anomalies are facts, experiences or phenomena that are not easily explained by the belief system or theories that the seeker is currently exposed to. These anomalies are however always explained in that belief system using rather far-fetched notions that would easily ring as unsatisfactory to the keen observer. These anomalies are the gateway or door to an even higher perspective that helps reconcile these views. Such perspectives, if diligently sought, leads the seeker into progressively higher truth and experience.

We have now covered sufficient ground from the beginning of this blog to discuss the Separative and Unitary principles. This we will attempt in the next section.