The wise say that the path to Truth of God/ Knowledge of Self is too tough to tread and too rough to traverse.
It is because the Truth is hidden partly by design (of God), but mostly by default (of individuals).
The design of God is in the form of ignorant Jeeva, which consequently wanders in the wilderness of existence (Samsara).
The default of individuals is in the form of insentient mind, which consequently
wanders in the wilderness of thoughts (Chanchal).
Normally, ignorance/ insentience do not let the individuals behold the
Truth.
What influences our thought process?
Our thought process is greatly influenced by our:
Belief, Knowledge and Experience.
Between them, they confuse and confront us every moment of our life. The
confusion arises because there is only a thin/ blurred line separating one from
the other. The confrontation arises because for progress in life, we need a
fair amount of each, whereas an overdose of one could actually make us static
or even regress.
Hence, if they
are not regulated, they wouldn’t let us behold the Truth. Fortunately, they
have a beginning and an end; hence, they can be inured/ influenced to get over
the morass of existence (Samsara Chakra).
Belief:
We acquire belief due to other’s influence or due to
our perception/ conception. Even a non-believer is a believer; the difference
is that the non-believer believes that the believer’s belief is not believable.
Both their belief systems are anathema to scientific as well as
spiritual truth-seeking. Also, anything (knowledge/ experience) which disturbs
or disputes a firmly held belief (for e.g. flat earth) is not easily accepted.
Knowledge: Knowledge is acquired through a systematic process. Mere learning is not knowledge. For example, if we know the word ‘sugar’, does it amount to
knowledge of sugar? Because we can read the syllables in the word sugar does
not make us an expert in the knowledge of sugar.
Knowledge is different from words/information. Words/ Information understood
(i.e. their content as well as the context) is knowledge.
Experience: In the above-cited example,
suppose we do acquire knowledge of sugar due to extensive reading or intensive
researching, can we claim that we had experience of sugar? The answer is still
an emphatic no because Experience is different from knowledge.
A father, for example, can acquire a truckload of knowledge on the
nuances of motherhood; yet, it is only the mother who is privileged to undergo
the delight and drama of being a mother!
Truth: From the
truth perspective, believers as well as scholars are right only at the
elementary or relative point of view but not in absolute sense. Truth alone is
absolute.
Belief is untested knowledge, with
or without the validity of truth. For example, many scientists ‘believe’ black
hole exists, though the truth of its existence has not been confirmed.
Many scientists ‘believe’ that speed of light is the highest we can
reach, though the non-existence of its opposite has not been confirmed; both
are, therefore, speculative knowledge only.
Knowledge is untested experience, with
or without the validity of truth. For example, Einstein’s General Theory of
Relativity of 1915 remained a hypothesis, until a program of precision tests in
1959 concluded its truth.
Once experienced, knowledge becomes truth, until then it is only a
belief. Knowledge is a tad lower than experience as it is sometimes based on
speculation/ hear-say.
Experience is Belief/ Knowledge
being tested, with or without the validity of truth. An experience (e.g. an
apple falling down) may confirm the validity of truth (i.e. Gravity), but truth’s
non-Knowledge (i.e. ignorance before Newton’s discovery) or non-experience (e.g.
jet-flying, which defies gravity) may not imply its (i.e. gravity’s)
invalidity.
The Principle of God best exemplifies these contrasting thought-processes
– whereas majority has belief in God, most people have no knowledge or experience
of God. Non-knowledge and non-experience of God hampers Truth-realization.
Due to this belief, we visit temples, where we believe we can have ‘dharshan’
of God. Many of us perform worship-rituals with the belief that God will be obliged
and amazed with our endeavor (hence, we make it as grand and as elaborate as
possible).
Some of us recite Mantras even without understanding their metre
and meaning, with the belief that God will take note/ shower blessings in
response.
Many people have knowledge of Scriptures, which dissects and dilates on
the principle of God.
Few people may have had the experience of some aspects of God. But
rarely do we find a person who is merged in Supreme consciousness.
People stuck with an overdose of beliefs are gullible and are targeted
by unscrupulous manipulators.
People stuck with an overdose of secular knowledge are vain (Vidya
Mada) – they cannot move forward on spiritual knowledge or experience.
People stuck with an overdose of secular experience (especially
pleasurable ones), never aspire for spiritual experience.
How Belief-Knowledge hampers Truth-seeking, while Experience hastens it:
· Belief is the easiest to acquire, but most difficult
to let go!
· Experience is the most exacting to undergo – it is the
worst task-master, but also the best lesson-teacher!!
· Knowledge is in-between. It is easy to possess/
correct when experience confirms it, but difficult to master/ modify, if belief
contradicts it!!!
· Truth is
independent of belief or knowledge, whereas personal experience is ranked only
a notch below Truth.
Understanding the dynamics of Belief, Knowledge and Experience:
To understand the dividing lines between them, let us consider two
persons crossing a river and coming across a rickety bridge.
Looking at the condition of the bridge, and due to compelling reasons to
cross over, they develop a belief that the bridge is safe for passage. Based on
the belief, one of them makes an attempt to cross over. After reaching the
opposite side, the belief (that the bridge was safe) becomes knowledge and a
truth for him.
For the second person, the experience of the first person reinforces his
belief and becomes knowledge, but not yet a personal experience.
Yet, when he crosses the river, let us say, the bridge falls apart. He
would then lament that what he believed was not true; also, his knowledge was
incomplete as he couldn’t assess the condition of the bridge post the first
person’s usage.
Thus,
· For acquiring belief, knowledge or experience is not necessary (as it can be based on hear-say or instinctive feeling).
· For acquiring knowledge, personal experience is not
necessary (as it can be based on second-hand experience or intellectual
reasoning).
· For acquiring truth, personal experience (or
intuition) is necessary.
The truth in the above example was that the bridge was good enough for
only one person to pass through, though both the persons had different, and
diametrically opposite experiences:
For the first person, the truth would always be that the bridge was safe.
(However, if he was a witness to the second person’s fall, he would correct his
earlier belief / knowledge).
For the second person, his personal experience reversed his belief and
corrected his understanding. (However, it is also possible that he might fail
to correct his knowledge if he was busy bemoaning his failure or begrudging
other person’s feat).
Though experience
can lead us to Truth, it cannot substitute it!
What aids Truth-seeking?
While commencing the journey, Belief indeed is necessary; else, we will stand all our life on the
river-bank trying to acquire knowledge – that of rope, metallurgy,
bridge-construction, structure-stability, wind-direction, water-flow, etc. to unravel
truth. However, an overdose of such belief retards the reasoning-abilities.
While continuing the journey, Knowledge indeed is necessary; else, we will waste all our time and
efforts in re-inventing wheel. However, an over-dose of such knowledge makes us
only an arm-chair expert which cannot guarantee safe passage.
While concluding the journey, Experience indeed is necessary; else, we will miss the proof of the
pudding by a broad margin. However, an overdose of pleasurable experience in
secular pursuits will diminish our yearning for spiritual experience.
In sum, for a seeker, experience is the best bet/ greatest gateway for
exploring Truth.
Thus,
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