Many paths, one goal

July 04, 2014 11:37 pm | Updated 11:37 pm IST

The entire universe is the supreme manifestation of the eternal Brahman. Brahman transcends the creation as well. The Lord is more ancient than all else. All manifested glory is from Him. When Krishna reveals this Truth to Arjuna, it is the unique instance of Truth revealing itself, said Srimati Sunanda in a discourse. Here the Lord unfolds the subtle nature of realisation. Truth is not an object of perception to be known or understood. It is the subject that perceives and enables the experience of truth. Truth is what enables in one the process of understanding. It is what makes the individual to see what is good or bad, or what is right or wrong. It is what enables one to understand the import of the Vedas or Upanishads that constitute the truth. A simple analogy that is used to explain this concept is that of the torch light that illumines a dark room. While this light illumines many objects in darkness, it cannot illumine that which enables it to throw light, that is, its own battery.

Revelation of truth from the sphere of manifestation into the realm of the individual inner consciousness is a continuous process and the Lord enables this to happen in a subtle way. That is why some are able to see the truth in a flash, while some grasp a portion of it which they think to be the whole, while some others grope outside it. It is like the blind men seeking to interpret the elephant through the different parts where each one gains the knowledge according to his personal perception. Truth is one but the paths leading to it may be different. It does not matter from where one begins the journey so long as one is moving towards the right destination. The various faiths are the paths but they all lead to Truth and all the great masters of these faiths speak the only one language of Truth.

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