HAVING AN OPEN MIND
In our teachings, there is no such thing as Eastern or Western. Our teachings are based upon universal truths.
THE SEEKING MIND
An intellectually inclined person, at first, would start by studying various systems and forms of meditation and multiple philosophies. If you study Ramakrishna’s life, you will find that there was a period when he went through life as a Mohammedan. There was a period when he went through life as a Christian and a period when he went through life as a Vedantist. He experienced and lived all these various forms of religious concepts and ideals. Then he concluded that all religions are like rivers coming from different directions, ultimately becoming one in the same ocean. That was the discovery of Ramakrishna, and that discovery holds – it had held accurate ages past, and it is still valid.
One of the essential qualities of the seeking mind is that it is always a groping mind. When we seek light, we realise that we are in some measure of darkness because we would not be seeking light if we were not in darkness. In darkness, a whole process of groping takes place.
In this groping, we study and try to practice various religious concepts. Nothing is wrong with that, but all these multiple concepts might not reflect the entire truth for us.
There is a lovely little story of four blind men going through the forest to find the truth. There, they came upon an elephant. One got hold of the tail and said, “God is like a rope.” The other got hold of the leg and said, “God is like a tree stump.” The one got hold of the trunk and said, “God is like something else.” All four of them had touched or were with a different part of the elephant, and then these four started clashing with each other, one saying that God is like a rope and the other saying God is like a tree stump.
The blind people were groping, and they were fortunate that a person who could see came along, and he told them, “All of you know the truth in part. The truth that you say, in truth, is not the complete truth, but it is a partial truth.” He took them around the entire elephant and made them touch the trunk, ears, legs, and tail and all, and said, “When you can comprehend when you can open your eyes when you can see the light, you will see the entire elephant. Then you will know the entire truth.”
In that way, religions have emphasised certain aspects of truth. Therefore, no one should claim that every religion is complete. Religions within themselves are whole, but our conception of the religions we follow may not be complete because our conceptions and our minds are narrow.
Through this, we progress in discovering, finding, and analysing all various philosophical concepts. In this probe, in this groping, some little glimmer of light occurs because no searching is ever in vain—something is always gained.
From that stage of groping around the dark room, there might be a little slit in the door where some light is filtering through. When man finds that little light, he is more attracted to that particular system, which some have called lineage.
It reminds me of a legendary story of the hamsa. It is a Sanskrit word which means “the swan.” This legendary swan has the ability that if it is given a bowl of water and milk mixed, this mythical swan can extract the milk only and leave the water behind.
When man progresses and develops, he also develops this ability to take out the cream of all the religions he has studied. When he follows a particular path that he might find to suit his temperament, finding more cream in that path and less water is why he is inclined to follow that specific lineage of thought. But that is not the end.
That is not the end because the search started on the mind level; otherwise, he would not have examined all religions or studied comparative religion. Certain truths in all these religions could be combined within man and create his way of life. This brings us back to what I have been saying all the time: that if there are four thousand million people in this world, there should be four thousand million religions.
PROCEEDING ON THE PATH
Now, we are at the second stage, where a particular philosophy or a certain way of life appeals to us most. By assiduously practising that form of belief, religion, or philosophy, we are going through an expansion. There is an expansion within us because now we have found the way most conducive to our temperament, and man must always start from where he is.
What could be most conducive to one person might not be equally conducive to another because they are not both standing in the same spot. If we want to reach San Francisco from here, some might be nearer San Francisco, and some might be further away. Those nearer the goal would naturally appreciate subtler concepts with greater depth. Those who are further away would appreciate concepts that could be grosser or more mundane. That is how one proceeds on the path of religion, faith, or philosophy.
FOLLOWING THE PATH THAT IS CONDUCIVE TO YOU
Once one has adopted the belief that a particular path is right for him, he follows that path assiduously. However, there is one drawback that one always has to remember: the path that seems very conducive to me today might not be so conducive tomorrow because I am evolving. As I evolve more and more, my perceptions become subtler, and my awareness increases.
The increase or development of greater awareness I am following today might have value. It is not to be discarded because it has been a stepping stone for me, and if I did not have that stepping stone, I would not have progressed further on the steps. That might have been the first rung of the ladder, but there are many more rungs I have to climb.
In that way, nothing will ever be discarded, for every teaching contains an element of truth. By combining all these various elements of reality, we realise the wholeness of truth. After studying different religions, we have embarked upon a conducive path.
To put it another way, the warning is not to become dogmatic about it. Dogmatism leads to fanaticism, which leads to all kinds of religious opposition and religious strife. That strife created by fanaticism must necessarily rebound back on us. So, although we follow a particular path in life and adhere to a particular philosophy, we must always view everything else with an open mind.
HAVING AN OPEN MIND
When we view everything else with an open mind, we become tolerant. We become tolerant of the Muslim faith, the Hindu faith, the Buddhist faith, or the Taoist faith, whatever it might be. We develop this tolerance because we have an open mind.
With this tolerance, we also develop an understanding because man can never be tolerant without having understanding. If a person can eat four ounces of food for his meal, we have no right to ram down his throat eight ounces. We understand that man is doing things to the best of his capacity. When we have this tolerance, we extend this understanding, and by developing understanding, we also build love. So, whatever path the person follows, we love the person.
I have known of a family where the husband is a Protestant, and the wife is a Catholic. On Sunday mornings, when they go to church, the husband drops the wife off at the Catholic church and proceeds to the Protestant church. When the services are over, he picks her up again, and they live happily. So, what has happened is that the husband and wife are both tolerant of each other’s beliefs because they realise that each one must find his path. This conception embraces tolerance: tolerance breeds understanding, and understanding breeds love.
DEVELOPING UNIVERSALITY
When all these qualities are combined within us, we are sure to undergo a more significant expansion and greater awareness. When we develop greater awareness, the current path we are following will lead us to a universal path, and in that universality, we find everything to be true.
That is why we say that even the opposites are true. When we embark on the path of universality, everything existent, or everything existent within our perception, and everything existent beyond our perception is also true. That is how we achieve maximum progress, and in that maximum progress, by developing this universality within us, we too become universal. That is the aim and goal of life.
MAN HAS TO ADHERE TO SOMETHING
Here, we start from the narrow path, from the narrow end of the cone, and proceed to the wide end, where every religion, every philosophy, every human being, every creature, every form of existence, animate or inanimate, is within our embrace, and we feel one with the universe. The universe, in turn, feels one with us. That is the end and aim, the goal of life, and that is total self-integration, God-realization in becoming at oneness with the one. All duality ceases there and then.
Man has to adhere to something. Man’s mind automatically sticks onto that which it would like most. You sit down at a table with a hundred goodies, and you will go for what attracts you the most. It is part of the process. Once one goes to that which draws us most, we will, sooner than we think, perhaps, even go beyond that preference, where everything becomes our preference.
… Gururaj Ananda Yogi: Satsang US 1977 – 21
