Truth

"If you are proved right, you gain little; but if you are proved wrong, you
gain much - you learn the truth.
- Greek Master

Every one of us is on a journey to find Truth. Many seek it passively, letting the experiences
and lessons of life be their teachers. Theirs is a long and winding trek, but it still will end at
the same ultimate Attainment that is the destiny of all human beings. A few pursue the
quest more actively and imperatively, going beyond the conventions of ordinary existence.
Theirs is a speedier route, but strewn with formidable barricades and high hurdles of sundry
types.

The way of the many is the way of the established, dogmatic religion. The way of the few is
the way propagated by the noble Order of the Naga Brahmas.

The simple fact that there is only one Truth and many religions is in itself cause of a serious
pause. How has this happened? What does it mean? We may quickly explain that while
there is only one Truth, there are a thousand and one ways of getting to it. But even given
this, the reasonable man will still want to find out of which of the many ways is best. And to
know this, there must be a standard for reckoning which way is best. Just like in our daily
life, we many notice that many stores make the identical declarations that their goods are
the best. But there is a prescribed set of criteria by which the said stores and their goods
are tested to establish which one among them is really the best. In like manner, many
religions and doctrines assert that theirs is the best path to Truth, if not the ONLY path. But
these claims must also be tested against a certain standard to determine which one among
them speaks truly.

What is this standard? It is personal spiritual experience. At the same time, this standard
is also the test for Truth itself. Truth is known through the personal experience of it. It is
not something that is merely heard, read, understood, accepted, or passed on to one's
forebears like some legacy. Instead, it is something that is experienced in order to be
known by a person.

Thus, we do not say that the rightful religion - - in the true meaning of the word - - is
Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, etc. We do not even claim that it is mysticism.
Rather, we say that the true religion, in the sense that it leads to the Truth, is one
that leads to a personal experience of it.

The good that the formal religions have done is undeniable. Throughout the long stretch of
mankind's history, they have instilled in us an ideal of goodness, righteousness and truth.
But it is lamentable when religion degenerates into blind dogma and maintains its
following through the sheer power of fear or emotion. It is sad when religious
truisms are blindly upheld despite having been proven untrue, inconsistent, or even
harmful. It is also wrong when religion becomes divisive of men, causing them to turn
against each other instead of uniting them as children of the same one God. And it is evil
when religion becomes the instrument of certain minds to control or rule their fellow human
beings.

As we see it there is a need for religion and the religious to be scientific. What do we mean
by this? Instead of preaching unproven doctrines and exhorting people to blindly believe in
them, all religions should be like school of experimental application of spiritual as well as
natural or physical laws. That this can be done is beyond dispute. For example up to this
time, in existence are true spiritual Masters who maintain isolated retreats wherein spiritual
laws are studied and applied, and the effects of which are tested in the lives of dedicated
students. These venerable Teachers operate without any religious identification. They also
do so privately, within the confines of their hermitages, not wishing to attract their
attraction or interest from the merely curious. In a like manner, there are Schools which,
under no religious affiliation, dispense spiritual canons and formulas which are to be
practiced by their students and accepted as true only when proven by them to be so.

In these so - called "scientific religions", superstition, ignorance, and dogmatism have no

place. And while they submit that there is only one, universal Truth, they are able to
"teach" It not as some abstract and apathetic theory, but as an individually personal, unique
experience known and lived by the seeker.

Furthermore, scientific religions do not debate with one another or with other schools of
thought about the genuineness of their own tenets. Instead, they are open to everyone
else's potential contribution to finding answers to basic questions such as "What is the
meaning of life? And "Who or What is God?" If all religious were like this, the discovery of a
universal standard of the art of living that leads to individual Self - Realization and the
upliftment of humanity as a whole should not be too far away.

Also, if present churches were scientific religions, their monies would not be spent primarily
on erecting elaborate churches and buildings, nor on holding pompous ceremonies.
Instead, they would be used to contribute to the research by their foremost scientist on
applicable techniques for making the human body and mind sound, strong, healthy - an
immaculate expression of the perfect soul that dwells within.

One venerable Master asserted that there is no need for a new religion with new, radical
ideas. What is imperative is the coming together, the joining of forces of the various
existing religions. They should share their own wealth of knowledge and agree to test them
by actual experience, in order to scientifically find out Truth. Each religion does a certain
amount of good, but each one can do better by accepting one another and working
conjointly universal bonds of brotherhood and oneness of mission.

For all these to actually happen may seem like an impossible dream, but we seekers can
begin the process of change with ourselves. An inspiring thought is that the process of
making religious scientific begins with individual person, not right away with whole systems
of faith or schools of thought. Again according to the same Master, if a person loved all
religions the same, then he shall come face - to face with God.