Those who begin on their spiritual paths constantly wonder exactly how to find the Truth at the present time. Looking around us, we observe many movements, organisations, and religions, each purporting to be the ultimate Truth, thereby intimating that all the others are wrong. There is certainly no limit to the loyalty of the adherents of each of these faiths, a loyalty that sometimes borders on fanaticism, and yet they are incapable of providing coherent and concise explanations in matters pertaining to the Truth.
Which of these religions, then, is the correct Truth? This is the daunting question that drives so many seekers to eventually give up all hope. And those who do not yield too soon have to struggle and sift carefully through all the individual teachings in search of the supreme but elusive Truth. In the process, many of them sadly get lost in the myriad doctrines, theological assertions and religious debates, without really finding anything substantial for their souls in this life, not to mention having to endure the ridicule and scorn of those who have no time for such things.
Evermore the questions rage within our souls! How can we find the Truth? Is there a standard by which we can clearly discern what belongs to the Truth and what does not? Are we at least capable of discovering this standard? And finally, at the crux of the matter, the woeful question arises that disheartens seekers the most - does the Truth even exist at all?
On many occasions, genuine seekers get told by those who "know" that there is no such thing as the perfect Truth, that it is a waste of time searching for it when there are more important things to do. These more important things of course refer only to the accumulation of material wealth, reputation and power, since mankind today do not really consider anything else more important.
But their well-intended advice only fosters the great spiritual decline of mankind, for it is this crass materialism that is spiritually destroying our world. Humanity prefer to hold onto only that which is tangible to them; they feel comfortable looking solely after the material aspect of their lives, without thinking any further about what happens when this earth-life is over. Indeed they dare not even think of the hereafter, for then they are immediately confronted by the spectre of their own inner emptiness, the implicit knowing that they have really achieved nothing in this life at all, that all the wealth they had hitherto accumulated will serve them absolutely no purpose when they leave this earth.
And yet while such forebodings do arise from time to time, these individuals instead prefer to stifle them and further intensify their pursuit of material things, even encouraging genuine seekers to abandon their fairytale quest for an "imaginary" Truth.
For those seekers, who thereby become disillusioned by the rest of the world, the best consolation then becomes: "all religions contain the Truth, but only different forms of the Truth - whichever Truth you choose is the right one for you."
While this sounds very pleasing to the ears, and is certainly a way to strike a balance between the truths of all the world religions, the most logical fact remains that there can only be one complete and distinctly unique Truth.
After all this is implied in the very word: "Truth". How can there be more than one "version" of the Truth? If there are contradictions in the various purported "forms" of the Truth, e.g. in the different religious teachings, then this is clear enough proof that not all of them are the correct forms of the Truth.
For instance, one "Truth" may assert that rebirth and reincarnation take place, backed up by its own intellectual reasoning and perhaps even ancient fables and mythology, while another "Truth" asserts to the contrary in a similar manner. Can both of these then be different forms of the Truth?
Perfect logic and objectivity would lead to the definite answer: "No!" Why? Because there is clearly a direct contradiction between these two "Truths", leading one to believe that one of these schools of thought is definitely wrong. The earth is either round or flat, it cannot be both! Similarly the Truth either is or it is not!
The real Truth, however, is always complete. It gives a clear picture of everything in Creation without a single gap or contradiction in the entire structure. Nothing will be left out of it, and all those who recognise it can rejoice in it. Through finding the Truth, the seeker simultaneously makes a real contact with his Creator - his God!
For the Truth comes from God, from the Living Source Himself, it is even One with Him! Only in this way can Truth be Eternal and Perfect, because it comes from God Who is Eternal and Perfect. He who finds the Living Truth has automatically found his Maker and has no need of religion, doctrine, tradition, ritual or superstition.
On the other hand, finding this mysterious elusive Truth appears to be quite a challenge. Therefore it is in our interest to postulate a premise that can help us in our search for the Truth, a premise that will unfailingly guide us in our seeking, so that when our paths do cross that of the Truth, we will recognise it as such.
But since the preceding arguments in this essay already point to the existence of the Creator, of God Himself, this is the first concept that we have to grapple with, if we wish to find the Truth.
If one does not believe in God, one cannot call oneself a seeker of the Truth. And he who calls himself a seeker but does not already believe in God, will not find the Truth, for he separates the Truth from God and denies the One Who is the very Truth that he is seeking. Hence, although the scientific community does strive to seek the truth about the world that we live in, it nevertheless seeks only within the boundaries of this material world. The scientists never choose to go beyond these boundaries - for lack of empirical evidence - and therefore cannot accept God, Who is far beyond these boundaries. For this reason, no matter what their arguments may be on this subject, scientists are not really seekers of the Truth of all Creation - the Truth that gives the complete explanation of Creation and the answer to every question!
Yet the beauty and perfection of this Creation around us itself presupposes the existence of the Almighty, the Source of Life from which alone all other life could come into existence. And so if one does not believe in the existence of this Primordial Source of Power and Life, how can one then claim to be a seeker? The belief in God is fundamental to all seeking. There is no Truth without a perfect God and there is no God without a perfect Truth! The Two are One!
And thus we have hit upon the very premise that will be the sole guiding principle throughout the essays of this book. It is indeed the supreme premise which every genuine seeker can use in order to find his own personal way to the Truth:
God exists and He is Perfect in every way!
Only he who delves deeply into this statement will be able to recognise the Living Truth itself. For if this premise is correct, then it means that whatever we believe with respect to God and His Works must be perfect. If there is but one minuscule belief among all our numerous beliefs and doctrines that does not testify to the Perfection of the Eternal One, then this particular belief cannot be correct and must be weeded out, excised completely, so that it may not defile our personal conviction and drag us onto wrong spiritual paths.
We must therefore do the work in sifting carefully through all that we have been taught from childhood, knowing that God exists and is Perfect in every way. Then every doctrine or philosophy that cannot testify to this supreme premise will itself fall away quite naturally. In the process, we will also find the right path - the Living Source of Truth Itself - by building upon this premise. Everything, which till then has been confined to mere tradition or doctrine, suddenly comes to life as it really is within our soul. With this comes not just mere belief or blind faith, but a truly living conviction, one that is thorough and complete!
To summarise: if a particular belief does not swing in this supreme premise, then it is not of the Truth! Only by carefully weighing and examining each of our beliefs according to this premise, will we ever be able to find the Truth, the luminous goal of all existence!
Copyright (c) 2005, R. M. Duraisamy. Reproduced with permission of R. M. Duraisamy. indianseekers.com