“Perhaps you are right.” That is the opening sentence that I used to excuse myself from a conversation on Facebook among a group of Advaitists. I decided not to engage in a philosophical argument with someone whose position was NOT going to change. Their rigidity was such that it resembled rigor mortis.
If you do not know, Advaitists, more specifically, Advaita Vedantists, are a group of people who follow the tenets of the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita in pursuit of the path to “kill” the ego. For the most part, they are “good” and well-meaning souls.
They understand, (like Buddha and many other sages, past and present), that the human ego is the source of all suffering. I believe this to be true; I have no argument against it.
What I found to be sadly amusing is that I was responding to a person who wrote to me that I was “mingling” with the wrong group of people, as the killing of the ego was their ultimate goal, and I guess I just didn’t “get it.”
What I had done was to point out that the very nature of their pursuit was the personification of ego; to have an unwavering stance on ANY subject is unquestionably an ego position. He didn’t like that…it rubbed him the wrong way. So, I backed away politely, and left him to his illusion.
Imagine, someone who’s stated intent is to “kill” the ego, “politely” letting you know that you didn’t belong in his company! I laughed out loud after I ended our conversation. It seems inconceivable that those whose goal is to kill the ego are often some of the most egotistical people who you will ever encounter, (though not all).
Yes, it’s quite a clique – yet another body of people who are convinced they have the inside line on the “Ultimate Truth.” But, there is no “truth” in an ultimate sense - only one’s perspective, taught to you by others, and books, and your individual experience.
Honest and sincere? Yes. Truth? No. We cannot speak of an absolute truth, because each mind has its own perspective.
But, the gentleman was right, in that I did not belong in their clique of “absolute truth,” because the very idea of such a thing is an untenable wheelbarrow-load of absolute bullshit. “God” will speak to you as He/She/It deems fit. It will be “right” for you, but that does not make it a universal and ultimate “truth.”
And so it goes. Guard yourself…be OK with that to which “God” leads you. Embrace it fully, but do not be the fool who deigns to think that he/she has been shown the ONLY truth; God is much bigger than that.
Many Blessings To All…
LOTD
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