This essay is a near-verbatim adaptation of the live spoken teaching, edited only for continuity and readability.
Namaste. Welcome. I am so glad to be here with all of you, and to begin right on time. This is a practice of impeccability—starting and ending exactly as intended. There is a discipline to this, and discipline itself is a spiritual practice. There is a spirituality to discipline, just as there is to flow. In a group, discipline and punctuality are especially appropriate, because flow alone would have us all arriving at different times, unable to meet together. So, let us practice this impeccability together.
I would like to keep these sessions to an hour, with a 20-25 minute sermon and a longer meditation. This rhythm allows us to go deep, and also respects the time and schedules of everyone present. Longer, more intensive discussions can be reserved for special occasions. For our weekly rhythm, this structure is perfect.
Today, the topic is truth. I come to you bearing the jewels of truth, gathered from the edges of experience, through trial and contemplation. Though we are a small Sangha, we are gathered for this purpose, and it is special to be here together.
What is truth? Our world is greatly confused on this matter. Truth is fundamental—not only to spiritual life, but to happiness, harmony, mathematics, and physics. This makes it especially relevant for us, as part of the School of Futuristic Intelligence.
Truth is fundamentally what is. What is, is. There are no shades of gray in truth. Truth is what is. Opinions are not truth. Like and dislike are not truth. Fact is truth. For example, vanilla is not better than chocolate—neither is better. Vanilla may be gentle, chocolate may be rich and heart-opening, but these are qualities, not truths of superiority. Often, we cannot put truth into words. The is-ness of chocolate is beyond words; words can only allude to the truth.
Truth often takes courage. One of the most potent places to explore truth is within ourselves. Am I a jerk in certain situations? Can I look and say, yes, I really was a jerk that time? Or perhaps, am I really smart in this way? Truth is not false humility. It is the ability to look at oneself without judgment or denial. This is difficult, but I encourage everyone to ask: can I sit and look at myself?
When I first worked with my teacher, he flooded me with truth. It was intense, but I listened. He would point out something negative about me, and I would look for myself. Sometimes he was right, and I changed. This is like a doctor who knows the truth—a doctor who can see what is actually happening can do something about it. The truth empowers us. A doctor who does not know the truth can only offer false hope. When we recognize, for example, an element of selfishness within ourselves that causes our heart to contract or our relationships to become abrasive, we realize we can do something about it. The truth does not mean that is what we are forever; it simply means that is what we are right now.
There is also the truth of logic. People often phrase things in terms of like and dislike, or opinions. It is important to be precise with language. If this, then that—these statements are usually true. For example, if you yell at your neighbors, they are less likely to be cooperative. These if-then statements tend to hold a lot of truth. I hesitate to speak in absolutes, because I love the truth. It is like being a Vulcan from Star Trek—Vulcans cannot lie; they love the truth.
Truth can bring us together. Religions often clash and go to war because each thinks their dogma is the truth. Real religion is based on truth. Commercialized religion, which allows us to sit in comfortable illusion, is not based on truth. The heart of real religion is founded on truth—some ontological, existential fact at the core of all religions through which they coincide. When things are opinions and judgments, there is discord. When we find what is, there is always consistency. The rock is on the side of the road. There is a tree over there. This chemical process happens this way. This mathematical equation works this way. These are facts. In facts, we come together; there is harmony. Differing opinions and like and dislike separate societies and religions and divide us.
War, and the potential for harmony in the world, is greatly predicated upon the capacity for a society to apprehend truth. This is profound and important.
What is belief? Belief is not truth. Belief is illusion. I believe there is something I do not know—that is not truth. I see that there is something real; perhaps I have a meditative experience of gold light—that is truth. It is there; I saw it. It is a part of me. Maybe others are not seeing it, but it is.
Knowledge is truth. Illusion is belief. Osho says, “I do not believe. I know. I have no need to believe.” Do you believe in the moon? Do you believe in the sun? No, I see the moon up there.
Religion is often centered on belief versus knowledge, but real spiritual practice has nothing to do with belief. There is also faith. Faith is the willingness to try. I have faith that if I start a business, it can succeed; therefore, I start a business. I have faith that there is a god; I do not feel connected, but I avail myself to that possibility. That is not blind belief, which is a kind of false security.
Most people do not even think there is such a thing as truth. There are no shades of gray—there is truth, or there is not, and the rest are opinions. But an opinion is also a kind of truth. My opinion is that vanilla is better than chocolate. That is an actuality in my predilection system. That is the truth, too. Jacob likes physics. Fact. We are not saying physics is better than math or ballet; we are just stating a fact.
Mathematics is pure truth. Mathematics is pure, coherent, consistent logical systems—structures of dimensionality, eternal truths that we discover. For example, the Goldberg Polyhedra requires exactly 12 pentagons to close in and make a sphere. This is an existential truth revealed in mathematics. Twelve. Nobody can deny that. There is an actual equation that governs this: each pentagon does one-twelfth of the curvature needed to produce a sphere. This is mathematically demonstrable.
The Matrix is a movie about truth. There is a scene where Morpheus offers Neo the choice between the blue pill and the red pill. The blue pill lets you believe whatever you want; the red pill offers only the truth, nothing more. This scene mirrors enlightenment. The Matrix is a metaphor for truth. There is an illusion pulled over our eyes to prevent us from seeing the truth.
There is also truth between individuals. Many people maintain pretense in relationships. But when you bring forward the truth—such as, “I do not like it when you do that, can you do this?”—there is teamwork. Truth in relationships is rare, but important. When you can say, “This is the truth of my experience,” you can remedy things. Where there is truth, there is often love—or perhaps they are directly correlated.
For there to be truth, there must be acceptance. To see the truth, one must look without judgment, without fear, and see what is without resisting it. The only way to do this is to be so steeped in the bliss of your own being, so complete, that you want to know what is true. You have to love the truth. This is essential to the path to enlightenment.
Then there is Ultimate Truth—the unassailable, immutable, quintessential substrate of all existence that you see in samadhi, in moksha, in awakening. That is ultimate truth. There are many dimensions, but that is the heart of truth.
Do you have the courage to face the truth? Follow Neo into waking up from the Matrix. That scene is one of my favorites in all of Hollywood history.
Sometimes people say, “My truth is different than your truth.” This is common, perhaps especially in America. There is no “my truth.” There is the fact of my experience—it may be wrought with illusion, but it is still a fact of my experience. There are feelings; for example, “When that happens, I feel this way,” and that is a fact. But often people say, “Agree to disagree.” There is no truth, but there is a truth. When you know these things, you see when people are not ready for truth. They remain in the Matrix.
In truth, it requires a great deal of humility and love. When you see the light, there is a profound degree of truth. Light and truth go together. Light and love go together, but truth is at peace. When you live in illusion, there is a subtle, chronic resistance underneath.
When you live with lies, you always have to keep up with them. Someone lied a long time ago, and you have to keep the lie going. Eventually, someone catches your lie, and you never have peace. Never lie. Always be honest with yourself and with others. Truthfulness allows you to let go. Without truth, you must keep a vigil and attend to non-truth. But truth stands in its glory without needing to be attended to. There is peace in that, because you can let go into existence and be with the truth.
If this were a longer discussion on truth, I would become much more intense. I am being somewhat playful now, but if I were to really delve into truth, there is an intensity—a Sri Yukteswar intensity. Sri Yukteswar was a sage who embodied the austerity and truth of a sage. Sometimes I like to enter into that state of mind; it is a channeling of truth. There is love in it, but perhaps the truth is on the outside and the love is more subtle.
Science is in pursuit of truth. Mathematics is the pursuit of truth. Religion, in its real form, is truth. We need to distill religion of dogma and return it to its true form, where it sits comfortably alongside mathematics, science, and philosophy.
In school, I once told an 11-year-old student who loves mathematics that if you love math, you love truth. It is interesting that we do not hear that in elementary school. Mathematics and truth are part of the same thing. Those who have studied and discovered mathematics are philosophers of truth. They live in a state of communion with the suchness of existence.
There is a fracture in humanity. For those attuned to that aspect of existence, we feel it. I want godliness, but I am scientific. I appreciate logic, but I feel I cannot enter religion, because I do not belong there as a logical being. Yet, this is due to the way these things are presented. Why are religion and mathematics not taught side by side in school? It is because religion ceased to be what it originally was, and became separated into belief and education.
How do I differentiate illusion from truth? How do I know that what I am seeing is not an illusion? This is an important question. Here comes the practical side: how do I experience truth, surrounded as I am by illusion? I cannot see anything but my own self-reflection. I look out and see not the person, but how I feel about the person. I do not see the tree; I feel my anxieties. I do not see reality; I feel my plans for tomorrow. Reality is in the present moment.
Meditation is essential. When you enter into Shakti and light, it washes away the sediments that accumulate on the surface of truth and reveals it in its pure, white splendor. We meditate, and silence allows truth to emerge. The only way a mind can apprehend what is true is to be extremely silent—no responsive thought, no reactivity. I see, and there is no me. Where there is no self, there is truth. Where there is self, there is obscuration of truth. Meditation is a formal exercise in this.
Mathematics helps with this, because we are engaging with something that is purely true. Self-reflection and contemplation are also important. Consider yourself. Ask, who am I? Look at yourself and describe yourself as you are. Become aware of the mechanisms, confusions, and complexities in your personality, and simplify them. Truth and simplicity go together. That is why E equals MC squared—the great equation of the universe—is so simple. Brilliance, simplicity, and truth are all part of the same thread.
What is a truth meditation like? Entering into absorption and light is one approach. Stillness, love, and peace are all part of truth. You can focus on your third eye to access truth. You can enter into the light and become absorbed in it, letting it wash your spirit of all illusion, even the smallest sediments. It is like taking a shower; otherwise, illusion accumulates. Or you can simply observe—what is, without the response of thought. Observe the moment as it is. There is no self, just what is. Listening, seeing—that is truth as well. These are three ways to approach it.
The first step is to allow the nervous system and the aura to quiet down and settle. Truth will reveal itself, as morning fog disperses in the afternoon sun. What is? You begin to see the true nature of everyone in the world. Witness to whom the world appears. Am I within the passage of time, or is there only now? Bare the now, and changing. Look without fragmentary, responsive thought. Holistic effort. Silence. The illusion dissolves.
In truth, there are no questions anymore. In ultimate truth, we become the answer to the universe. We stand aloof, in the bliss of our own eternal nature. Being. Namaste.
I am grateful for all of you. It is wonderful to be able to talk about these things together. When you commune with truth, you commune with light. Truth and light go together. Light, truth, love, freedom, peace—these are the five jewels, the basis functions of reality. There is also a word in Sanskrit, Maya, which means illusion. It is worth looking into Maya as part of the discussion of truth.
In meditation, there is an awareness at the beginning of thoughts that obscure clarity. As meditation goes on, these thoughts are like clouds that dissipate. Then, there is a more direct luminosity of the mind, without those thought formations. It is like having foggy glasses wiped clean by the light.
Look with emptiness. Listen with emptiness. There is no self in the way. Sometimes you can see when someone is thinking, and people can feel it. Are you listening? When your mind is full of yourself, you are not truly seeing or hearing. Love is the art of seeing.
Gratitude is the principle of the month. There is a routine element of the month, and a book of the month—Think on These Things by Krishnamurti. Watch The Matrix this week, or rewatch it if you have not seen it in a while.
Namaste. Thank you. Good job.