I maintain that truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect.
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Many of you may have never heard of J. Krishnamurti. He is not as well-known as the other JK, Rowling. He was possibly the most original thinker and philosopher of the last century.
The quote above is from his speech in 1929 when he closed down the Order of the Stars, which sought to promote him as the next Prophet, saying that truth cannot be institutionalized. He was in his early thirties then. In later years, Krishnamurti influenced leaders from many spaces. One of them was David Bohm, the Quantum Physicist responsible for bringing together Einsteinian concepts of the General Theory of Relativity with those of Heisenberg and others on sub atomic particles, with his Quantum theory of marrying the macrocosm with the microcosm, the universe with the bosons.
Krishnamurti, Bohm, Quantum Science and wisdom of the ancients are my passions. I spend time trying to figure out how to connect the dots between ancient spiritual wisdom and modern scientific knowledge. Truth is a pathless Land is one such connector.
The Veda underpinning Hindu philosophy says, ‘Truth is one, paths are many’. The formless, undefinable, unknowable ultimate truth, which is one, is called the brahman. This truth is holographically represented by the billions of creatures in the universe through each of their own truths, called atman. Every being of nature, in this universe, not just humans, is divine as a reflection of that ultimate reality of truth, though each is unique.
That authentic truth of each one of us is our dharma, the moral, ethical and spiritual pathway unique unto each of us. Following that pathway designed uniquely for each of us is our karma, our purpose and meaning conveyed as our thoughts, speech and actions, our ikigai. The ancient Vedic wisdom said that once we fulfill this karma in line with our dharma, we are free of the cycle of samsara, birth and death, and forever free. We are no longer localized imprisoned particles in bodies and minds, but free and liberated waves of energy.
‘Truth is a pathless land’ means just that. Follow your path, laid out for you, in everything that you do. You’re then fulfilled and free. Once you start following another’s path, however shiny it may be, you are deviating from the truth of your dharma and karma.
Follow your path, laid out for you, in everything that you do. You’re then fulfilled and free. Once you start following another’s path, however shiny it may be, you are deviating from the truth of your dharma and karma.
In each of our hearts beats a tune resonating of our divine potential of infinite possibilities. This innate truth of our existence, of our creation, is covered by the illusory veil of maya telling us we are inadequate. This constant tug between the aspirational infinite potential and the limiting performance inadequacy is the bane of humanity, causing the sorrow that Buddha talked of. Animals and other creatures are not affected by this veil. They do what nature intends them to. Humans are intelligent. Humans think they are more powerful than nature, so they imagine. They follow role models and heroes, who stand seemingly tall, with feet of clay.
It’s better to live your own truth imperfectly than someone else’s in perfection, says Krishna to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. Our own truth leads to fulfillment of our needs. Following someone else’s truth is about greed and wants. Ramana Maharishi said, ‘this universe has the potential to fulfill the needs of billions, and yet it cannot meet the greed of even one.’ All evil arises from greed. Killing greed is killing evil. Following one’s own need and truth is how one can kill greed.
It’s ironic that those who have barely anything, not even enough to keep body and soul together, live a fulfilled life with the little that sustains them, while the more we have the more we seek in greed. The poor have more to give than the wealthy. The ultimate truth of this universe, the universal dharma as it were, is about being there for one another connected in love and compassion. Jung’s Self, Maslow’s Self Actualization, Ubuntu, Quantum Science’s ‘entanglement’ are all reflections of this spiritual truth.
As coaches, as those who are trained to be self-aware and create awareness in others, let us become aware that truth is the pathless land. Ask yourself these questions about any situation that you go through.
- What am I experiencing from this event as sensation, emotion and thought?
- How am I impacted intrapersonally?
- How do I impact others interpersonally?
- What is my truth the universe wants me to discover?
- What does the universe want me to do based on this truth?
