I had been so happy lately to find so much of the truth that’s in me reflected in the teachings of vedanta. It was comforting to find a solid body of wisdom with the validation and support of thousands of years and thousands of people. To know that the truth that has made itself apparent to me is the same truth propounded by so many great yogis. How could that not increase confidence? Wouldn’t that help others to accept what I am, what all of us are, and understand how we came to be this way?
I expressed this to my teacher recently, excited about the new energy and enthusiasm and comradery of my new brethren. Thrilled to have a profoundly deep reservoir of books, knowledge, and teachers to learn from.
“No. Go deeper.” He said. Obvious and undeniable clarity.
At first I’m surprised, confused, disappointed. Then a little distance and separation come, and I see that’s just the ego complaining and seeking attention. I don’t need to pay attention to the ego’s demands, that’s just distracting me from the real meaning of what the teacher is saying.
Then the answers all pour in, all in a single moment:
- I’m here to live my truth, not someone else’s
- The only authentic knowledge I have, my primary base of knowledge, is that which comes from my own experience.
- I was avoiding this by taking on the label ‘Vedanta’.
- If I have really been touched by the truth, if it really lives in me, if I really can resonate with this truth as this body and mind interact with the world, then none of this is any surprise at all. Of course what’s in me is also in the rest of the world. Of course my core lessons and truths are reflected in vedanta. How could it be any other way?
The closer we get to universal truth, the more universal it will be. The deepest truth is visible everywhere you look, in every thing that is and is not.
Edit: I wrote the page ‘First Principles‘ after and because of this event. It’s about time to state as clearly as possible that which made itself known through me.