The "Truth" of Reality

Mythology serves the purpose of illustrating larger than life ideas. Because they are larger than life, we lack a vocabulary as far as this world is concerned. We are limited in real life happenings. This is when we make up stories. The ancient greeks could not figure out how the sun came and went, so they made the story of Apollo and the sun chariot. Ancient Hindus could not figure out how life came to be, so they created Brahman. These stories are not to be taken literally, rather, they illustrate human thought.

When considering the mythology of humans worldwide, we see crazy amounts of similarities. There are amazing continuities between Native American, Buddhist, Taoist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish thought. All have the idea of one transcendental truth. All have moral and ethical restraints their people must adhere to. All serve the purpose of making human life eternal. We can look at this one of two ways. The first is that there is a Universal truth that humans have discovered, but describe differently. The second is that this is just human’s attempt to flee from an otherwise empty existence.

Option one: Humans have discovered a transcendental truth

This option is an appealing one and the argument for it has many merits. If we look back in history, there are groups of humans who never had contact with one another, yet managed to come up with similar stories on how life came to be. People who had never came in contact with each other have all certain symbols to have massive significance in a universal way. Picture the pyramids of the Egyptians and the Pyramids of the Mayans. The sun discs behind the heads of Egyptian gods and the halos of light behind the Christian saints. The polarities of yin/yang (Taoism), left/right magic (Balinese Hinduism), heaven/hell (Christianity), Shiva/Shakti (hinduism), etc. Or the significance of a holy three in Christianity (Father, Son, Holy Ghost), Hinduism (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and the three gunas of prakriti), and even the division of time (past, present, and future). All religions also have a contemplative section as well as a prayer aspect.

Beyond being able to find information that transcends culture, geographical location, and temporal location, science is now confirming a large amount of previously “unsubstantiated” claims. Let's take Hinduism for example. Yoga really does use methods that reduce stress, fatigue, and keep you healthy. Twisting poses actually do help detoxify your internal organs. Breathing exercises and meditation really can give you superhuman powers, as shown by the iceman, Wim Hof. The rishis and saints of the past conducted a kind of intuitive science and learned how to work with the body in a remarkably harmonious way. Proof like this gives far more credence to the claims of Religious knowledge. Every generation's lives with scientific truths that future generations laugh at, so who are we to rule anything as impossible. For all we know, God might be scientifically proven one day.

Option two:  “Transcendental truth” is an attempt to find meaning in an otherwise meaningless existence

Not impressed by 'transcendental truth'

This is how Nietzsche killed God. He argued that it is not unheard of for humans to come up with similar solutions for difficult question. How do we transport heavy items? Civilizations the world over came up with the wheel. How do we find food in small groups? The strong, able bodied men hunt, while all others forage and gather. How do we brace ourselves against unfavorable elements? Create clothes. How do we make an already difficult life worth living? Create a transcendental truth which gives our lives purpose and meaning.

The thing about humans is that, no matter how different we might seem, we are essentially the same. Each of us shares 99.9% of the same DNA. We all have the same requirements for life, are typically born with two eyes, two legs, two arms, the same number of bones, muscles, similar nervous systems, and (as far as science knows) similar brains. Humans are not very different from one another, so why do we think we can state what is universally true? We face a disadvantage in claiming what is universally true because we can only talk to other humans about our findings. It is an assumption on our part to believe there is necessarily space between objects, or that time only goes forward, or that time exists at all. Instead of saying this is a fact, we should say this is how the human mind makes sense of its surroundings.

Beyond our limited pool of beings to develop our ideas with, we are limited to a very very very small part of the universe. Even if we knew every single thing about our entire galaxy, we would not necessarily know everything about the universe. For all we know, beyond the edge of our observable universe, there is space which adheres to completely different laws of time and space.

This ventures into the realm of metaphysics, and even if this doesn’t interest you, at least ask the question, why do I believe some things to be true, and others to be false? Is there such a thing as fact? Why do I do the things I do? This kind of introspection is what I believe is essential if we are to live a life of love and peace instead of a life dominated by ego and pride. If someone can convince me something else is necessary, I will try their way. Every human is fallible, no one knows everything, so question the things that are told to you, exercise your NO, and live life as a conscious being instead of a mental slave.

true power