How to search for truth when there are *so many* belief systems

[SteveGiff]

It's been said that Truth, Love, and Beauty are paths to God, or Spirit. It's been said that "Truth is accurate information about the here-and-now in the here-and-now". It's been said that "Love is a free will act". And the one who said those things, or things very like them was called Stephen Gaskin, who is now deceased, and he also said something like the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen were in someone else's eyes. He was a very moral man, IMHO. You could search for his teachings online, or read one of his books, and practice. All the best to you, truthseeker!

[Uma]

Absolute truth vs. beliefs - you got me. Yesterday's absolute truth becomes a belief just like ancient religions became mythologies, just because the status quo said "it ain't so".

[Miss Hepburn]

How to search? Me?

The same as I search for a mechanic or a dentist or hair stylist.
I only listen to those that have been to the mechanic or dentist...
I look at the hair cut.

I don't listen to people who don't know.

"I listen to the people that have been to the top of the proverbial mountain."

Hope that helps. So far so good.

[Khalli]

Originally Posted by Jyotir

Hello truthseeker1111,

All of those 4000 religions were themselves the result of a search for truth…the very same search awakening in you, or really, awakening in you with a new form and purpose. Still…

You do not have to ‘re-invent all of those wheels’ so-to-speak - - just discover the unique version of that same process in yourself - what is universal and even transcendent within you.

The key is in steadfastly employing that same desire to know truth which led to the revelation of it as exemplified by the various religions and systems of thought. All of them embody ‘some’ truth, but some may have more utility for your own purposes which will become clear by intuition once you begin to explore and examine what feels right for your own unique search.

It is the intuition that leads which is more significant than the ‘factual content’ of any tradition, because that intuition comes (more directly) from the truth itself - at first meager, confused and obscure, but gradually becoming clearer and more reliable over time. That is why patient, persistence, and sincerity is paramount.

The secret is that truth itself wants to know itself in and through you, in a universe where it is immanent but obscure.

Practice the intensification and continuity of ‘wanting to know’. It’s that simple.
That is an invocation of the very truth you seek, and is made possible by the truth you seek.
iow, The very desire to know truth comes from that Truth-Consciousness.

Seek only the Highest for the sake of the Highest, and the Highest will respond (in the appropriate form). That approach offers a good degree of protection.

Then be receptive, grateful, cheerful, patient…


~ J

This is exactly how I approach all of this.
I guess it was easier for me as I had no interest in(and still don't)or knowledge of any religion on this planet. Nothing coloring how I now view everything.

[Somnia]

I actually experienced this message in a dream...

"Universal truth is clouded when the mind is controlled by the ego...

Universal truth is clear when you are one with wholeness"

Might not make any sense or resonate with you but felt compared to share...

[shivatar]

Originally Posted by The Necromancer

Yes, so it's also been brought to my attention that my 'I am ME' thread in the Hindu section never got posted on...and maybe Shivatar needs to read all of my posts made on here before he says anything more about this!

Maybe Shivatar needs to know that I was raised in the Balinese Shaiva tradition...

Do you want Gurus?

Given Mantra Diksha by Swami Chidananda Saraswati back in 2001.

Followed Swami Sivananda...spent a few years at the Satyananda Ashram in Bihar...followed Swami Venkatesananda around for a while...

Joined the 'orange people' and followed Rajneesh/Osho...was a member of ISKCON for a while...Srila Prabhupada...

Not to mention, married for 17 years...husband = guru in Hindu Dharma.

In fact, if you want 'gurus'...there's a whole lineage of Balinese shamans laying in wait, my friend...if you only knew these things.

I'm not your average, run of the mill Shiva devotee...but you may now have some inkling of this.

Wow, where to begin.

I guess I will just let you be, since you seem to have everything handled anyways. Goodbye.

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by shivatar

Wow, where to begin.

I guess I will just let you be, since you seem to have everything handled anyways. Goodbye.

Maybe if you didn't come on too strong and forceful, we could have reached somewhere.

You have taught me many things though, the least of which is to stop complaining that there ain't more Shiva devotees on here, because when He made me, He pretty much broke the mold.

I just don't like people assuming things about me...then even after I set them straight and tell them they are misinformed, it still does not make a single iota of difference.

If you can tell me how to deal with people who lie about me to my very face and won't listen to any of my experiences or evidence to the contrary, we may still be able to have a shot at this.

I have never learned how to do this or how to cope with this and hence why I live alone and cannot mix with society.

[shivatar]

Yep, Shiva is great indeed.


You ask me for a reason, for rationality, as how to deal deal with people who lie about you to your very face and I refuse to give you one.

Instead I say just do it, be yourself, let who you are be the only reason you stand against all reason.

I'm sorry there is no greater rationality, no great formula, besides "just do it", but perhaps this explanation works better.

"when there is no logical reason for the things we do, the only rational reason must be that deep down we are driven by our spiritual self. We deeply want to do these things because it is an expression of who we are, not what has been done to us"

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by shivatar

Yep, Shiva is great indeed.


You ask me for a reason, for rationality, as how to deal deal with people who lie about you to your very face and I refuse to give you one.

Instead I say just do it, be yourself, let who you are be the only reason you stand against all reason.

I'm sorry there is no greater rationality, no great formula, besides "just do it", but perhaps this explanation works better.

"when there is no logical reason for the things we do, the only rational reason must be that deep down we are driven by our spiritual self. We deeply want to do these things because it is an expression of who we are, not what has been done to us"

You refuse to give me one, or you cannot give me one?

Still, I can do the Nike thing...I've been putting off 'doing it' because I'm still picking up the pieces of my heart and mind from the last time I 'did it'. Before I can do it again, I need to learn how to bring that awareness into everyday existence, without wanting to shut myself away and just meditate 24/7 without even going on SF even...Last time it happened, I didn't charge my mobile phone for a week because I didn't feel like talking to anybody...it gets like that for me when it happens.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by truthseeker1111

Hi all!

Thank you all for making this forum, where we could ask such questions!

I was raised religious, but came to realize in adolescence that other children are raised in other faiths / belief systems , and the fact that I was handed down my tradition doesn't automatically mean it's true.

So I want to know which religion / belief system / world-view is true, if any. My natural instinct is to look into the various belief systems in the world. But Wikipedia tells me there are more than 4,000 religions in the world! And I'm guessing that doesn't necessarily include the non-theistic belief systems.

Just to clarify what I mean by "true"... I think that all world-views have truth in them - eg all religions properly practiced can give a person peace and harmony with others and happiness. But which one or ones, if any, are historically and ontologically correct. Which one is not just a bunch of myths, but is historically factual, and (even more importantly) which one(s)' portrayal of reality is commensurate with the way reality really is?

To go through the more than 4000 systems seems very daunting, and yet, how else?

So my question is - how to approach all this, and how to proceed?

(and if ultimately the truth is inaccessible to me, I'd like to at least get the best understanding of reality that I can).

Thanks!

Correct me if I'm barking up the wrong tree with respect to your post, but I wonder whether you are working at present with the idea that there is just one measure of historical and/or ontological correctness.

In so far as you are, would that seem to you to be a binary measure -correct/incorrect- or rather one on a spectrum, with degrees of correctness (ie correct, partially correct etc)?

I hope that this offering helps in some way, rather than muddy the waters or, perhaps worse, slips into a crevasse of impossible obscurity.