We can all agree that the spiritual life begins and ends with love, but we must also remember that love is always guided by truth. Love is the momentum toward harmony, wholeness, and union; truth is the force that directs the momentum of love. Love and truth are flip sides of the same coin; we can’t have one without the other. This is why Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose memory we honor today, taught us, “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.
We face the challenge of living in a post-truth culture, where getting what we want or winning our argument is more important than reality itself. Our society has been smudging the truth for a long time — and both sides of the political aisle are guilty. Often, we substitute feelings and preferences for truth. In a recent conversation I had with someone, I expressed what I thought was an obvious truth on a moral matter. He replied, “That might be your truth, but it is certainly not my truth.” When I told him that he was photoshopping the way life works, our conversation abruptly ended. This is why we are so divided. Without a shared vision of life, nobility, and truth, there is nothing to unify or cohere us. We can bluff ourselves and each other, but we can’t bluff reality, at least not without dire consequences. Please meditate on Yogananda’s inspired words, “Understanding is the most precious possession of each soul. It is your inner vision, the intuitive faculty by which you can clearly perceive the truth.”
Understanding is the
most precious possession
of my soul.
