"Know thyself."
-Oracle at Delphi

"One worldly-wise knows others; one truly wise knows oneself."
Tao Te Ching, 33

"Jesus said: The kingdom is inside you and it is outside you, too. You will discover this if you come to know yourselves, and then you will realize that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know who you are, you live in poverty and you are that poverty."
-The Gospel of Thomas, 3

"Look within. You are Buddha."
-Buddha

"God is closer to you than your jugular vein."
- Qur'an, Qaaf 50: 16

"Be still and know I am God."
- Psalms, 46:10

"The sage's special teacher is his Self."
- Mahabharata

"The Self is known by the Self alone."
- Upanishads

About
Truth always triumphs, never untruth.

Mundaka Upanishad, 3.1.6


Ultimate wisdom in the spiritual sense of gnosis is realization of absolute reality in the state of Infinite Consciousness. Since this realization transcends time, it is eternal or timeless. Since absolute reality is one and indivisible, beyond name and form, not limited by space and time, and unchangeable, it is experienced as the same by all; for there is nothing to distinguish it.

While realization of timeless wisdom is rare among individuals living at any particular time, many over the course of history mystics have reported on this state and masters have instructed how to unfold it within oneself. This testimony and teaching points to the core spirituality of humankind, called the Way or the Path, whose goal is the necessarily the same as its source; for absolute reality is one and indivisible.

Comparative Spirituality

Comparative spirituality studies the underlying similarities and differences in the testimony of the mystics and teaching of the masters by setting comparable passages side by side. This study was pioneered, for example, by Mircea Eliade, René Guenon, Frithjof Schuon, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Titus Burckhardt, Marco Pallis, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Martin Lings, Joseph Campbell, Houston Smith, and Aldous Huxley. Rig Veda had already asserted this underlying unity in ancient times, when it said, Truth is one; the wise speak of it differently, and this was reiterated many times since then by a number of spiritual masters, including Kabir, Rumi, Shirdi Sai, Baba, and Meher Baba.

Excellent anthologies for this study are Whitall N. Perry's A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom and Andrew Wilson's World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts. World Scripture is available online.

CoreSpirituality email lists, Circle Quote and Circle of Love, post a daily quote alternating among the different wisdom traditions, often comparing them on specific points.

Mystical Testimony

The masters teach about the different spiritual states and instruct in how to reach them. The mystics report their own experience of these non-ordinary states. Mystics are found in all religions and among all wisdom traditions, and also independently of them.

Since mystical experience is ineffable, mystics use symbolism, metaphor and analogy to communicate their experiences. Mystic masters Kabir, Hafiz and Rumi, for example, are renown poets, not only in the languages in which they composed but also in translation.

Mystics may seem to be disagreeing for two chief reasons. First, mystics speak in the context of their language and culture. Secondly, mystics report different spiritual states. Some mystics speak of the unitary realization, whereas others speak in terms of the duality which separates lover and Beloved, for example, or the duality implied in a devotee's worshiping a personal form of deity.

The Teaching of the Masters and Saints

While the term spiritual master is often applied loosely to any well-known teacher who has a following, it has a technical meaning of one who not only realized perfection but also has the duty to teach; for not all who realize perfection have this duty. A saint is commonly thought as one who is renown for good deeds, but the technical meaning of saint is one who is advanced on the Path to the state of illumination but who has not yet realized perfection.

Masters function in several ways. First, they silently guide their charges from within, and secondly, they may also give a teaching in the form of personal instructions, which are applicable only to those to whom they are addressed, and general instructions applicable to others as well. It is important not to confuse these.

It is also significant to note that while Masters agree on the goal, they may seem to disagree on the means. The reason for this is that their mission is to different groups with different needs. Moreover, the means do not remain constant over time. Different times require different means, and attempting to apply means suitable for one time or place in another often results in confusion. As Sufis say, Right time, right place, right circumstances and right people. Only masters are capable of judging these variables.

Wisdom Traditions

While CoreSpirituality embraces wisdom wherever it is found and irrespective of source or form, we also respect the integrity of each tradition. Timeless wisdom is not arrived at through an intellectual syncretism. Nor does it wish to improve on what the masters gave out. Rather the intention is to unfold progressively in one's own experience the core wisdom that underlies all spiritual traditions.

Live Unity, Celebrate Diversity

Timeless wisdom can be practiced either in terms of one of its expressions, through a combination of them, or by using all of them. It can also be practiced in its essence, independently of any of spiritual tradition. CoreSpirituality provides an opportunity for putting the universal teaching of spirituality into practice in company with others dedicated to the pursuit of truth through timeless wisdom.

While timeless wisdom has previously been studied as the universal teaching of the wise from time immemorial, it has seldom been practiced consciously and intentionally in its essence, rather than in a particular expression of it, for example, as Vedic, Buddhist, Taoist, Islamic, Sikh, Jain, Judaic, Christian, Greek, Hermetic, Pagan, and so forth. There are, of course, also venerable wisdom traditions in the so-called primitive cultures which do not emphasize the either literacy and organization as most modern people do, such as the shamanic traditions of tribal people.

When timeless wisdom is practiced in terms of its expression in a particular wisdom tradition, it often gets distinguished by boundaries and characteristics that are not essential to it. If one is unable to discriminate between the essential and the nonessential, even a vital spiritual tradition can become a limitation, for example, by restricting the freedom of thought and expression requisite for the unfettered pursuit of truth.

The first step in doing the work is preparing oneself to climb this ladder, whose rungs are the inner planes accessible only through mystical experience. This preparation is through the ripening process of spiritual living, using means suitable for one's internal constitution and appropriate to one's external circumstances — what psychology calls set and setting.

Timeless wisdom sets forth spiritual ways and means in considerable detail. The art of spiritual direction lies in applying principles and practices to individual needs. In this, the counsel of a competent guide is indispensable. Fortunately, that guide is ever within each of us as the inner teacher — the Higher Self of all — through whom wisdom becomes increasingly present to us.

All Traditions Don't Say The Same Thing

In the words of Rig Veda, 1.164.46, Truth is one; the wise speak of it differently. Significant differences do exist in the various expressions of the universal teaching; not only may the expression vary, but also the substance. For instance, spiritual teachers observe the time-honored principle: Right time, right place, right people, right circumstances. Therefore, the universal teaching is not always given out in the same way. For example, while the goal is always the same, different means may be appropriate for different times, places, and people. Moreover, the substance of a master's teaching is often not imparted publicly or even openly. It is restricted to those who are ripe to receive it, and it is only imparted in confidence.

As a result, exoteric teaching may seem to differ significantly from esoteric. The exoteric teaching my be normative, whereas the esoteric teaching is mystical. In the Western religions, the exoteric teaching is normative and the esoteric teaching is mystical. On one hand, normative religion takes the norms of doctrine, ritual and observance as central, and the mystical as peripheral. On the other hand, mystics know that in reality the mystical is central, while it is the normative that is peripheral. Mystics generally do not rock the boat, however, for they realize that most people need ripening before they become ready to receive this teaching.

In addition, a master's different disciples may not only receive different teachings depending on their needs, they may also hear the same teaching in different ways on account of their different mental impressions. These different disciples give rise to different lineages. Consequently, over time, different schools grow up within a single tradition, which may even be at odds with each other.

Finally, the further the teaching gets from the master in time and context, the more skewed its interpretations becomes, until the original intent is lost to view. Then the once vibrant teaching passes from venerable tradition to mere convention, awaiting renewal. This happens when lesser lights comment upon scripture and interpret the teachings of the wise on the basis of their own limited light. Thus, even within a single denomination, many sects may arise. In addition, popular conceptions, which tend to be simplistic and literal, diverge even further from the original intent.

So, even though all religions and spiritual traditions are rooted in the same eternal truth, it would not be correct to assert that all they say the same thing. While timeless wisdom can be found at the heart of all the principal spiritual traditions in the mystical testimony on which they are based, significant differences do exist also and they must be acknowledged.

We do not seek to deny, avoid or stifle debate on such issues as may arise in the course of our mutual pursuit of truth. While we do our best to focus on what unites rather than one what divides, denial of the obvious is never salutary for the pursuit of truth. Clear differences do exist not only among spiritual traditions, but also among different schools in a single tradition and also among different teachers. They also can seem to exist in the teaching of a single individual, for every teaching is imparted in accordance with the needs of those to whom it is given.

Therefore, we agree to disagree on such points as may arise that cannot be resolved through the dialectical pursuit of truth with companions. Where we ultimately find agreement is in our love for truth that inspires our common pursuit of it, despite intellectual differences about this truth which any may entertain intellectually. The ocean of truth cannot be contained any number of buckets, let alone in a single bucket. Truth must be realized, and neither language nor symbols can fully express that realization. For this reason, Lao Tzu famously wrote in the Tao Te Ching, 56, Those who know don't say; those who say don't know.

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Sacred Texts

Spiritual Traditions

Comparative Spirituality