Posted by R.Rangan on October 09, 19103 at 23:58:17:
In Reply to: Re: What can be called into doubt posted by In Vino on October 09, 19103 at 19:29:47:
Blind faith and stubborn disbelief both are like the two sides of the same coin. so to say.
Similarly, ready indulgence without questioning and compulsive denial due to deliberate non-indulgence are both the same, essentially.
The Truth lies not in the extremes but in the center or the middle, always. Be it social custom or value or anything and everything, the time-tested middle path is full of great wisdom.
One may choose to be at the extremes instead. Ultimately the middle path will have to be ped prior to any improvement in one's awareness. It does not mean questioning will not be the norm. On the contrary, in the middle path, common sense prevails and hence the questions arising also would be reasonable and may not be raised for the sake of arguments alone. In the process, if someone happens to have travelled along the middle path already, the road map and check points as sighted by him/her may be taken as pointers, though not binding on the fellow travellers. Each one constitute a different religion since the filters of perception and coloration due infinite notions and shades of obscurity caused by the human mind, makes it all colorful and infinite. Though such perceptions may be many, one has to understand that the underlying truth is dynamic in nature and what is perceived is just one facet of the same single entity which is ever fresh and revealing something new always.
Quoting from philosophers and scriptures may puff up one's own self image like an inflated balloon and at times,it may even prove to be a hindrance, if one is not careful, as getting engaged in the debates over "what someone else said" may be wasteful as it deviates from the goal of perception of The Truth by oneself, firsthand.
A simple common-sense approach of living would ensure minimizing wastage of one's energy spent for mundane existence and maximize availability of surplus energy beyond eating, sleeping and procreating, to be spent in personal inquiry and spiritual progress. It also ensures great wisdom in maintaining a normal level of internal and external purity in physical and mental levels, which is probably a pre-requisite for any awakening to take place.