How do we know when we have found truth?
by Robert Rabbin
{googleads}I have received a number of emails asking why I am using Radical Sages to publicize the text of David Ray Griffin's recent lecture at the University of Wisconsin--Madison. Mr. Griffin, as many know, is a leading voice of challenge to the official story of the events of 9/11.
My answer is quite simple and straightforward. I am interested in truth. For more than 40 years, I have explored the inner world through meditation and self-inquiry, wanting to find answers to questions like "Who am I?" and "What is the nature of reality?" I had always sensed that there was a much bigger picture to be seen than what I had been told about all of this. So I asked questions. I challenged my inherited assumptions and beliefs. I engaged in a search for truth about the nature and qualities of my being and place in the order of creation. I discovered that behind thoughts was awareness, and behind awareness was consciousness. I discovered that within consciousness, I was related to everything in existence; I was no less than a cousin to exploding stars and weightless strings of pure energy.
Of course, truth is a tricky terrain, isn't it? No sooner do we find one, than another comes into view. It's as if every truth is a false summit, higher than the one below, but below the one above. After all these years, I keep climbing. I am of the opinion that truth is a verb, not a noun. It is a relationship to life that involves openness, curiosity, courage, and a willingness to hold found truths lightly, always ready to let them go for the sake of newer, fresher, and more vital truths.
Along the way, the barrier between inner and outer disappeared. It seems that a lot of my spiritual work these days is to explore outer events with the same thirst for truth as I explore the inner world. Radical Sages came forth as my context for continued exploration and sharing of truth--inner and outer, it makes no difference.
I know well the incredulity with which many people meet the suggestion of U.S. government foreknowledge of, or complicity in, the events of 9/11. It is shocking to even consider such a thing. It threatens the very foundation of trust and believability that must exist between people and their government. It would throw our national sense of self into chaos. It would be a horrendous attack on our moral and ethical righteousness.
I do not know whether or not certain members of the U. S. government had foreknowledge of, or were complicit in, the events of 9/11. I admit my own incredulity at such a thing. But it is precisely my incredulity that leads me to examine my assumptions and beliefs. It is my willingness to confront these that opens the way for truth. It is my willingness to question that keeps me on the path of truth. And, as I have said, I am interested in truth.
As the philosopher and sage J. Krishnamurti once said, "Truth is a pathless land." By this, I understand that we must be explorers and pioneers; we must be willing to go where no one has yet gone. I have learned much from the "field reports" of such explorers in the realm of being: my own teacher, Swami Muktananda, the Sufi poet Rumi, the Indian sage Ramana Maharshi, Krishnamurti, and others too numerous to mention.
I am also willing to learn from such a fearless explorer as Mr. Griffin. David Ray Griffin is a truth-seeker. As such, I honor him and his work. I have corresponded with Mr. Griffin to tell him that I will do whatever I can to promote his work. I will do the same for anyone who is likewise pursuing truth.
Robert Rabbin is a San Francisco-based writer and speaker. He is the author of numerous books and articles, and the founder of Radical Sages, an online hub of global spiritual activism. For more more information, please visit www.radicalsages.com.