"Truth is exact correspondence with reality"
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Truth, for Yogananda, is not a matter of opinion, consensus, or usefulness but alignment with what genuinely is. He echoes the classical correspondence view from philosophy while infusing it with his spiritual vision: reality is not only the physical world measured by the senses but also the subtler dimensions apprehended through purified consciousness. When perception, thought, and speech mirror reality without distortion, there is truth.
Yogananda taught a scientific approach to spirituality, insisting that inner states could be tested through disciplined practice. The phrase exact correspondence signals intellectual rigor as well as contemplative precision. It honors the methods of science and reason while insisting that they are incomplete if they exclude higher states of awareness. Empirical facts matter, but so do the facts of consciousness. The mind, clouded by ego, fear, and desire, projects illusions; in the Indian tradition he carried to the West, this is maya. To know truth, one must remove distortion by self-discipline, meditation, and ethical living, letting perception settle until it reflects reality clearly.
The demand for exactness is both humbling and liberating. Humbling, because it exposes how partial our views often are. Liberating, because alignment with reality reduces inner conflict and suffering. Living by fantasies creates friction with the way things are; living in correspondence brings coherence, compassion, and effective action. Truth is not a weapon to win arguments but a way to live without self-deception.
There is also a metaphysical depth. If ultimate reality is divine, then the highest truth is direct realization of that ground. In yogic samadhi, Yogananda taught, the knower and the known converge; correspondence becomes identity. Until then, the task is to refine attention and integrity so that, moment by moment, thought, word, and deed track reality more exactly. Such fidelity is both a path of knowledge and a path of love.
Yogananda taught a scientific approach to spirituality, insisting that inner states could be tested through disciplined practice. The phrase exact correspondence signals intellectual rigor as well as contemplative precision. It honors the methods of science and reason while insisting that they are incomplete if they exclude higher states of awareness. Empirical facts matter, but so do the facts of consciousness. The mind, clouded by ego, fear, and desire, projects illusions; in the Indian tradition he carried to the West, this is maya. To know truth, one must remove distortion by self-discipline, meditation, and ethical living, letting perception settle until it reflects reality clearly.
The demand for exactness is both humbling and liberating. Humbling, because it exposes how partial our views often are. Liberating, because alignment with reality reduces inner conflict and suffering. Living by fantasies creates friction with the way things are; living in correspondence brings coherence, compassion, and effective action. Truth is not a weapon to win arguments but a way to live without self-deception.
There is also a metaphysical depth. If ultimate reality is divine, then the highest truth is direct realization of that ground. In yogic samadhi, Yogananda taught, the knower and the known converge; correspondence becomes identity. Until then, the task is to refine attention and integrity so that, moment by moment, thought, word, and deed track reality more exactly. Such fidelity is both a path of knowledge and a path of love.
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| Topic | Truth |
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