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MY TRUTH, YOUR TRUTH, HITLER'S TRUTH,
AND -- WATCH OUT! -- THE TRUTH

by David Truman

The smaller the world gets, the more tolerance we need to bridge the bewildering variety of beliefs. But while tolerance can be helpful, it is extremely dangerous in the long run to relativize truth -- and subjectivize it. Please understand this; it is crucial.

My truth, your truth

What does it mean to relativize and subjectivize truth? Listen:

People used to say, "I'm on the spiritual path." Recently, that's become, "I'm on my path." And people used to talk about spiritual Truth. Now, it's acceptable only to talk about "my truth" and "your truth" ("MT-YT") -- and all of these truths are considered equally valid. The message is:

1. What's right for you and what's right for me are two different things: "your truth" is what's right for you, "my truth" is what's right for me.

And:

2. No one has the right to judge another person's "truth." Everyone's truth is ideal for them right now; there is no higher or better truth for them.

In this way of thinking, there's no such thing as an absolute or universal truth. Nor is there an order of rightness or importance in the various "truths."

Hitler's truth

I've even heard people say, recently, "There is no right or wrong." Oh yeah? Here's someone they might want to meet: Adolph Hitler. His truth, as you know, was this: "This planet would be better off if there were no Jews."

Probably, your truth is different. But even so, according to the My Truth-Your Truth philosophy, you'd have to say, "Adolph Hitler was following his own truth -- and it was right for him."

Dare I suggest that your truth in this instance is closer to The Truth? And isn't it obvious that if we take the alternative view -- that everyone has his or her own truth, and that all truth is equal -- we're in terrible trouble? Well, we are. And it's because equality of truth is ridiculous.

Different levels of truth

Granted, so-called subjective truth exists in people's minds. But there is an appreciable difference between the Truth we acknowledge as Higher Truth, and the so-called truth shared between, say, two Corvette Club members, two stamp collectors, two crystal enthusiasts, two skinheads, etc.

Nowadays, however, the idea of degrees of truth is politically incorrect. What do we do, then, about the fact that there are degrees of truth? And further, that there is actual truth, truth which is not at all subjective. And yes, there is untruth, illusion, delusion.

In order not to get lost in total babble, we must be able to clearly distinguish all of those things.

Can we admit that there's much more to reality than what we have in mind, or what I believe is "real for me"? What about objective reality -- a world that exists independent of the observer. Likewise, there's a Spiritual Reality that doesn't depend on our belief for Its existence. And there is Absolute (or at least Higher) Truth. In Higher Consciousness (perish the thought higher, of course!), Higher, non-subjective Truth is found.

The trouble is, people don't like to admit that there is such truth, simply because it implicates them, morally. And there are other reasons...

The fine line between tolerance, collusion, and duplicity

Humanity has been encouraged to pursue "my personal path" by the observation that when it comes to spiritual practice, no one technique, path, or way works for everyone. That makes it easy -- almost necessary -- to collude with almost anyone, about almost anything. Hitler's truth, remember?

Collusion beats collision, evidently. Without a doubt, many have converted to MT-YT in an attempt to avoid painful strife between differing spiritual views, philosophies, and dogmas. Compared to telling the truth, collusion is the path of least resistance. And perhaps, in some cases, one could even say that MT-YT adherents are making a sincere effort to transcend disagreement and find common ground. But in most cases, people know, in their hidden hearts, that the idea, "All ways are equally valid," is a cop out -- because it's false.

For example, self-focus is bad, and bad for you -- that's an absolute truth. There's no questioning that in your heart, and your experience. But these days, practically everyone is ignoring their heart and their experience, and actively defending self-determination, self-focus, self-aggrandizement.

There is a truth in regard to all these matters; infinite repetitions of the MT-YT creed don't change that. But meanwhile, we're creating a dangerous problem by validating the ego, and ignoring our own spiritual sensibilities. There is no real harmony in colluding with ego -- only the appearance of harmony. There's no possibility of harmony if people really think their truth needs to be respected as if it were The Truth, because they're not open. They can't adjust their truth, because they have such a solid, built-in, self-reinforcing "protection" system. That's a terrible trap! But ego loves it.

Ego doesn't want THE Truth

Ego wants to be absolutely independent, absolutely uncorrectable, absolutely prodigal. So it is hugely comforting to ego that "my truth" (meaning, whatever a given individual holds to be true) has been raised to the status of The Truth. As long as people identify with ego, people don't want The real Truth. The real Truth rejects "my path," "my truth," and "my way" -- and substitutes "God's truth," "The truth," "God's way," "The Way" instead.

Beliefs (such as MT-YT) have purposes

People are attached to their own "truth," because people hold beliefs for specific purposes. Consider, for example, the belief, "If you love someone set them free." Obviously, the Spirit recognizes the truth that no one can or should try to exclusively possess or imprison another. However, the ego likes to use this belief to defend one's own right to be promiscuous or noncommittal. Thus, it twists the grand notion, "If you love someone set them free," to make it seem "loving" to enjoy non-commitment, and to give others permission to be non-committed to us.

See how convenient the MT-YT philosophy is? Whenever the ego wants to cling to a belief that supports one of its selfish purposes, no matter how insane and distorted the belief may be, ego can defend the belief with the assertion, "This is My Truth, so back off! Remember, my belief is True for me, and your belief is True for you!" Instantly, ego has protected a lower purpose by placing a bulletproof shield around the belief used to justify it. Now that the belief is unquestionable, the purpose it protects is safe.

Friends, step back and look at that big picture. Here's what you see:

If we say, "My belief is True for me
and your belief is True for you,"
we're letting EGOIC PURPOSES decide what's True.

And that, friends, is just plain wrong. (Oh dear! I said the word "wrong" -- heresy!) Yes, wrong! It is wrong to let egoic purposes rule life and call it good.

True harmony lies only in truth

There is no peace, no harmony, in ego-directed living. True harmony is based only in truth -- real truth. If we are ever to achieve real harmony, we must transcend relativism and subjectivism. We must transcend omni-approval of all that is bullshit, and surrender to absolute Truth.

The Real Truth will take everyone in the end. It will take us body and soul. It will have us, because it is us.