The Concept of the Absolute Truth

​The Spiritual Science is not a religion, and does not promote the idea of religious belief or dogma. Instead the Spiritual Science aims to convey the concept of the Absolute Truth. Science in general aims to discover or present a number of laws or principles (truths) that apply everywhere, and the Spiritual Science likewise aims to present spiritual principles and truths that apply everywhere. Truth that applies everywhere, in all places, times, circumstances and to everyone is one definition of the Absolute Truth.

One of the existential questions of life is “where did everything come from?” Because everything must have an origin one way of answering that question is that everything has its origin in the Absolute Truth. Thus the Absolute Truth must contain everything that is within our experience as well as everything that is outside of our experience. Because our experience is filled with dualities of all kinds, the Absolute Truth must be that place in which all relative truths, and all dualities, are reconciled.
​Let’s look at some of these dualities. One duality is form and formlessness. Therefore the Absolute Truth must be the source of form, and must have a formless aspect as well. Within our experience are persons and personality, therefore the Absolute Truth must also be a person and be the source of personality, as well as having an impersonal aspect. Within our experience there is the duality of male and female, therefore male and female qualities must exist within the Absolute Truth. Within our experience there is the duality of both great and small and thus the Absolute Truth must contain aspects of both greatness and smallness. Within our experience there is the duality of one and many, and these must also be accommodated within the Absolute Truth.

We can go on examining the various features of our experience and all of these will help us to further develop our understanding of the Absolute Truth, but for now let’s just work with the items identified in the preceding paragraph.

​Not having a better way of understanding spiritual reality many people assume that what is “spiritual” is the opposite of material. Therefore since in this material world we experience form, then whatever is spiritual is devoid of form. Likewise, in this world there are persons with complex and wonderful personalities, therefore in the spiritual condition there will not be any persons, and thus no personality is found there. This of course would include no male or female forms. This is all due to having no factual information of the spiritual world.

But there is a large amount of information about the spiritual world in the Vedic literature. That world is called Vaikuntha, which means “free from anxiety.” There is no anxiety there because everything there is permanent and there is no threat of ever losing it. The Supreme Lord Shri Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita that those who reach the supreme abode never return to this temporary material world.

The spiritual world Vaikuntha is described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam:

“In the Vaikuntha planets is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the original person and who can be understood through the Vedic literature. He is full of the uncontaminated mode of goodness, with no place for passion or ignorance. He guides the progressive spiritual development of His devotees.

“In those Vaikuntha planets there are many forests which are very auspicious. In those forests the trees are desire trees, and in all seasons they are filled with flowers and fruits because everything in the Vaikuntha planets is spiritual and personal.

“The inhabitants of the Vaikuntha planets are described as having a glowing sky-bluish complexion. Their eyes resemble lotus flowers, their dress is of yellowish color, and their bodily features very attractive. They are just the age of blossoming youths, they are all nicely decorated with pearl necklaces with ornamental medallions, and they all appear to be brilliantly effulgent. Some of them are effulgent like coral and diamonds in complexion and have garlands on their heads, blooming like lotus flowers, and some wear earrings.

“The Vaikuntha planets are also surrounded by various airplanes, all glowing and brilliantly situated. These airplanes belong to the great mahatmas or devotees of the Lord. The ladies are as beautiful as lightning because of their celestial complexions, and all these combined together appear just like the sky decorated with both clouds and lightning.

“In the Vaikuntha planets all the residents are similar in form to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They all engage in the Lord’s service with great devotion without desires for personal enjoyment.

“The ladies in the Vaikuntha planets are as beautiful as the goddess of fortune herself. Such transcendentally beautiful ladies, their hands playing with lotuses and their leg bangles tinkling, are sometimes seen sweeping the marble walls, which are bedecked at intervals with golden borders, in order to receive the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

We can understand from these descriptions that besides the Lord, there are individual persons, both men and women, in Vaikuntha, as well as palaces, forests, trees and flowers. However, in the spiritual world nothing is affected by the ravages of time. Therefore nothing decays and no one grows old.

The Absolute Truth is further manifest as the One and the many. The Lord Himself is the One, and His unlimited expansions as the spiritual living beings, the jivas, are the many. Similarly, the Absolute Truth is manifest in its unlimitedly great feature as the Supreme Lord, and manifest as unlimited living beings, the jivas, who are infinitely small (described as being 1/10,000th the size of the tip of a hair, which is subatomic). The personal aspect of the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Lord Himself and the impersonal aspect the glowing effulgence of the Lord’s body, called Brahman, which is the “white light” yogis aspire to achieve.

The Supreme Lord is the Absolute Truth and that Truth is manifest in an unlimited number of ways with unlimited features. Human life gives us the opportunity to realize that Truth.

Spiritual reality is the Absolute Truth. That reality informs us that we are all spiritual beings, not the material body. It informs us that we are all eternally existing, individual living beings. It informs us how this material world is working under the direction of the Supreme Lord, and how by serving Him and surrendering unto Him we can be freed from the bondage of the material energy. That Absolute Truth is explained in the Vedas, but realized only by rendering service to the Lord:

“By service of the Absolute Truth, even for a few days, a devotee attains firm and fixed intelligence in Me. Consequently he goes on to become My associate in the transcendental world after giving up the present deplorable material worlds.”

The very good news is that we need not wonder and speculate about the Absolute Truth as extensive information regarding that truth is now made available to the entire world through the Vedic literature. That literature informs us:

“Those who are averse to transcendence realize truth through speculative sense perception, and therefore, because of mistaken speculation, everything appears to be relative to them.”

All such efforts to reach the Truth by speculation will prove to be futile. Attempts to do so are compared to going out at night to search for the sun with your flashlight. The sun reveals itself in its own time, similarly, the Absolute Truth will be revealed to us when we have qualified ourselves to understand it.

“The Absolute Truth, Transcendence, is never subject to the understanding of imperfect sensory endeavor, nor is He subject to direct experience. He is the master of varieties of energies, like the full material energy, and no one can understand His plans or actions; therefore it should be concluded that although He is the original cause of all causes, no one can know Him by mental speculation.”

Rather than speculate about the truth we simply need to approach an authority that can help us understand it. That authority is the Vedic literature, as we have quoted above:

“In the Vaikuntha planets is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the original person and who can be understood through the Vedic literature.”