(English translation after the Portuguese original)
DISCUSSÕES SOBRE A VERDADE UNIVERSAL
₢ Dalva Agne Lynch
DISCUSSÕES SOBRE A VERDADE UNIVERSAL
₢ Dalva Agne Lynch
Qualquer discussão sobre a Verdade Universal (chamem-na de Deus, Adonai, Alá, Grande Mãe, Inteligência Cósmica ou o seja lá o que for, porque não muda nada - todos eles são os proverbiais nomes da mesma rosa) está fadada ao fracasso, simplesmente porque:
1. Cada pessoa chegou a seus conceitos após seguir por um caminho absolutamente individual e solitário, seja este caminho longo e tortuoso, ou tipo miojo - instantâneo e seguindo as instruções do pacote.
2. Se eu conseguir convencer você de que estou certa e você está errado, isto não significa necessariamente que minhas idéias são mais verdadeiras que as suas. Pode ser porque sou mais eloquente, ou porque minhas idéias são mais concatenadas. Quer dizer, ganha quem tem mais lábia, não necessariamente quem tem razão.
3. Cada um vê a Verdade Universal da mesma forma como a famosa historinha dos três indianos cegos perante um elefante: um apalpou a tromba e disse que o elefante era como uma serpente; outro apalpou a perna e disse que o elefante era como um tronco de árvore; o último apalpou a barriga e disse que era como uma pedra. Quer dizer, cada cego apalpou apenas A SUA ÍNFIMA PARTE DO TODO, e concluiu que o que apalpara era o todo. Estavam errados? Não - apenas limitados pela sua incapacidade de percepção.
Amigos e amigas, cada um de nós percebe o Infinito, a Verdade Universal, de acordo com suas próprias limitações, idiossincrasias, experiências e vivências. A sua verdade é diferente da minha porque somos ambos diferentes um do outro, e não porque a Verdade per se é diferente. Nossa percepção individual é que é o ponto variável.
Vai daí - pegar em pedras e chamar nomes só porque alguém mais não aceitou o que você disse, então você vai pegar sua bola e não vai mais brincar, é, no mínimo, infantil, e no máximo, destrutivo. É deste tipo de atitude que vêm todas as guerras dos homens.
Amigos e amigas, todos estão certos, cada um de acordo com sua capacidade de percepção. Ainda que não possamos dar um fim a guerras, pelo menos podemos, nem que seja por puro exercício intelectual, tentar perceber o elefante pelo ponto de vista do outro cego ao nosso lado. Talvez assim consigamos entender um pouquinho mais do que vem a ser o elefante em questão - a Verdade Universal.
E se isto não pode mudar a situação política, social e educacional do mundo inteiro, pode pelo menos mudar nossa própria vida, e a vida daqueles que dependem de nós.
Afinal, um pouco de percepção e entendimento pode abrir mais caminhos que todas as armas e todas máquinas do mundo.
ENGLISH VERSION
ARGUMENTS ON THE UNIVERSAL TRUTH
₢ Dalva Agne Lynch
Any argument on the subject of Universal Truth (call it God, Adonai, Allah, the Great Mother, Cosmic Intelligence or whatever, because it doesn´t change the fact that they´re all names of the same proverbial rose) is doomed to failure, simply because:
1. Everyone came to his or her concepts after threading a totally individual and solitary path, may it be a long and tortuous one or the instant soup kind – quick and according to the package directions.
2. If I manage to convince you that I'm right and you're wrong, this doesn´t necessarily mean that my ideas are truer than yours. It may be because I´m more eloquent, or because my ideas are better concatenated than yours. I mean, the winner is the one who best knows how to use his vocabulary.
3. Each person perceives the Universal Truth like those three blind Indians in the well-known story about the elephant: one blind man felt its trunk and said the elephant was like a snake, another one felt its leg and said the elephant was like a tree trunk; the last one patted its belly and said it was like a stone. I mean, every one of them touched only a tiny part of the whole and concluded that what he´d felt was whole elephant. Were they wrong? No – they were only limited by their perception´s inabilities.
Friends, each one of us perceives the Infinite, the Universal Truth, according to their own limitations, idiosyncrasies, experiences and lives. Your truth is different from mine because we aren´t alike – not because the truth per se is different. Our individual perception is the variance.
So, picking up stones and name calling just because someone didn´t accept what you said, so you´re going to get your ball and leave is not only childish but destructive. That´s the kind of attitude that causes all ot men´s wars.
Friend, everyone is right, each one according to his/her hability to perceive. Though we can´t put an end to wars, the least we can do is – even if just for a mere intellectual exercise – trying to understand the elephant from the viewpoint of the other blind man who´s standing beside us. Maybe we´d be able to understand a little more of what really the elephant is all about.
And if this can´t change the world´s political, social and educational situation, at least it could change our own lives, and the lives of those who depend on us.
After all, a little insight and understanding can open more doors than all of this world´s weapons and machines.
ENGLISH VERSION
ARGUMENTS ON THE UNIVERSAL TRUTH
₢ Dalva Agne Lynch
Any argument on the subject of Universal Truth (call it God, Adonai, Allah, the Great Mother, Cosmic Intelligence or whatever, because it doesn´t change the fact that they´re all names of the same proverbial rose) is doomed to failure, simply because:
1. Everyone came to his or her concepts after threading a totally individual and solitary path, may it be a long and tortuous one or the instant soup kind – quick and according to the package directions.
2. If I manage to convince you that I'm right and you're wrong, this doesn´t necessarily mean that my ideas are truer than yours. It may be because I´m more eloquent, or because my ideas are better concatenated than yours. I mean, the winner is the one who best knows how to use his vocabulary.
3. Each person perceives the Universal Truth like those three blind Indians in the well-known story about the elephant: one blind man felt its trunk and said the elephant was like a snake, another one felt its leg and said the elephant was like a tree trunk; the last one patted its belly and said it was like a stone. I mean, every one of them touched only a tiny part of the whole and concluded that what he´d felt was whole elephant. Were they wrong? No – they were only limited by their perception´s inabilities.
Friends, each one of us perceives the Infinite, the Universal Truth, according to their own limitations, idiosyncrasies, experiences and lives. Your truth is different from mine because we aren´t alike – not because the truth per se is different. Our individual perception is the variance.
So, picking up stones and name calling just because someone didn´t accept what you said, so you´re going to get your ball and leave is not only childish but destructive. That´s the kind of attitude that causes all ot men´s wars.
Friend, everyone is right, each one according to his/her hability to perceive. Though we can´t put an end to wars, the least we can do is – even if just for a mere intellectual exercise – trying to understand the elephant from the viewpoint of the other blind man who´s standing beside us. Maybe we´d be able to understand a little more of what really the elephant is all about.
And if this can´t change the world´s political, social and educational situation, at least it could change our own lives, and the lives of those who depend on us.
After all, a little insight and understanding can open more doors than all of this world´s weapons and machines.
fig: Salvador Dali