About Truth

Atarkhat – to those who listen

Greetings and wish you well.

1. Truly, human’s craving for knowledge is immeasurable. This craving was one of the main forces that have defined the life of mankind at all times. Can a sentient being live and remain sentient without fulfilling the purpose of his mind? Mind is improved through knowledge; and if a sentient being could not learn, it would not be sentient, and its existence would have no meaning. The desire to cognize is so strong that even those who have never asked themselves about the meaning of the existence of a sentient being in comparison with an insentient one feel it. The instinct of cognition, incorporated in a person by Nature, does its job. There is hardly anyone who would seriously deny this. Everything in the Universe exists according to certain laws, and the existence of each particle of the Universe has its meaning. This meaning is always practical. At the same time, any and every physical meaning ultimately comes down to a spiritual meaning. The evolution of the Universe is essentially the evolution of its Spirit, and physical evolution is only a part of the path and not its goal. Everything material exists to support the Spirit. Thus, Nature gave birth to people to move forward the evolution of Spirit through physical evolution. And the physical needs of a person have always been the servants of his spiritual needs. Thus, people give life to their descendants because Nature needs this. It needs people: after all, through them, it accomplishes itself, its evolution. For example, if people consume food, they do this to maintain their existence in the form the Universe needs it. It is true: a man eats to preserve himself for knowledge. And even a person who prefers the delights of his womb and his flesh to the work of his soul and mind still cognizes the world in one way or another; and over time (whether in the current life or one of the following ones) the latent evolution of his Spirit will bear the proper fruits. One day he will consciously follow the due path of a sentient being, he will become the vessel of reason. Yes, people have always cognized; whether consciously or not, they strove to fulfill the destiny of humanity, of sentient beings.
2. It is hard to imagine how many obstacles people have overcome in their striving to cognize, and how many torments they have endured. Knowledge of Truth is a great blessing and great happiness; and the price of this happiness is just as great. A lot of people found their death searching for Truth; many were persecuted, tortured, executed, and killed; whereas some were tormented by other people, others – by themselves. The light hurts the eyes looking at the sun. Truth is what it is; in its steadfastness, it is like a mountain that does not bow in obedience to the one who wished to climb it and does not change its shape for the one who wished to enjoy the view. The slopes of this mountain are steep and rocky, and you can break and cripple your soul if it is weak. And one can be exhausted on the way up the slope; and at the top, instead of a bowl of life-giving drink, one can find the riot of a hurricane or a river of fire, which will break or incinerate a weak soul accustomed to the convenience of delusions. There is a law: the one who can cognize can also delude himself. But there is also another law: all delusions, countless in their diversity, taken together are infinitely weaker than Truth, which is unalterable. Everyone knows this, – although many do not know that they know it. The striving for Truth has its source in the Spirit: therefore, people have always strived to cognize Truth to become more perfect through it. Neither suffering nor death could frighten and hold them back; as they are one of the best creatures of Nature. And through the obstacles set by others, and through the obstacles in themselves, and the bogs of delusions, they go to Truth – to that great mountain of which I have spoken.
3. I point out again that delusions are innumerable and different. And some of them are about Truth itself. Now the true teaching has come to the world, and the Truth is open to people. And I see that many people have delusions about Truth itself, not just those who have false ideas about something. Some people think that Truth obeys the arbitrariness of the human mind. Some think that it is impossible to know it. Some think that there are many equivalent Truths. And some think that it does not exist at all. It is not easy for people in captivity of delusions to see the Truth; and it is immeasurably more difficult for those who do not see what it is to learn it. And delusions about Truth are proclaimed among people, and many believe in them; and I claim that it is like a contagious disease of the mind. This ailment stems from one vice, which is rightly believed to be the mother of all vices. This vice is pride. One can be mistaken about one thing or another; but it is genuine madness to dictate Truth itself what it should be and whether it should be at all. Some people exalt themselves even above Truth and teach the same to others. It is like a mental illness, isn’t it? And although they cannot command Truth, the above-mentioned illness does not become less sorrowful and terrible because of this. I want to say what Truth exists and those who believe lies about it are wrong. Everyone indeed has the right to speak out his views about Truth. And Truth itself can also speak about itself through the mouth of the one who knows it and accepts it the way it is. Now there is the true teaching in the world, called the Teaching of the United Temple. I am the founder of this teaching, I have received knowledge from the God of Wisdom, and I know what Truth is. I will talk about it and about the worst delusions, which are an obstacle not only on the path of knowledge but on the path to this path itself. Some will say that I am lying and that my teaching is not true. Let it be. I am not speaking to force others to believe me, but to reveal the Truth. And Truth will not cease to be Truth because someone does not believe in it.
4. Freedom is a great blessing; verily, there are few blessings comparable to it. But any good can turn into evil and great grief by the deluded and flawed mind. Superfluity inevitably leads to these problems. Exceeding the due measure in the good turns this good into evil. For example, a good deed is a good deed worthy of a person. However, whoever does something mean or bad for the sake of achieving a good goal turns good into evil, kills the good of his accomplishment, and also defiles the good of his goal with evil, so that it will no longer be beneficial for people and the world. There are natural limits in accomplishment that should not be exceeded. Everything that goes beyond its limits, loses its essence and turns into something different, bad, and harmful. For example, a doctor who has gone beyond necessary limits in healing will not heal the patient but will hurt or even kill him. It is true for everything. It is also true for freedom. It is necessary to distinguish between free will and freedom that does not obey the will of man. For example, a person is free to go in one direction or another but he cannot fly like a bird. Only a madman is walking the earth but thinking that he is flying in the sky. And if he does not distinguish between these two things, then what is more likely to be expected from him – good or evil? A person should understand the limits of freedom available to people not to become dangerous. There is freedom within the boundaries of morality and there is freedom within the boundaries of accomplishment. In morality, a person obeys conscience, or he sets limits for himself by his mind. A person can violate the boundaries of morality; this violation leads to villainy and crime. It is impossible to break the boundaries of accomplishment; the desire to do it most often leads to despair or madness. Freedom is a great blessing but it must also have limits. If someone tells me that desires should not have limits; I will say that this person is close to madness, growing out of pride.
5. Among those who understand that a man is one of the most perfect creatures of Nature, many are convinced that therefore he is higher than Nature itself. This is a delusion, and one of the most woeful and destructive. Such people believe that if a person is superior to the other inhabitants of this world, then he is infallible in his judgments and desires. But if a dog is superior to a worm, then what is it in comparison with a man? And if a man is superior to a dog, then what is he in comparison with Nature that created him? Many people think that they know everything better than Nature. And if one person thinks he has the right to decide where to cut down trees and where to plant them, then another person thinks he can decide what Truth should be. Freedom is so dear to such people —their freedom—that they are ready to sacrifice Truth, conscience, and everything else to this freedom. Such a person is sure that he has the right to choose whether to extinguish the sun or not; and if he can not extinguish the sun, he will see this as an infringement of his freedom, and he will suffer from this. And Truth in its essence, in the depths of its manifestations, is invisible to the eye and imperceptible to the hand, and therefore it seems to some people that it is as they wish. It is a triumph of pride, close to madness when someone says, “It is the truth, just because I believe that it is the truth.” There are many people nowadays who honor their feelings and opinions to be the most reliable source of knowledge. Thus, while some people build their beliefs and knowledge on some doctrine, which is believed to come from higher sources, others only trust their feelings and thoughts. The latter is convinced that they do not make mistakes, and others are fools who do not know how to feel and think. It’s their right to have such an opinion but this right does not make them right. A person might be mistaken in trusting a teaching or a religion presumably received from some absolute higher forces, or any other similar teaching. However, although he is mistaken, he still does not consider himself above everyone and everything and does not equate himself in wisdom and infallibility with these higher forces. Others think they are the masters of Truth. Pride gives rise to a desire for exorbitant freedom when a person does not want to know the natural limits set for human freedom by Nature, which understands what is good and what is bad. Thus, the great good, the freedom of a person, is misunderstood and turns into an ailment of conscience and reason. And this ailment is contagious, it becomes an obstacle for the whole race of people in understanding the world and improving.
6. I say that there is only one Truth and it is specific. It is the true image of what exists and takes place in the Universe. And people know this, for it is known to the soul of people. Some people take certain delusions for one specific Truth, and mistakenly believe that they know what it is, while others, knowing that there is only one specific Truth and that it can be cognized, agree that they do not know it. Thus, the former are mistaken, while the latter put up with what a sentient being should not put up with. And although the former may be very stubborn and may even feel enmity towards those who do not share their view, the latter may be indifferent to knowledge. However, both do not harm other people’s minds and souls as much as those who deny the very essence of Truth. If a person sees a specific mountain in front of him, on the top of which something precious is hidden, sooner or later he will be able to climb it and find out what is hidden there. And if he cannot show the right path to the top to others, then he can at least show them the mountain. But what, besides humiliation, can someone give to others if he thinks that this mountain is what he wants it to be, and is where he wants it to be? What, besides pride, will a person give to others if he thinks that each person has his mountain and his treasure hidden on its top, which is equivalent to the treasures of others? What, besides despair, will a person give to others if he thinks that there is a specific mountain but believes that it is impossible to climb it? What, besides the feeling of loss, will a person give to others if he thinks that this mountain does not exist? All these people harm other people’s minds and souls and their own, even unintentionally. And there are more and more of them. I repeat that this stems from the fact that some people look at freedom through the eyes of pride. There is little hope of convincing such people, for pride is sweeter and more precious to them than both reason and conscience. I say this in this text to proclaim the truth. And perhaps by doing this I will help someone who is mistaken to get rid of delusions and avoid falling into the slavery of pride.
7. A man cannot live without Truth. It (in its various manifestations) makes up half of his life – his feelings, desires, aspirations, thoughts, actions. The other half of a person’s life is love. And just as some madmen try to oppose love, wishing to destroy it, other madmen imagine that they can command Truth. They are convinced that Truth must be convenient for them. These people try to alter it according to their desires. For example, if a person is prone to theft, then he will argue that this is normal and natural for people, and that, therefore, there is nothing wrong with it; and if it is still evil, then, since it is natural, no one should resist this temptation. He will even praise this crime, turning it into a noble rivalry with the victim or with other thieves. He will praise this as art, mind, will, and agility training, he will turn it into romantic adventures or something else. He will do this only because he likes theft. He can also justify his weakness if he is unable to resist this vice. He will try to force Truth to wear a mask that pleases him; will shape it in his image and likeness. And he will believe that Truth looks exactly as he needs. If he did not believe in this his conscience would not allow him to indulge in a criminal vice; and if he had stepped over his conscience, then it still would not have allowed him to live in peace, enjoying vice. Thus, at the same time, he flees from suffering and pursues his perverted pleasure. Isn’t this man insane, inventing a lie, raising it to the level of the law of Nature, and believing in it? He will find other equally selfish or weak people and teach them to put on a profitable mask for Truth. This is why he is dangerous. But such a person can declare natural and permissible anything he wants, starting from lies, disrespect for others, and rudeness to murder and cannibalism. It is an undeniable evil to treat Truth like that. And although Truth still will not be as these people please, this will not turn them from madmen into normal people. These people don’t have moral values; as they create and change these values for themselves, being guided exclusively by their desires. And if such a person has accepted some relatively harmless delusion as Truth today, then what can we expect from him tomorrow? If a person doesn’t see the reality but only sees what he wants to and believes in it, then these are signs of mental illness, aren’t they? You can interpret what you see in different ways; but can a mentally healthy person see what he has thought up contrary to reality? Thus, the attitude to Truth can be an indicator of mental health. These people are unhealthy people rather than conscious opponents of Truth. And I say that the origins of their illness lie not only in the adherence to vices and weakness of the will but also in the habit of thinking that a person is above everything and that his freedom should have no limits.
8. Others say that Truth does not exist at all. They say that everything is relative, and thus what is true from one point of view is a delusion from another point of view. This means that there is no specific and unshakable Truth. They are guided by these ideas in their opinions and actions. The basis of these delusions is that any object, phenomenon, or action may or may not be like this or like that. They do not know whether evil is evil or whether good is good. It is sometimes very difficult indeed to distinguish between good and evil because it is natural for them to contain particles of each other, and therefore they can merge. However, evil is evil, and good is good, and no matter how intertwined they are, they remain. These people think that there is neither good nor evil. Unlike a person who committed violence or killed another person, defending himself, and understood that he committed evil anyway, that kind of person would be convinced that he did something good. This is how it always works. Having acted badly, for the sake of calming his conscience, he will think that it is unclear whether he acted badly, for there is neither evil nor good as such. I should say that such an opinion about Truth is the food of permissiveness, for when there is no good and evil, right and wrong, then everything is permissible. What will keep a person from crime who does not recognize crime as such? Only fear can stop him from committing a crime and fear is inappropriate for guiding people. The one who is convinced that Truth does not exist lives in a void. He has no other support in life than himself, his passions, and his needs. No matter how sharp his mind is, there is little use of it because the mind needs support and purpose to do its job. Where can one get support if there is no unshakable Truth? It is better to have at least an imaginary Truth than not to have any. Where can he find a purpose appropriate for the mind if nothing can be learned? His mind can only find ways to satisfy his passions and needs.
9. Yes, the mind of such a person is inactive – as the satisfaction of needs is what animals do. Are mind and reason given to people to live like animals? When people follow their passions they sink lower than animals. Animals do not do evil, they live according to natural laws. Passions are for humans and sometimes they are unnatural. And this is where any unworthy deed or atrocity can grow. Even a natural desire or striving that has gone beyond certain limits turns into something unnatural. And where can these limits originate from if the mind cannot cognize them? After all, they should be based on a clear understanding of what is good and what is evil; without Truth, where can such an understanding originate from? It is good if a person who denies the existence of Truth is not vicious and evil: then the desires of his soul and conscience can keep him from vile and criminal deeds. But in this case, he will not understand why his conscience is such. Conscience is the voice of justice in man; justice is one of the manifestations of naturalness, which cannot be truly understood if one does not know the Truth. And maybe the person I’m talking about, following his conscience, will be surprised at himself. The soul knows the Truth, hence there is conscience. Others may set reason against conscience, saying that if conscience cannot be explained then one should not follow it because it is unknown what is good and what is evil. Thus the mind, which exists to do good, can resist it through the criticism of conscience. The denial of the existence of Truth is convenient, if not to justify vice and evil, then at least not to forbid them. Therefore, a person can convince himself that Truth does not exist because of this advantage. This is similar to what I have already said; this person wants to command Truth as its master: he wants to believe that Truth does not exist.
10. A person who denies the existence of Truth contradicts himself. He says that Truth does not exist, and at the same time he considers his opinion to be correct, that is, true. Thus he denies Truth, while at the same time proclaiming what he believes to be the Truth. However, he does not even notice the contradiction. And I ask: can he think logically? Is it possible to call him a reasonable person, and does it make sense to take his opinions and judgments at least a little seriously? He has the right to keep his opinion; but this does not mean that it should be valued by others on a par with the opinions of people who think more reasonably. Everyone is free to have any absurd point of view; it can and should be respected as the views of a free individual, but it can hardly be taken into account from the point of view of meaningfulness. And if such a person cannot be responsible for the soundness of his reasoning, then to what extent can he be responsible for the soundness of his actions? I point out that I’m not trying to declare all these people crazy. But a man is a man because he is sentient and reasonable. And when someone’s mind begins to contradict itself or refuses to cognize at all, then this is an obvious deviation from the norm. Mistakes are natural for the mind, but inconsistency and refusal to cognize are not. This is also a kind of delusion; but these delusions are deadly to the mind. The difference between them and other delusions is the same as between suicide and piercing of earlobes done for the sake of decoration. Yes, I say that these people are intellectual suicides. Their opinions are killing, and therefore much more harmful than ordinary delusions. After all, there is a huge difference between delusions that lead astray, when you can always come back, and delusions that kill. Life, whatever it may be, is still live; but death is death. And it is not good for life to obey death. Therefore, one can pity not only these people but also those who adopt their opinions and thus kill their minds.
11. Next, I will talk about those who think that there are many different, but at the same time equivalent Truths. This is the same as denying the existence of Truth at all. And the reasons for having this opinion may vary. For example, it can be pride. Some people would prefer to have their own, albeit small Truth, just to prevent someone from being more enlightened than they are in the universal Truth. It is the same as if a bird did not want to fly, so as not to share the boundless sky with other birds, but would forever sit in its nest, rejoicing that it belongs only to it, and arguing that there is no sky at all. Such a person would prefer not to know anything than to learn something from someone and admit that he is smarter or knows more. Or maybe the reason is fear. If a bird is afraid to get lost in the infinity of the sky, then it will sit in its nest, even dying of hunger. Or maybe it’s greed. If a bird would like to take possession of the sky and command it, but cannot, then it will be more comfortable for it to think that the sky does not exist and that each bird can only own its own nest. Or the reason is laziness. A bird doesn’t need the sky if it barely tosses and turns in its nest, does it? In other words, there can be many reasons for such an understanding of Truth. And among the causes arising from obvious vices, there are reasons of a completely different kind. For example, peace. A person who doesn’t want to defend the Truth in the fight against delusions will prefer to believe that everyone is right, no matter what comes to mind. If one person does not want to fight delusions out of laziness, the other will sacrifice Truth (and who knows what else) because peace and tranquility are above all for him. Such a person does not see the difference between struggle and enmity; in every struggle he sees hatred. The striving for peace is a great and undeniable blessing; but the good poisoned by unnaturalness, the denial of Truth, is an illusory good. Thus, one can conclude that for the sake of preserving peace one should not resist evil. And submission to evil, or even simple connivance, is evil in itself. So thoughtless striving for good leads to evil. And “struggle” does not mean “enmity”. Instead of running away from struggle, which is unworthy of a person, it is better to try to teach yourself to fight without hatred and fear to face someone else’s hatred and violation of your peace, isn’t it? Still, there is no peace; and the best way to get rid of the tendency to enmity is the knowledge of the Truth, which speaks of universal unity and love for everyone and everything.
12. Yes, they strive to keep the peace so much, as if they tell other people: “Calm down, do not argue; everyone is right, and everyone should be happy.” And they say that as if there is a certain common goal, which everyone wants to achieve in different ways through different Truths. How unhappy these people are, – they do not want to understand that different paths have different goals. And although the contradictions of these paths are obvious, they try not to notice them, blinding themselves, keeping quiet, silencing their conscience, or looking for various casuistic explanations for this. And they raise this opinion to the level of a standard of conscience; and many of them believe that if someone says that Truth is one, then he thereby wants to rise above others or disturb the world. And they take up arms against such, thereby violating the peace through an attempt to take away the right of people to proclaim their opinion. And although some of them try to assert that many of these Truths seem to complement each other, it sounds absurd and hypocritical. Often those who recognize the existence of many Truths, strive for peace and unity with other people through this. However, it is strange to try to come to unity through separation. What can separate people more than different Truths? After all, this means that everyone lives in his separate world, with his laws and his reality. And if so, then there is no need to learn about people: everyone can imagine everyone in such a way as he desires, – after all, everyone inhabits his world with those he wants. Why should someone try to understand people when he can say: “I believe that he is like that, and this is the Truth, regardless of what he thinks or knows about him”. If we live like this, how can we understand each other, how can we achieve true unity and peace, peace between souls, and not just between opinions? Such an opinion about Truth is the ground for the growth of egoism because the problems of other people turn out to be problems of other worlds that do not depend on each other in any way. So, I say that such an opinion about Truth is a seed of indifference, which separates people instead of bringing them together. The one who does not see it is blind.
13. Some are convinced that it is impossible to learn the Truth. There can also be many reasons for this delusion. It can be indifference and laziness, fear, and more. But its essence is that it denies the meaning of human existence as such. As has already been said, the human mind makes the human being. Mind aims to cognize; if cognition is impossible, then what is the mind? And what is a human? What is the difference between a man and an animal then? What is his role in the world and what is his role in Nature? It’s as if he doesn’t exist at all. I know and I claim that a human is a truly great being, beautiful in his essence, wise and powerful, he is one of the pillars of the Universe. But he is like that when he is truly a man. What can be said about him if he is a mindless creature like a worm? Those who think that Truth cannot be cognized turn themselves into worm-like creatures. They see a great mountain before them, but they do not want to climb it. It is more convenient for them to make themselves insignificant than to dare the hard work of ascent, to face the pain of body and soul. And they consider those who feel the true destiny of people foolish or even prideful. At the same time, they also do not notice that they refute themselves, contrary to common sense, believing their statement is true though they claim that there is no Truth. And what can they give to others – what, besides the humiliation of the very essence of a human, besides bewilderment and confusion? What, except for wandering between thoughtless animal life and the hopelessness of the question “Why does a person live at all?”. Holding such an opinion of Truth is the surest way to lose oneself. And what can a person who has lost himself achieve? It is unlikely that he will achieve anything good; and it’s good if he doesn’t do anything crazy and dangerous in his confusion.
14. I have spoken about some delusions that live in the minds of people. As you can see, all these delusions lead a person to mental or moral injury. The first reason for this is the denial of the Truth known to the Spirit of each person, hence the contradiction to oneself. The physical and mental essence of a person contradicts his inner, most perfect essence, the Spirit. And if the peel and pulp of fruit begin to reject the seed, will this fruit be healthy, can it survive without killing itself? And if a person splits like this, as if dividing into two different parts, then this is already a disease, regardless of whether it manifests itself openly or not. The second reason is the denial of the purpose of reason. Whether a person claims that he already knows the whole Truth, or that it is impossible to know it, both are essentially a prohibition for the mind to follow the natural path of cognition. Can a person behave rationally if he has mutilated his mind? The third major reason is pride. A person who puts himself above Truth and Nature, dictating them what they should be will not consider other people in his desires and intentions, won’t he? In short, a misperception of the essence of Truth is a deviation from the norm, which cannot have beneficial consequences. Any other ordinary delusion is also harmful; but at least it doesn’t kill the mind. It is natural for the mind, and the mind gets rid of it naturally. The essence of the difference between an ordinary delusion and the one mentioned above is the following: the former, although it prevents a person from walking on the right path in life, still does not prevent the mind from moving along the path of knowledge, while the latter makes the mind blind, deaf and dumb, deprives it of the opportunity to cognize, and thus, destroys the person himself. It is unnaturalness multiplied by unnaturalness, an echo of non-existence in a living person. This is what most hinders the cognition of the Truth, the improvement of people, and the accomplishment of good for people, and the world.
15. Now I will speak about Truth, not about what it is concerning something, but about what it is in its essence. I say that it is one because it is true. It is like the earth on which a man lives: no matter how much he kicks the earth, the earth will not shake. Even the sun can be destroyed – Truth is always as it is. It is one and unshakable, truly unshakable. It is useless to rebel against it, try to subdue it, or deny it. It is the reality in which everything exists; it is reality itself, and therefore it is inevitable. Whatever a person does, he does it all in Truth, as in some kind of substance penetrating everything that exists. Truth is born at every moment – and it is born as it is, and not as a proud man or a madman wants to see it. And it can be cognized. People exist to cognize it and through this cognition make themselves, their world, and the entire Universe more perfect. Indeed, one cannot know the whole Truth at once. First of all, a person needs to know himself, then people and the world. After that, he will reach other levels of knowledge, and the worlds of the Universe will become visible and understandable to him. The path of knowledge is like climbing steps that never end. This path knows no end. A sentient being cognizes, and there always is and will be something that is not yet known to him. The path of cognition of the Truth continues beyond the limits of the Universe. Is it joy and pleasure to follow such a great path step by step and to know that this path is within the reach of the person walking, isn’t it? Isn’t this one of the faces of happiness – to follow the path of infinite knowledge, infinite accomplishment, and infinite life? Such is the Truth and such is a man. So, I have said everything I wanted to say in this text. Whoever can hear me will hear; whoever does not want to hear, let my words not serve as a cause for resentment or anger. I, Atarkhat, greet those who have heard and those who have not heard and wish them well.

Have a good path

Translated by Amradkhari