Nor is all that we know of as Hinduism such a formulation of Universal Truth. The formulation of a universal tradition, being bound by time, must contain elements which are not universal. It must have teachings relative to particular people, places and cultures. Yet its foundation should be universal and that foundation in Hinduism is still intact and, in fact, in resurgence, in the process of reclaiming its greater universality as the many modern Yoga teachers from India indicate.

There are those today who want to create a new universal tradition by combining together all the religions of the world. This is a valuable endeavor, but we must recognize that what has been formulated in a fragmentary way cannot lead to wholeness. We cannot create the universal through putting together the particular. We cannot create the unity of a tree through gathering together the leaves which have fallen from it. 

It would be like trying to creating a universal government by giving a place to all the existent governments of the world and their vested interests, including those which are inefficient, or corrupt. Such an approach may in fact be self-defeating. By validating various particular or limited approaches, we may emphasize their differences in which there can never be unity. Similarly, we may never be able to arrive at a common humanity by trying to accommodate or give equal importance to every different human group in terms of race, language, religion, culture or life-style. This can only occur when we set aside our differences and recognize the essence of consciousness which is our true nature, in which all outward differences lose their significance.

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