Hinduism : The Eternal Tradition Sanatana Dharma
Major Sections
Books By David Frawley
RELIGION OR DHARMA : BELIEF OR THE NATURE OF TRUTH

Belief is not knowledge. A belief is an assumption, which if treated as a working proposition can at times help us find the truth. But if we take it as true in its own right it becomes a preconception that clouds our vision. For example, in order to climb a mountain I must first believe I am capable of it or I will not be able to put forth the effort to attempt it. But if I regard that believing I can climb the mountain is the same as actually climbing the mountain, then my belief is a delusion which breeds not only incapacity but unreality.

While belief may have some preliminary value it must be discarded as we move along the path. Belief in God is not knowing God, though it may assert what God is supposed to have said. And how can we know what someone has said if we don't know who they really are? Merely because it is written in a particular book? If we ourselves do not know God, how can we fulfill his will? And if we don't know God within ourselves, how can we know his reality outside ourselves?

Such belief does not take us to truth but presumes to tell us what it is as a mere verbal formation. Belief becomes a substitute knowledge which prevents us from discovering truth. To know a particular food, like grapes, we must actually get them and eat them. It is not merely enough to believe in grapes or believe in another person who once ate them.

 

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About Religion Or Dharma
Religion Or Dharma...Pg1
Religion Or Dharma...Pg2
Religion Or Dharma...Pg3
Religion Or Dharma...Pg4
The Dharma of... Pg.1
The Dharma of.... Pg.2
Dharma & The Religion. Pg.1
Dharma & The Religion. Pg.2
Religion & Belief. Pg.1
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Religion & Belief. Pg.4
Belief & Faith
Theological Ethics.. Pg.1
Theological Ethics... Pg.2
The Culture Of The Dharma Pg.1
The Culture Of The Dharma Pg.2
The Culture Of The Dharma Pg.3
The Culture Of The Dharma Pg.4