<p>How can we all get along if we are all so different?</p>

A Vedic expression declares, “Reality is different in different states of consciousness.” We could as easily say that truth is different in different states of consciousness. During sleep, the amalgamation of experiences, periods and people that seem so real in our dreams dissolve into mists of barely retrievable memories when we awaken in the morning. During the daily story weavings of our waking lives, every experience and interaction has a reality dependent upon the consciousness of the person co-creating it. If we recognized the fluidity of our daily reality, we wouldn’t be so surprised when our interpretation of a situation, circumstance or person differs from another’s. Every culture weaves a collective truth that crystallizes an “acceptable” vision of reality for those who have membership. To live within the culture, we must become adept at the rules of engagement. The essence of the spiritual path is to recognize and become proficient in the rules of social conditioning that maintain healthy boundaries for its members without becoming imprisoned by them. The awareness that the only “right” perspective is all points of view or none, requires impeccable responsibility and offers exhilarating freedom. Vedanta tells us, “The wise do not delude the sleeping.”

The integration of unbounded awareness and evolutionary action is the essence of yoga. When in the Bhagavad-Gita, Arjuna is bewildered by the inability to reconcile his duty to uphold virtue with love for his family members who are not living in dharma, Lord Krishna first raises his level of awareness by taking him beyond the duality of right and wrong. Once he grasps that good and evil are two inextricably woven sides of reality, Arjuna is able to perform action that has the most evolutionary consequences. The alternation of oneness with duality through regular inward diving in meditation alternating with the outward engagement of the world enables us to find the truth that nurtures our individuality without imposing it on those who believe in theirs. If we are to live in harmony with the sentient beings on this planet, we need to live a big truth that can embrace all perspectives of reality. Then we can choose to act in ways that affords us the most time to celebrate.