The Gamma Tao is a beginner’s path. It is a lower path based on basic spiritual, emotional and rational values. Its main goal is to help develop practical wisdom.
The Gamma Tao is only partly a spiritual path. It is a holistic path for the human mind where spiritual, emotional and rational intelligence are interconnected and in balance. The Gamma Tao by itself does not lead to the higher spiritual grounds of enlightenment or salvation.
Exploring the higher grounds
The Gamma Tao does lead to a common ground that is a great starting point to discover the higher paths, the great spiritual wisdom traditions of humanity.
The Gamma Tao is simple and clear. This simplicity is in fact its greatest advantage. The Gamma Tao can easily be brought to mind just by imagining the forms of the Gamma symbol and applying the basic ideas behind it. The higher paths are much more complicated. It is easy to lose your way among the riches of their techniques, rituals, myths, stories, teachings and internal divisions.
Our minds also have difficulties to fully grasp the teachings of the great spiritual traditions. It is easy to stick to a few convenient points we found along the way. We may think that we are good practitioners, while in fact we stop exploring and transforming ourselves.
A spiritual path should always be about personal transformation.
Gamma Tao as spiritual guide
The Gamma Tao can help you to keep the right mindset for the higher spiritual paths. First of all, when you enter a spiritual path it is very useful to keep the basic values gratitude, compassion and the just proportion in mind. These common values will keep you grounded.
On a spiritual path our minds will have to transcend this common ground. When we go beyond the common ground the Gamma Trinity can give us further guidance.
The Gamma Trinity is like a beam of light that has its origin within the Gamma Tao itself and shines its light on the path that lies beyond, indicating the direction from a common ground to the universal spiritual heights.
The Gamma Trinity, just like the Gamma Tao, is nothing new. It is nothing more and nothing less than perennial wisdom in a new form.
The Three Universals correspond to the three main mind spheres of the Gamma Tao.
They are:
- Spiritual: Universal Beauty
- Emotional: Universal Love
- Rational: Universal Truth
Any spiritual journey should bring you closer to these three Universals. Not only to one of them, but – and this is important – to all of them combined.
So when you are on the higher spiritual paths frequently ask yourself these three simple questions:
- Where in this is the Beauty?
- Where in this is the Love?
- Where in this is the Truth?
If you cannot find real Beauty, Love and Truth in what you are doing on a spiritual path, it may be time to move on.
The Gamma Trinity unites Universal Beauty, Universal Love and Universal Truth. These Universals go beyond common human understanding. Any description of the three Universals will be inadequate, but let’s try to clarify them a little.
Universal Beauty
Universal Beauty is the awe inspiring beauty, present everywhere in the Universe.
It can be experienced in a profound way when we encounter the sublime, that highest aesthetic quality that goes beyond all categories of beauty. An encounter with the sublime can be the start of a spiritual journey. It is the numinous experience we have when we are struck by the beauty of nature, a beautiful sunset or a sky full of stars. Many scientists (and especially astronauts) have had experiences like this when they observe nature from a new point of view. These experiences often change their lives.
Moments of bliss like this come to us unexpectedly. They are like a moment of grace.
Not all spiritual paths talk much about the beauty that is present everywhere in the universe. Physical manifestations may even be considered of a lesser order by some spiritual traditions. They are in fact always determined by conditions, often imperfect and transitory, but that should not make us blind for their beauty. Cherry blossoms or sakura are cherished by the Japanese, exactly because their beauty give them a sense of the fragility and impermanence of all things, the “pathos of life” (物の哀れ, mono no aware).
A spiritual path can help us to see through these imperfections and open us up towards the Universal Beauty that not only manifests itself in wide sublime settings, but is also present in small things.
Universal Love
Universal Love is unconditional love, directed to all beings.
The idea of Universal Love can be found in the Greek concept of agape (αγάπη) and jiān ài (兼愛), a central principle of Mohism, a classical school of Chinese philosophy. Elements of Universal Love, like a commandment to care for strangers, can be found in most spiritual traditions. The importance of caring for animals and the environment is also stressed by many spiritual traditions, especially among indigenous tribes.
Universal Love is probably both the most profound and most demanding of the three Universals. It is the ultimate perfection of compassion.
Followers of spiritual traditions often pose conditions on their love. They judge others and make distinctions, while a spiritual path should primarily be about one’s own internal transformation. Jabir ibn ʿAbdullah al-Ansari, an important companion of Mohammed, for example is reported to have said that the greater jihad is the struggle against oneself.
Universal Love is the core Universal, the Universal of the heart, the one that gives sense and meaning to our being in the universe. On a spiritual path we need to develop as much as possible Universal Love within our hearts.
Universal Truth
Universal Truth or ultimate truth refers to the essence of being.
Universal Truth cannot be expressed in words. It goes beyond all conditions and perspectives. It just is. In this way it touches the idea of the Tao (or Dao, 道) of Taoism.
This is not to say that we cannot approach Universal Truth. On the contrary, whether or not we are on a spiritual path, we should always be committed to the truth. Universal Truth is made out of countless states of being. Our own experience of them itself is also part of this reality. Some theories, ideas and beliefs about these states of being are closer to the truth than others.
The practice to approach Universal Truth is in no way the exclusive domain of spiritual traditions. Every change of perspective can give us new insights into the truth. Science and philosophy have valid methods to approach Universal Truth, this most rational of the three Universals. It is important to follow the rules of logic and scientific method when we want to increase our knowledge of reality.
Universal Truth, however, goes beyond rationality. Spiritual paths offer alternative approaches for our experience of ultimate truth. Zen uses kōans, short cryptic conversations to trigger sudden fundamental insights in reality. Western logic is build on the principle of non-contradiction and this could in some cases pose a limit on our understanding. In the Indian logical system of catuṣkoṭi things can be true and false at the same time.
Almost all spiritual traditions have strong claims about the Universal Truth. In some traditions you just have to believe these claims, because they are based on divine revelation. In other traditions you have to rely on the authority of a guru or a spiritual teacher. In Buddhism the importance of personal experience and investigation is often stressed.
Some mystical traditions have a so-called “apophatic” or negative approach. They approach ultimate truth by stating what it is not. In the west this idea has been formulated by Nicolas of Cusa in his book De Docta Ignorantia (Latin: On learned ignorance/on scientific ignorance), but it can also be found in Neti Neti (नेति नेति or “neither this, nor that”) meditations within Hinduism and especially the Advaita tradition.
Many ways lead to Rome. You may have found your way to approach Universal Truth, but that does not mean that others have lost their way.
A spiritual path can change our connection with the reality around us. This is an aspect of Universal Truth that we can all experience by ourselves. On a spiritual path personal experience is therefore an important touchstone.
Peak experiences
A spiritual path should lead towards a better understanding of ultimate or Universal Truth, but we should never lose sight of the other two Universals. Truth without Love and Beauty has no real value.
On the peaks of spiritual experience the Gamma Trinity can even lead us to a state of Oneness, where Beauty, Love and Truth are unified into One.
It is not for everybody to reach such a high state of mystical union. It is very hard to reach the peaks of a spiritual path, although occasionally, by way of grace, we may catch a glimpse of it.
If we seriously embark on a spiritual journey we need to face many challenges to combat our personal shadows and weaknesses. During these struggles it is even more important to never let the Gamma Trinity out of sight.
Spiritual Practices
And now back to basic.
The universal spiritual heights lay far beyond the common ground of the Gamma Tao itself. Even if you are not on a spiritual path and have no ambition to reach the peaks of spiritual experience, spiritual practices can enrich your life. Even a small walk on a spiritual path may change your connection to the universe around you or transform you into a better person.
A few weeks ago I wrote about the books that Rupert Sheldrake has published about spiritual practices. He set out to show that spiritual practices actually work.
Also on this basic level the Gamma Trinity can be a helpful guide, so we may actually go beyond to find some Beauty, Love and Truth.
