Clinging to opinions formed from past experiences is a subtle form of rigidity. While experience can be a guide, it should never become a cage. Life is dynamic and ever-changing, and to evolve with it, we must remain open to fresh perspectives and continually refine our understanding. As the Buddha said, “In the sky, there is no track. In the Dharma, there is no dogma.” What we hold as truth in one moment may no longer hold in another.
Often, we find ourselves saying, “I know this,” or “I have experienced this years ago,” as if the past gives us absolute authority. Such responses flow from a conditioned mind that resists change and growth. This rigidity, when left unchecked, hardens into prejudice. It fosters a judgmental attitude, making us prisoners of our own limited narratives.
This becomes especially evident when we encounter people from our past. Even after years of absence, we continue to view them through the lens of old impressions, saying things like, “I know this man very well,” forgetting that time transforms us all. Perhaps the person has grown, or perhaps our initial judgment was flawed. As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus reminds us, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”
The Jain philosophy of Anekantavada offers profound insight here. It teaches that truth is many-sided and that no single perspective captures the whole. Every viewpoint is partial. What appears true from one angle may not hold from another. This resonates with the Upanishadic wisdom that reality is beyond the grasp of a fragmented mind. Vedanta calls this limitation avidya, or ignorance born from identification with ego and perception. We mistake the seen for the seer, the opinion for the truth.
Ahankara, or ego-identity, clouds our intellect and narrows our ability to see clearly. The more we are caught in our ego’s narrative, the less we perceive reality as it is. The Upanishadic method of Neti Neti, meaning “Not this, not this,” encourages us to negate all limiting identifications and fixed beliefs. It is an invitation to remain inwardly free, open, and unattached to rigid mental constructs.
This spirit of inquiry also echoes in the dialectical philosophy of Hegel. Every thesis is met with an antithesis, eventually leading to a synthesis. But even that synthesis is not final. It too can be challenged and reshaped. This reminds us that truth is not static but a movement, a continuous unveiling.
In today’s polarized world, cultivating such openness is more than a virtue. It is a necessity. As the Rig Veda declares, “Ekam sat viprah bahudha vadanti,” meaning “Truth is one, but the wise speak of it in many ways.” If we wish to be truly wise, we must allow space for multiple truths to exist, including the possibility that our own understanding is incomplete.
To live with this humility is not to doubt everything. It is to remain ever-curious, receptive, and awake. It is to honor the evolving nature of both ourselves and the world, knowing that deeper clarity can only arise when the mind is free from the need to be right.
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