‘Belief’ and ‘knowing’—these are not merely different states of mind; they are fundamentally different ways of being. Belief is rooted in ritual, tradition, and the need for external affirmation. It is the grasping at concepts, names, and forms that society has handed down. Belief is social, a practice of customs and symbols; it seeks security in external structures.
But knowing is something entirely different. Knowing is not dependent on borrowed truths or accepted norms. It arises from direct experience and clear perception, free from the filters of conditioning. Knowing is a silent inner revolution—a shift from following to seeing.
In this light, real religion is not about belief. It is not about what one accepts from outside or repeats through rituals. Real religion is spirituality—the living awareness of what truly is, beyond names, beyond dogma. It is a process of shedding, of unlearning the false, and of coming into intimate contact with the truth. It is not faith; it is clarity. It is not practice; it is understanding.
The world, through this lens, divides into three kinds of minds:
🔸 The first kind are those who rise above the need to believe. These are the ones who step into knowing. For them, the external trappings of religion, caste, nation, and social norms lose their grip. They are free—not because they rebel, but because they see. They see the triviality of what was once held sacred, and they live from a place of inner freedom.
🔸 The second kind remain attached to systems and structures. They are entangled in institutions, hierarchies, and identities. Even when they speak of reform, they remain bound by the same systems they critique. They attempt to polish the surface, but the root of the illusion remains untouched.
🔸 The third kind do not even fully grasp the social norms they follow. They are caught in confusion, personal attachments, and superficialities. Their lives remain at the surface level of awareness, driven by unexamined desires and impulses.
In the Vedantic understanding, this progression mirrors the movement from Avidya (ignorance) to Vidya (knowledge). Belief is a manifestation of Avidya—it is dependence on second-hand knowledge. Knowing is Vidya—the light of direct understanding.
Thus, the journey is not from one belief to a better belief. It is from belief to freedom, from faith in the external to realization of the internal. Spirituality is not about adopting new rituals or philosophies. It is about seeing clearly, living consciously, and dropping the false.
Until one moves from believing to knowing, life remains entangled in appearances. True transformation lies not in what is practiced outwardly, but in what is seen inwardly. The real is not in the future; it is not in what is promised. It is in the now—in the clear seeing of what is.
VISIT https://acharyaprashant.org/ to demolish all that is false.
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