ABOUT ME: Im just an aspiring servant of God. All paths lead to God. All the great philosophies are One in their essence. The essence being the search for true happiness.

ILLUSTRATION: A wise man was once going around town, where he met a group of people who were arguing. He wanted to intervene and asked them what the quarrel was about.

Man 1: "This guy is saying that the elephant looks like a giant tree with two big branches called tusks and two large eyes. But I have seen the elephant myself. It is not true. It looks like a giant chariot with four large legs. There is only one eye, not two!"

Man 2: "This gal thinks she has seen the elephant!! I have seen the elephant myself. It does not have four legs, it has only two! There are two eyes and not four."

The wise man understood what was really going on. He told them: "My dear friends! You are both right! The elephant is too large and therefore both of you were only able to see a part of it! If you had gone around the elephant then you would know that both are indeed true!"

Similar it is with the non-realized followers of various schools of philosophy. Advaitin: 'Brahman is the only reality', the Dvaitin: 'Brahman is real and so is the jiva and they are separate', the Vishistadvaitin: 'Brahman is the whole and jiva are its parts' and finally the achintya bhedhabheda: 'Brahman is both identical and separate from jiva at the same time!'

The non-realized devotees of these various philosophies then quarrel amongst themselves and waste their time. The wise Brahman then finally tells them: 'dear fellows, all of you are right! I am beyond your intellect, therefore each of you has only understood some part of me. Instead of trying to understand me, if you simply experience me, then you will realize that I am indeed all of these and also beyond all of these. I cannot be described, I cannot be explained, I cannot be understood, I can only be experienced and realized!'

The true and complete understanding of Advaita is SILENCE. The true and complete understanding of Vishistadvaita is SURRENDER. The true and complete understanding of Dvaita is SELF-LESSNESS. The true and complete understanding of Achintyabheda abheda is UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.

Silence, surrender, selflessness and unconditional love. All these are actually one and the same thing! The one who is silent is the one who has surrendered. The one who has surrendered is the one who is selfless. The one who has unconditional love is verily selfless and his Mind is always silent, for he is filled with thought of God.

NOTE: By silence I do not mean refraining from speaking, or refraining from actions, but rather the silencing of the Mind, silencing of desires, silencing of intellect and mind :).

Inspired and taken from these Avatars: Sri Sathya Sai Baba and his teachings, Sri Ramakrishna and his teachings, Sri Yogananda and his teachings, Sri Sivananda and his teachings, Sri Shankaracharya and his teachings.