Assumption vs belief: The key to spiritual freedom

When seekers attempt to describe their spiritual state of being, they often use the words assumption and belief as if they were interchangeable. In ordinary conversation this may pass unnoticed, but in matters of spiritual understanding the difference between the two is profound. Confusing them can lead to misunderstanding, because the purpose of describing any spiritual experience is either to offer clarity or to seek it.

Those who have understood the deeper meaning of these words have a responsibility to clarify their distinction. When a person assumes something consciously, he accepts responsibility for it. Belief, however, often shifts responsibility away from the individual toward an external authority. In this sense, assumption opens the path to freedom and inner independence, while belief can easily harden into rigidity, making one defensive, adamant, or even arrogant.

Consider a simple example. When you voluntarily choose to serve another person, what actually happens through your words, mind, and actions? You first recognise the need of the other. Then you attempt to fulfil that need through appropriate means and thoughtful action. This process is alive and relational. It arises because you have assumed responsibility by your own choice. No external authority compels you to act in this way. Your service is guided by awareness of the living person before you, not by obedience to a fixed instruction. In this sense, assumption is dynamic, it remains open to dialogue, understanding, and change.

Now imagine performing the same act because a book commands you to do so; the action may still appear similar, yet its spirit changes. The process becomes governed by rules and procedures. The person you serve may gradually become secondary, while the instruction itself becomes primary. The living individual turns into a means for fulfilling the command. But a book is not a conscious being. Only living beings possess needs and the capacity for discernment. When belief replaces responsibility, trust in the wisdom of human interaction diminishes.

As conscious beings, we should prioritise living relationships rather than blindly following words written long ago under circumstances very different from our own. If human beings shifted from mere belief to conscious assumption of responsibility, many conflicts might never arise. Imagine that each of us assumed responsibility for peace. Who then could persuade us to wage war?