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Labels Limit Understanding
Whether we're studying birds or contemplating the nature of existence, we must remember that our names and labels are just temporary handles on reality.
In 1964, Richard Feynman told his physics class at Caltech, "you can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing about the bird."
His words cut to the heart of humanity's oldest quest. Our attempt to name the unnameable force behind existence itself. God, Allah, Brahman, the Absolute, the Universe, Pure Energy, the Lord, Father, Krishna, Tao, Creator, Great Spirit, the Divine, the All, the Supreme Being, etc. We have given it countless names across cultures and millennia, but have these names brought us any closer to understanding?
Feynman's insight reveals a fundamental limitation in human cognition. We have an almost compulsive need to name things, to label the unknown, to wrap language around mystery. This naming gives us a sense of control, a feeling of comprehension. But as Feynman warned, knowing a name is not the same as knowing a thing. As the Yogis have long understood, labels belong only to the relative plane of existence.
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