There is one common substratum of water behind all waves; similarly there is one spiritual principle, a background reality, behind all names and forms. These names and forms as a rule bespeak a plurality which cannot be attributed to the consciousness behind them. If there is a plurality of consciousnesses, we have to assume one more consciousness to perceive it, and this is untenable.
It will be ultimately misleading and indeed wrong to suppose, for example, that each human being is an independent actuality who interacts with other human beings and with nature. Rather, all these are projections of a single totality.
Therefore, the universe is one on all the three levels — physical, mental, and spiritual—and disparateness is only an illusion. This idea of disparateness is the root of all confusions, conflicts, wars, and bloodshed as well as a great stumbling block to affable human relationships.
The simple fact is that we live in a world of conflict and opposites because we live in world of boundaries. Since every boundary line is also a battle line, here is the human predicament: the firmer one’s boundaries, the more entrenched are one’s battles.
The idea of oneness — identification of object and subject — expressed in this Upanishadic dictum ‘Tat-tvam-asi’ ‘you are That’ must impel us to develop a universal outlook in the present context of globalization, eschewing all the parochial attitudes which impede the progressive march of civilization.