Jato Mat Tato Path

One of the greatest assertions of this age is Jato Mat Tato Path (As many thoughts so many ways). Once we begin to think deeply on the meaning of this apparently harmless statement made by Sri Ramakrishna one hundred and fifty years back one gets amazed by the significance that it conveys and the immense possibilities if one actually wants to actualize this statement. This one statement has the potential of reconciling all differences, ensuring world peace and universal brotherhood in social and spiritual realm. But this one also holds immense potential in material life. The key here is respecting every opinion and thought without evaluating them at their face value and judging them by their merits without any prejudice. In this way apparently irreconcilable problems become reconcilable, and differences cease to exist. All differences stem from ego and selfish interests or conflict of interest. When I have a different opinion from others I would definitely like to think that mine one has greater value. This would then lead to differences, clashes and politics. The general tendency is that ultimately one opinion or decision should prevail over the others, because we need to act on the basis of that decision. But Jato Mat Tato Path principle challenges this fundamental assumption that only one opinion can hold sway over others. It says, take all opinions, see what kind of paths they are offering and choose one which would fit with your inherent tendency for yourself. However always respect other paths as well. Do not think that just because you've not taken that path, that is not a path at all. That probably better suits another person. Therefore all opinions in materialistic terms should be valued in their context. All of them may be relevant in some context or the other and none can be junked at the face of it. When we begin to respect every opinion we're also able to bring the opinion maker in our sway. We're able to show the contexts in which the opinions would be valid and the contexts in which they probably would not work that well. This creates mutual trust and harmony, because most of the disharmony occurs on account of disrespect, one over the other, one at the expense of all others. When all others become equally important to me as the one that would fit me, I begin the see the immense possibilities they hold. For each of them would lead to a definite goal and conclusion under different circumstances and would be apt for that circumstance. If we put this in the context of contemporary politics where differences seem to be irreconcilable and opinions are many, we see that the problem lies with the attitude of "holier than thou" attitude. When we realize this we begin the see that even in the most intricate problem solution may emerge if we are ready to shed the differences not by conceding our grounds but by respecting other grounds. Of course this assumes that the others are sincere about the core problem and their opinions are straight from their heart and not some concocted and fabricated selfish hidden agenda driven. But then again in a corporate scenario most often the varied opinions stem from a genuine motive to resolve the problem and hence there are enormous possibilities of ensuring harmony if only we follow the great sage's prescription.