Ananda Coomaraswamy uses the image of a vast mountain inhabited by many nations settled around its base. Each nation is given a particular view of the mountain (according to their position at the bottom) which excludes and contradicts other points of view. Inevitably, they all describe the mountain differently and they all follow a separate path of ascent.
Those who climb the mountain may begin to see their own paths converging with others. Here at the bottom, diversity predominates. Until all the nations have reached the final summit, "can we blame men for fighting on behalf of their partial truths? Passionate attachment to a particular point of view often involves intolerance towards other, complementary positions"1 To be remembered in this connection is a verse from the Quran:
‘For each of you we have appointed a law and a way. Had God so willed he could have made you a single nation; but so that he may try you by that which He hath bestowed upon you (He willed otherwise). Therefore compete in doing good. Unto God ye will all return and he will enlighten you concerning that wherein ye differ’ (5:48).
Notes
* The mountain symbolises Truth and the "many nations" around the base of the mountain are religious communities. We only reach the mountains peak by following a particular path at the bottom. Religious particulars can never be dismissed as sectarian or opposed to universality. It is only through the particular that man is able to reach the Universal.
Reference
1. King of the Castle: Choice and Responsibility in the Modern World By Charles le Gai Eaton , page 205
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