Perception - Part 1

“When one thinks, then he understands; without having thought, one does not know; it is only after having thought that one understands.”

- Chhandogya Upanishad, VII-xxi-1

There are two compartments in the mind, viz., the thinking portion and the perceiving portion. It is easy to stop the thinking portion, but it is extremely difficult to stop the functioning of the perceiving portion.

It is only the individual mind that sees objects outside. If you see the same objects through a telescope, they appear different. If you can see with the mind directly, you will have a different vision altogether. Soul has quite a different vision. He sees everything as a vibration or movement within himself as his own Sankalpa (resolution), just as you can imagine within your own mind that a big war is going on and many people are dying on either side. You withdraw your imagination at your will.

Theories of Perception

There is the elastic theory of the mind. This school of thought says that the mind becomes elastic when several objects come in contact with the various senses and thus puts itself simultaneously into touch with various sense-organs or senses of knowledge.

When the mind comes in contact with one object and one Sense, it contracts to a point. This theory is exploded and refuted by the some as unsound.

There is another school of thought that says that there are different compartments or parts in the mind. One part of the mind connects itself with one sense, another part with a second sense and so on. This theory is similarly blown up and discarded by the some as untenable and unsound.

According to a school of thought, the perceiver and the perceived are one. Just as the spider weaves out the web from its own body, even so the mind throws out this physical universe from its own body during waking state and withdraws the world into its womb during sleep. An object is a mental nature externalized or objectified.

The world what you see outside is due to mental Ignorance. There is only light outside. There is only vibration outside. It is the mind that gives color and shape. It is all mental deception. This is one view. This is one theory of perception.

The interaction between the mind inside and the vibrations outside is the object or the world that you see outside. This is one theory of perception. Mind is formed out of the Sattvic portion of the five Tanmatras (The tanmatras, the subtle elements, are the objects of the five senses. The five tanmatras are sound, touch, form, taste, and odor or smell). There is light outside. The sun also emits light. The eye is made up of fire principle. That portion of the mind which perceives is also made up of fire principle. So fire sees fire. Only that portion of the mind which is made up of Sound-Tanmatra can hear. Sound comes from Akasa (Sky, Etheric) outside. So Akasa of the mind hears Akasa from outside. But, Soul can see, hear, taste and feel everything. Soul only can be seen by Soul. Therefore, whatever you see outside is Soul only.

Reference

Mind – Its Mysteries and Control by Sri Swami Sivananda