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Still, we've seen nothing, If we look at a tree and see a tree. But if we look at a tree and see a phenomenon of God, also we've seen everything.
still, we've seen nothing, If we look at a canine and see a canine. But if we look at a canine and see a living being like us, a soul trapped in a canine body and trying to communicate, we're seeing commodity which is nay and deeper.
still, we've seen nothing, If we look at people and see people. But if we look at them through their parents ’ eyes, we may see them as children who, no matter what their age and noway mind their excrescencies, are trying to attack life’s challenges with whatever capacities theyhave.However, we may begin to see further than what meets the eye, If we look at people that way.
still, we've seen nothing, If we look at our lunch and see food. But if we look at the food and see within it trouble and skill( of the chef), enormous work( of ranch workers, transporters, marketers) and nature’s support( sun, water, diseases), we're seeing a deeper reality and are suitable to eat with gratefulness and responsibility.
still, we've seen nothing, If we look at Covid vaccine and see thevaccine.However, we've felt nothing, If all we're concerned about is how it'll affect us. But if we look at the vaccine with thankful eyes and see in it the inexhaustible trouble and the amazing skill of thousands of scientists contending against time to save millions of lives, we may see and feel a whole lot further than is apparent.
exemplifications can fluently be multiplied, but the point is clear. What we see when we look depends on how deeply we look. utmost of the time we simply see the face and conclude that that’s the whole story. It nearly always is n’t. Everything and everyone is wrapped in layers( kośa). It's possible to go through the entire life simply dealing with layers and not with what’s within them, the real stuff.
still, our only response would be joy, love and gratefulness, If we saw the real stuff. All other kinds of responses are touched off by the layers, the coverings that hide the inner reality. Where do these layers come from? How do they palm themselves on everyone and everything?
The process by which reality gets hidden under layers is called superimposition( adhyāsa). The caching of what's real is bad enough, but what's worse isn't knowing that the real is hidden. As a result the layers do n’t appear as “ layers, ” but are incorrect for the real. It’s like mistaking a gift serape for the gift. All misconceptions and wrong judgments of people and effects affect from this.
The worst is yet to come. The layers cover not only people and effects, they cover indeed me, which is preposterous but sorely true. The real me is buried under layers — and it's these layers — the body, the mind, the pride — that pretend to be me. What this means, in effect, is that not only do I not see others as they truly are but I also I do n’t see myself as I truly am.
Seeing others and seeing myself are related. What I see outdoors depends on what I see outside. I do n’t see others as they truly are because I do n’t see myself as I truly am. Before I'm suitable to see others easily, I must be suitable to see my own tone easily.
We're formerly familiar with the classic rope/ snake illustration in Vedanta. A curled rope in asemi-dark room is incorrect for a snake. There's just enough light to know that commodity is present, but not enough light to know what that commodity is. This is the perfect terrain to mistake a rope for a snake. The reality of the rope is hidden and its place is taken by a snake. The rope seems to evaporate and the snake appears where the rope was.
generally when this illustration is cited, an bystander is said to enter the room, see the “ snake ” and is alarmed. also the light is switched on and the bystander sees rope where the “ snake ” was. This illustrates how superimposition takes place, but because we're dealing with objects( rope, snake), we tend to apply this illustration to our perception of the world. Which is a mistake, because the illustration is meant to educate us commodity about the tone, not about the world.
Let me try getting inside the rope. perhaps I'm asked to play the part of a rope in a Disney movie! I'm the rope now and I'm in the dark. The darkness this time is inside me, the darkness of ignorance. My rope- nature is hidden. It’s not completely dark however. There's enough light of knowledge for me to know that I'm someone, but not enough to know further than that.
What makes the situation truly awful is that I do n’t know that I do n’t know. I feel that I formerly know who I am. The snake- subcaste is now masquerading as me. The reality of my actuality is appropriated by the snake- subcaste and claimed as its own. That's what makes me suppose of myself as a snake. When there's eventually the light of knowledge, the snake- subcaste disappears and the retired rope- tone becomes visible. I no longer see myself as snake. I know, formerly again, that I'm the rope.
Nothing really has changed. I was always the rope. The mysterious darkness that sounded to cover me hid my true identity( “ the rope ”) and projected a false identity( “ the snake ”) in its place. But now the darkness disappears as mysteriously as it had appeared, taking away the false identity and filling me with the light of Truth, free formerly again to be my true tone.
The darkness reigns as long as I look superficially at myself and refuse to probe deeper into my identity. When I begin to look deeply, however, I start seeing what I hadn't seen ahead. That's when the transition from darkness to light begins. My tone- identity begins to change. The change frequently occurs( in the words of Ramakrishna) from the callow- I to the ripe- I. The process ends with the ripe- I incorporating into the true- I, the real me.
As I inch toward my true identity, effects begin to change dramatically. As my perception of myself evolves, the world I perceive also evolves. The further I change, the further does the world change for me. The further I see the godly in my heart, the further the godly in everyone and everything begins to shine for me. The key to changing the world is to change myself. All attempts to reform the situation around me without reforming myself will, at best, be temporary and, at worst, fail completely.
How vital it is, also, to not be superficial in our studies, words and conduct! It isn't enough to simply look at commodity or someone and be satisfied with what we see. We must look deeply, we must suppose deeply, we must watch deeply. Only also will I begin to see myself as I truly am, everyone as they truly are, and everything as it truly is. I'll be true and what I see will also be true. Truth seeing Truth, if that makes sense.
None of us wants our life to be reduced to wandering in darkness erratically, stumbling constantly, mumbling foolishly, doing substantially pointless chores and, when left alone, getting wearied to death until, when the time comes, being swallowed by death into deeper depths of darkness — aargh!