We have all heard of the story of 6 bling men and the elephant.
A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: “We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable”. So, they sought it out, and when they found it they groped about it. The first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said, “This being is like a thick snake”. For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said the elephant, “is a wall”. Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.
So, this is perception, one can only see what one has seen and has an image in their minds / the limits of their polarisation and their ability to imagine (causing joy or anti joy) / their limit of knowledge, vision and wisdom.
The retention/creation of the image in an individual’s mind without contextual knowledge or introspection leads to a state of mind termed as CONDITIONING, generally from past events that were not processed properly in the first place.
Together a limited perception and a conditioned mind can never understand the WHOLE TRUTH, because their mind is immature and/or corrupted.
The TRUTH is that there is ONE REALITY of which we are all part of. We all are looking at just a small aspect of it. Unless we open our minds and overcome all perceptions, conditioning and establish ourselves in a stable mindset of observing without judgement – one will never be able to envisage the BIG TRUTH, because it is beyond the ability of the eyes and the logical mind of an individual struggling to overcome being judgemental due to past conditioning.
It is all a PLAY of consciousness.
Adi Shankaracharya in his commentary on the Sam Veda (Chandogya Upanishasd) states “etaddhasti darshana iva jatyandhah”
** Vedas are considered to be Apaurshya which means it is not the creation of any Human.
*** Contributed by my dear friend Mrs. Mridula Kulkarni (Yoga Master and Sanskrit exponent)
The Buddhist saying goes, “What YOU perceive is NOT what it IS , YOU perceive WHAT is within YOU.”
Werner Heisenberg a modern theologist says, “We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.”
How does one attain a clear perception, overcome a conditioned mind and establish oneself in a stable and clear state of mind. The overview of the process is reflecting on their own life experiences, study, identifying the limiting conditions of the mind and overcome them through choice, choice of food, exercise, introspection, observing cause and effect, meditation, being creative, minimising social engagement, overall detachment (non-FOMO), being self-centred (not selfish) and living in the NOW!
The non-judgemental eyes can see the authenticity amongst other individuals even if the behaviour could be contradictory because they have overcome the biases of perception, conditioning and in a state of mindful equanimity, which can be disturbing to those who are struggling to overcome the agents of duality with confused minds, cringed faces, anger and small dull eyes.