Perception: Sense Perception, This and That  

By K S RAM  

Perception: Sense Perception, This and That  

"All that belongs to the realm of senses, including thought, constitutes This. What is beyond the reach of our senses and mind is That," said the Guru .

The young, no-nonsense pupil shook his head, unwilling to accept an abstract point. "But, Sir," he queried, "Why should we at all confuse our minds with what is not real?" The Guru smiled. "Can you show me here something that you consider real?" he asked the pupil. "Of course!" replied the pupil and, pointing to a bell that was dangling from the ceiling, said: "This bell, for instance. I say this is real. But if you want me to believe in a second bell which is not here, well, I find it hard to take that."

The Guru smiled again. He asked: "What makes you call this bell real?"

Pupil: "Why, I see it clearly before me with my eyes!"

Guru: "Suppose you are blind, will not this bell become unreal?"

Pupil: "Not at all. Because even though blind, I can hear the bell ringing which is evidence of its reality."

Guru: "Suppose you are deaf?"

Pupil: "Well, I can still feel the bell with my hands. The bell remains real."

Guru: "Suppose your sense of touch is benumbed...what if you neither feel nor see nor hear nor taste? What happens to the bell?"

The pupil began to see a point. "And, now," said the Guru, ''let's reverse the situation. You are like a corpse which can perceive nothing. I invest you with just one sense, the sense of touch. You feel the bell; it becomes real for you. I give you back another sense: you can now hear the sound of the bell. Does it therefore become 'more' real? I give you back your eyes. Does the bell become still more real? I give back to you all the five senses: the bell for you is 'totally' real! Do you agree?"

The pupil tentatively nodded 'yes'.

"How absurd and vain!" exclaimed the Guru . ''How can you assume that there are only five senses of perception? Suppose I give you a sixth sense, does it not add an entirely new dimension of reality to the bell? Suppose I give you a seventh...a tenth... a thousandth sense of perception? What does the bell transform into? Equipped with a thousand different senses of perception, will you be able to recognise what you presently recognise as this bell? Even then, your perception of the reality of the bell cannot be called total."

The pupil surrendered in silent understanding. "My boy," said the Guru, "what belongs to the realm of senses, including thought, is 'This' (idam). What is beyond the reach of senses is 'That' (adah). Vedanta is all about This and That... The prelude to the Upanishads says: This is a Whole. That is a Whole. This Whole has issued from That Whole. When This Whole issued from That, That Whole remained a Whole."

The Guru proceeded to instruct the pupil in the basics of faith in God. You should not reject God because you cannot perceive Him with your limited senses. God is That. He is also This. Intellectual humility is born of understanding the limitations of your understanding. Faith is founded on this wisdom born of humility. What we perceive with our limited sensory equipment is a minute fraction of what is real. The That is beyond the reach of even your imagination, because your imagination is rooted in what you perceive.

To imagine how imagination fails in the realm of That, God cannot be defined because all definitions belong to the realm of This, and God is That. Little wonder then, that our sages described God (Brahman) negatively as neti, neti - not-this, not-this. Every devotee can feel God, but only to a worthy devotee does He reveal Himself completely.

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More from same author see: K S RAM  

See also: Perception, Faith and Belief, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)