Dr. Vijai S Shankar MD.PhD.
Published on www.academy-advaita.com
The Netherlands
8th March 2016
The Seen
“Seer, seeing and seen are one”
The enlightened, great thinkers and great scientists, for example Albert Einstein, have indicated that the seen, meaning reality, is illusory. To the conditioned mind this indication is difficult to understand, because it is difficult to believe that the reality seen in daily life is illusory.
Daily life is real to the conditioned mind and not illusory. The problem in understanding that the seen is illusory is that, to the conditioned mind, illusory means the illusory does not exist. Surely the enlightened, great thinkers and in particular great scientists are aware that the seen does exist, because they do research using objects that do exist. But they indicate, however, that the seen that does exist is illusory and not real.
Religion, as well, has indicated that God is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. Science has provided the evidence that light is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient as well, because every atom of everything that exists is light.
This implies that God is light, and it is obvious that the inherent characteristic of light is to reflect an illusion, for example the mirror, because every atom of the mirror is light and every atom of the image that it reflects is light as well. Therefore, the image that a mirror reflects is illusory and not real.
Human physiology indicates that the eye only receives light-rays, yet man believes that the seen is real and not illusory. Smart phones and computers function only because of light, yet the seen in the smart phones and computers appears real and not illusory to man.
What could the understanding be of the luminaries of life and science that indicates that the seen is illusory and not real? The statement of the enlightened that the seer, seeing and the seen is one gives a clue that the seen is illusory and not real.
When the eyes are open there is only seeing. The seeing is identified by a thought. A thought, however, is invisible and the invisible cannot be seen. Therefore, the seen that exists and is identified by a thought has to be illusory and cannot be real. This implies that the seen is ONLY the seeing of the seer, and neither this or that. This is the meaning of the statement that the seer, seeing and the seen is one, meaning light, and that what is seen is illusory and not real.
Author: Dr. Vijai S. Shankar
© Copyright V.S. Shankar 2016
Editor’s note:
The mind is the prism through which man has become conditioned to experience and evaluate the world in which he or she lives and by which he or she has an understanding of the many issues in his or her life. It is the talisman to guide each and every individual for better or for worse. There is no fault in this. As is being revealed by Dr Shankar, man’s evolutionary journey progresses through this superficial or conditioned understanding to deep understanding or wisdom.
Julian Capper, UK.
German Translator’s Note:
The seen is invaluable for man on the quest for “truth”. In general, and especially when someone is on trial, the eyewitness is more credible than hearsay. Man is only willing to believe what he has seen with his own eyes. On a daily basis man argues with his fellow men about “what he has seen with his own eyes” and that it therefore has to be the truth. Everybody has logic and reason to proof his point of view as the truth. Seemingly man is on trial every day. Because of that, many human relations have failed already. Every point of view is – subjectively – right, but is not the same as reality. This understanding is wisdom. Equanimity in the light of the seen in life is the gift for humanity presented by Dr. Shankar in this article.
Marcus Stegmaier, Germany.
Dutch translator’s note:
Seeing is one of the most important sources of information about the world in which we live. For most people even more important than hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling. In this article Dr. Shankar proves that what is seen, is not real. If we enjoy the form and colour of a flower, we enjoy the flower we see in our mind. The statement of the enlightened that “the seer, seeing and seen are one”, obtains here an even deeper meaning. It reaches further than admiring the beauty and feeling connection with the flower. It is understanding that the flower and you are essentially one and the same.
Paula Smit, The Netherlands