What is reality, what is perception; what is truth and what is illusion?
Certainly, we do not see the world the same as it actually is, the interpretation of our mind is included in it. Our senses are medium of knowledge, but they add their own interpretation too. The liking of the eyes is added to the seen, the liking of the ears is added to the heard. Every interpretation of information received is partial and is dependent on the medium through which it is received.
The most profound knowledge given by the ancient sages such as Buddha and Shankara is that the world known through the senses is the projection of the senses on the world as we see it; they called it Maya – ‘illusion’.
The mind and the senses through which we receive the information add their own interpretation to it.
Each one of us lives in our own created world, our own ‘illusion’ of the world. There are as many illusions as there are people in the world. Whenever there is a collision between two worlds, there is disharmony. The child creates his own world, the father has already created his own world; they are bound to clash. The clash between husband and wife is a clash between two worlds. Most disagreements are caused by different perceptions that created different realities.
No two persons experience anything in the same way because no two persons are ever the same. Each one is different; our vision is different, our perception is different, our interpretation and expression are different. Hence our knowledge of reality is illusory; the world is not the same as what we see, it is our own projection, our own interpretation. We are not capable of experiencing the quality of our lives directly, we are only able to experience the quality of our thinking.
Because the way you want to see, you create what you want to see, this is Maya– illusion. Whenever there is a psychological intervention and manipulation of a happening, it is illusion. To know truth, one should endeavour to liberate one’s mind from delusion.
Buddha says- on your journey to seek truth don’t carry your knowledge. All the knowledge that you have gathered is not very helpful, it can hinder, but it cannot help, it can become an obstacle.
Instead, suggests Buddha, you should create some qualities, which can follow you like a shadow. He prescribed the following parmitas – virtues or qualities that one should cultivate in order to know the truth. These qualities will purify the mind and allow you to experience the reality.
The first quality is Dana– generosity, sharing. He does not mention what to share, what’s important is that you share, whether you share a smile, a song, a dance, or you share your experience, your meditation, your love or your money, your house, your skills; that is not important; it’s essential that you carry a sharing mind. Don’t be a possessor even of compassion, even of wisdom.
Ordinarily, we cling to our possessions, we are afraid, our attachments are more to things that to people, even our attachment to people is self-centered, there is no compassion in it.
Great masters always say- existence reflects you, if you share, existence shares with you. Never live with the idea that this belongs to me, be it your energy, words, things; whatever you have share with others.
The second is Shila, which means grace, living a graceful life, a life that has grace in it. A life of compassion, love, gratitude; a life that is responsible, a life that cares for others.
The third is Shanti, it means patience. He says the journey to find the truth is vast, you can’t be in a hurry; great patience is needed, infinite patience is needed. Patience and you feel you are present to witness it, when you are rushing madly, in your mad rush you can’t see.
When you are not rushing and your inner being is just still, here and now, the truth reflects – clarity dawns, all chaos disappears, all questions disappear. Buddha says: patience is the third quality.
The fourth is Vidya. Vidya has many meanings, by vidya he means energy and balance. One has to be continuously aware that one’s life energy shouldn’t be wasted in the unnecessary. We have great energy but we go on throwing it, in every way we dissipate energy, we never sit silently. We are almost obsessively occupied, we find it difficult to remain unoccupied. We are never empty, some eat too much, drink too much, smoke too much, some exercise too much, talk too much without content, worry too much; just to keep them occupied.
The fifth, Buddha calls Dhyan- meditation, doing nothing, silent sitting. Whenever you have time, don’t create unnecessary occupations, just sit silently, watch life flow. Just be and let things pass, just look at your inner silence. Just by sitting silently you grow a new quality to your being, you become more collected, more centered, more fulfilled.
Meditation is nothing but sitting silently, simply sitting so silently that there is no leakage of energy. The energy is directed inwards to raise your frequency.
The sixth quality Buddha calls Pragya. Pragya means wisdom. By wisdom he means that which is your own experience. Buddha says to drop all that you have gathered from others, throw it; drop all the weight that you have gathered from outside. Beliefs have to be dropped. Pragya means any experience that has become part of your being, that which has become part of your cognition.
Buddha says: Remember life is unrepeatable, truth is unrepeatable. Nobody else’s answer is going to help, you have to find your answer. Depend on only your own experience. Sort it out in your mind, throw all that is not yours, keep only that which you cognize as your own.
He says that if your heart is ready, if you have suffered life and understood the pain and frustration of it, if you have experienced that your world is empty, just illusory – and you are ready to move to the other shore without looking back; then you are ready to find the truth, these qualities will become your provisions for the journey.
Excerpted from: The Discipline of Transcendence, Vol. 4, by Sri Rajneesh
The Way Beyond Any Way, by Sri Rajneesh
Guaranteed Solutions, by Sri Nithyananda
