That things, even material things exist beyond the limits of the senses is well known, isn’t it. The universe is teeming with very small objects that the eyes cannot see, the ears cannot hear because the sense organs are limited by their present evolutionary capacity. Even ordinarily dogs and early humanity not corrupted and conditioned by the rational mind’s limitations perceive things that we do not. That is how certain tribes and animals sensed the tsunami and escaped it. The limits of our sight is not the limit of Light and the limit of our hearing is not the limit of vibrational frequencies that exist in the universe.
What about the mind? Here too we see that there are some minds that can assimilate deep and complex subjects, whereas others struggle with basics. I am not speaking of the mentally challenged but in the general mass of humanity. The intelligence may range from 110 to 220 or more. What is the reason for this difference? The genetic theory of IQ has been disproved and the brains studied so far (postmortem) have been basically the same. So what makes the difference between a Ramanujam, an Einstein and others? Well one simple way to explain it is that the brain is like the hardware or the handset of a mobile. The mind is like the software put into into it, by whom or by what? Well the user, isn’t it? So there is a skinware or the man behind the machine who puts the software. The user is the self within us who uses the same handset and the software for one kind of activity or another. When the self in man is identified with the little surface personality then it uses the brain and body as its conditioning by heredity and circumstances prompts it. But if the Self is identified with something deeper within us then it uses the same body-brain-mind complex differently.
We can go deeper. What really are the material objects that the senses and mind perceive? Hard facts or constructs of the mind and senses? Science tells us it is all primarily Energy. But what shapes senses and forms out of this formidable primordial Energy? Wherefrom comes the sense of self, if we are simply unconscious genes and brains? What is the neurological basis of attention and awareness that begins from the early animal life and even in plants? What creates the cosmic order out of a senseless whorl of cosmic energy directing it towards meaningful ends, purposeful activities and bringing out of inert material substance living creatures and thinking man itself? To understand this one has to go one step behind and postulate Consciousness as the fundamental basis of the universe. But that will be going far beyond the limits of your present inquiry. Though a number of scientists are already speaking of it.
Now the yogic science already knew these things that are at the cutting edge of scientific thought today. The yogi is able to enlarge and expand his senses, make them receptive to subtler objects and forces through inner evolution and hence perceive things not accessible to the ordinary sensory workings. It is a process not based on any belief or non-belief and is replicable if anyone fulfils the conditions. That is why it is known as yogic science.
This is a very brief summary background. You may hear some of the podcasts on these issues or read Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo for delving deeper into it.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
