The Different Perception of the Same Object.

Religion is all about perception. The way one perceives the world and its objects depend upon the attitude of the spiritual aspirant, and the religious ideal which one has accepted as true. The choice of the religious ideal largely depends upon the mental constituent of the subject. The path chosen by the subject to unfold itself is the path of least resistance for the subject. Any change in the natural progress of the subject towards the ideal will, therefore, have a negative effect on the subject. Therefore, an individual must be given the freedom of choice to choose the correct religious ideal.

freedom of choice of religion

The choice of religious ideal and attitude depends on many factors. They are,

1.       The mental constituent of the subject:

The mental constituent of the subject as we have seen is the path of least resistance for the subject. The mind flows freely and naturally towards the ideal. A man finds more comfortable and more adaptable in this ideal when compared to other.

2.       The nature of the ultimate reality:

It is the choice of the nature of the ultimate reality which one believes as true. Some aspirants believe God with form and for some other it is God without form. For some aspirants, the ultimate reality is the complete independence of Purusha from Prakriti. For some aspirants, the ultimate reality is 'sunyata' and for some, the ultimate reality is heaven and so on.

3.       The gender and the spiritual attitude:

The gender largely plays a role in defining the spiritual attitude of the subject. For example, Yashoda’s attitude towards Sri Krishna can be imitated only by a female aspirant. The same holds true with the attitude of love of Radha towards Sri Krishna. The exceptions are great Avatars who can impersonate any ideal. But as far an ordinary spiritual aspirant is concerned, it would be safe if one practices an ideal which corresponds to the gender.

Sri Krishna

4.       The religious background:

The religious background which one is accustomed to also plays a large role in determining the religious ideal of the aspirant. The religious background provides a man the much-needed tools for the practice of the religious ideal.

Once when the aspirant has chosen his religious ideal there comes the way of perception of the world and its objects. Each aspirant perceives the world and its object in a certain way based on the above factors. All religious conflict in the world is because of the contradictory nature of the perception of the world and its objects among different religious ideals.

For example, we will examine an object, say an ice cream or a chocolate or any object of temptation, and we will see how each religious aspirant views them in their perspective.

1.    According to Advaita Vedanta what exists is ‘One Absolute’. According to this philosophy the world and its objects absolutely doesn’t exist at all. The seemingly or apparent existence of the world is because of ‘Maya or an illusion’. Therefore, the aspirant views the apparent existence of the chocolate as the outcome of Maya or illusion.

Maya or illusion

2.   According to the Samkhya and Yoga philosophy, the objects are the outcome of the modifications of Prakriti. The objects are the outcome of the modifications of the gunas. According to this philosophy, the objects bind Purusha or pure consciousness to Prakriti and the result is pain and suffering. The aspirants of this ideal view the objects as the source of pain. Therefore, an aspirant views the chocolate as the source of pain.

3.    For the practitioners of Bhakti, the objects of temptation, have the tendency to pollute the mind. The cleansing of the mind from all 'malas' or impurities is the primary task for the practitioners of bhakti. Once, the mind is cleansed from all impurities, the God, who is of nature of pure consciousness is reflected clearly in the mind. Therefore, an aspirant of this path views the chocolate as an impure substance.

4.     For Buddhists, the objects do not have any substantial reality. The objects of the world are in a continuous state of flux and without any substantial reality. They take up the uncertainty principle which says that the position and the velocity of the objects cannot be determined exactly. The aspirants of this path, view the chocolate as ‘Sunya’ or the substance without any reality.

Sunyata of Buddhism

5.     For the followers of Christ, the objects of temptation prevent the aspirant from following Christ. The temptation is the work of the devil. The devil is always at work and waits to devour a person in the form of temptations. Therefore, they regard the chocolate as the work of the devil.

There are so many religious ideals which view objects in a different light. Now we have seen how one aspirant sees an object as the outcome of illusion, another as the work of the devil, another as the source of pain, another as impure, and another without any substantial reality and so on.

The greatness of Sri Ramakrishna is that he has practiced all ideals and attitude and found them to be true. Sri Ramakrishna is the culmination of all religious ideals found in the world. Men who join under the umbrella of Sri Ramakrishna are from diverse religious backgrounds and diverse religious ideals, and yet they find their religious ideals culminating in the form of Sri Ramakrishna.

           Therefore, it is madness to insist one particular ideal as true and rest of them as false. The beauty of religion is in its diversity. The broad attitude and acceptance of different religious ideals bring peace to the world.

Thank You.

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