The Real is Unknowable & the Knowable is Unreal - Robert Powell

One of our great difficulties is the power of sense perception in producing various misperceptions. For what we perceive is not at all what is. It must be well understood that what is is what is only and cannot be described; it can only be referred to. But one must be ever mindful of the fact that even such a reference lies still entirely within the field of Ignorance, and such fundamental ignorance of our nature is prescription for suffering.

Most people think that the basic duality lies within the apparent opposition mind/matter, but therein actually lies no duality at all. Mind depends on matter for its existence and matter in turn depends on mind for its perception. Each has a little of its antipode in it.

The Real cannot be perceived, for it lies beyond the field of perception, or perhaps better: Prior to the field of perception. A description can be given only of entities in space and time, but the latter are the product of sensory perception – that is, the body and its physiological processes. Since perception is a function of bodily processes and "body" itself is ultimately a physiological, mental precept, it has no ultimate reality. We are like waves in the ocean looking at other waves, but missing the Ocean in our perception.

© "The Mountain Path" (January-March 2003) published by Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai 606 603. Website:ramana-maharshi.org. Reprinted with permission.

<< Back