We
live in a world of appearances, and take it
for real. In one way, of course, it is real,
as real as we are, but ultimately, because it
is impermanent, and changes constantly, it has
no lasting reality. Indian philosophy calls
this MAYA—Illusion. Things shimmer time
like a mirage for a moment in time, then are
gone.
Science
has shown that what we perceive as ‘solid
matter’ is not really solid at all, but
just patterns of energy, vibrating at different
rates, like sound-waves or light-waves. When
we see something, what happens is that light
waves impinge upon the retina, and are transmitted
via the optic-nerve to the brain, where they
are interpreted as colors; this process enables
us to distinguish forms, which otherwise we
could not do. If we were ever even aware of
it, we have long ago forgotten the process of
learning to interpret, being unable to reason
at that time. Do you remember what went on in
your brain as you lay in your crib, making baby-sounds
and trying to focus your sight on brightly-colored
objects suspended above you by your mother?
Probably not, but it was an essential part of
your development, nevertheless. Somehow, you
also learned about perspective: how people and
things at a distance were not as tiny as they
seemed, though nobody told you so. This also
required interpretation, by which we function
continuously and automatically.
Everything
is in process, becoming other than it is; things
break down, change and are transformed. Where
does anything begin and end? |
