One who can meticulously discover the meeting point of his head and heart can hope to open up the door of his soul, and aspire to be blessed with the power of insight, says BATURAM NAYAK
It is said: “There’s more (to someone or something) than that meets the eye.” What is that ‘more’ about a thing, which our eyesight fails to see? Is there an adequately developed tool or a finely sharpened technique that can make the camouflaged aspect of a thing visible, so that we could explore its utility for the conduct of our living? How worthwhile is it for a man to seek something which lies beyond his sight?
It would perhaps not be an overstatement to say that the entire quest of man over time has been an attempt to comprehend and articulate the hidden dimension of reality, which remains camouflaged beyond his sight?
However, this exercise has not been an easy task, because attainment of cognitive excellence is much more than an intellectual exercise. It is far bigger than the optimal utilisation of the sensory organs and the ‘eye of the mind’, which are just tuned and trained for the conduct of intelligent living.
Perhaps that is why Lord Byron said: “Sorrow is knowledge, those that know the most must mourn the deepest. The tree of knowledge is not the tree of life.” Biologist and anthropologist T H Huxley also so succinctly remarked: “If a little learning is dangerous, how can man hope to be out of danger with so much of learning?”
How can a man be at rest then, when so much is as yet left for him to learn in a small lifetime? More than that, can he ever comprehend infinite knowledge through the limited ability of a finite mind? Seers say, ‘knowledge for understanding’ is far more superior to the knowledge for living.
Personal excellence implies more than an intelligent living. To achieve that, one ought to explore ‘the eye of the heart’, which facilitates a deeper understanding. However, it remains normally dormant, inactivated, and unutilised in us for a larger part of our lifetime.
The eye of the mind produces a vision, a thought, or an opinion for intellectual excellence. However, the eye of the heart produces an insight, and it is far superior to thoughts and opinions, as natural by products of the intellectual exercise.
A flair for insight is often the moment of truth for a man. An insight is a perfect state of inner perception…it is the ‘perception of one’s invisibility’, and that precisely is the beginning of light, which in turn shapes and supplements one’s capability of higher-vision…the purging of one’s own perception to the point of pure delight.
In a definite sense, transition from an assessment mode to an understanding mode is the basis of an individual’s metamorphosis. This is the moment when one has an encounter with his real self and a taste of his own freedom with a flash of overwhelming light.
Seers have called this as ‘insightful learning’ or the path to ‘self-realisation’, which occurs only, and only when one’s perception is directed inside.
As it happens, one gathers the uncanny strength to cautiously move along the blinding alleys of his mind and beyond that to the depth of the centre of his being, which is the witness of all happening with complete stillness. In this meditative mode, or साक्षी-भाव, one can perfectly tune with his own pulse and impulse, and wield it with calculated precision for personal excellence.
Experience tells us about existence, whereas insight tells us about truth. That is the essence of life, which we so painfully strive for all through our lives, to be in peace.
One who can meticulously discover the meeting point of his head and heart can hope to open up the door of his soul. Such an individual can also aspire to be blessed with the power of insight ― an overwhelming flash of his effervescent soul, which can liberate him with a vision of truth in a domain of unending delight.
(Featured image by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels)
Baturam Nayak, a postgraduate in economics, joined the banking sector in 1983 and retired in June 2020. He is a firm believer in simplicity and minimalism. “My faith is Oneness, एकत्वम्; that’s the way I would express myself and live in harmony with everything,” he says.
An intimate share on a comparatively difficult subject..
Yes Baturam babu! my Guru says there is a wonderful vast cosmos within. One when gets in discovers the vivacity of one’s own Self.
It is mind… mind when looses hold of indrias (senses) it tends to get in….
Then the road becomes blissful….
To be there with confidence, radiance and love is the final agenda of a life.
Very well written. I find a separate excellence in your articulation after your retirement.
You are on the ladder. Take step by step and enjoy the bliss of existence.
Nice ? post.
Gratitude Manas bhai for your inspiring words. You have always been a source of inspiration for me. Thanks and Regards. ??