The Reality of Subjective Visions and Objective Sight

Modern society, influenced heavily by the scientific/technical focus of the West, puts a premium on the concept of “objectivity” versus anything that can be considered ‘subjective’, which is then treated with suspicion and largely dismissed. This implies several things. First, it implies that the “objectivity” is itself truly ‘objective’ and not subject to the influence of the observer. This however is being debunked as we delve deeper into quantum mechanics and the research being done in that field. Second, it implies that only the external physical plane and its objects are real, and that internal reality and other domains or planes of existence are somehow less ‘real’ and therefore of a lesser level of credence and acceptance.

It is interesting to note that traditional understanding in other cultures, and certainly in that of India with its long history in the field of philosophy, yoga, and spiritual science, actually treats the physical object as the result of the action of more subtle domains and thus, less ‘real’ than the originating planes and their native action and power. The Taittiriya Upanishad in particular takes us through the development of understanding of a young disciple, Bhrigu, who undertakes to learn the cause and nature of existence. He starts, as did Western science, with the external physical reality, but soon comes understand that this is a result of a prior cause, the vital level of existence, the ‘prana’ of the universal energy. With further reflection, he recognises mind as the causative agent of the existence, but even this is not the conclusion. He then moves to the formative, causative power of the creation, and eventually concludes that ‘ananda’, or ‘bliss’ which is co-equal with ‘sat’, existence and ‘chit’, consciousness, is the ultimate cause.

We see a similar progression in Western science now taking place before our eyes. Scientists now claim that Matter is a form of condensed energy, and by certain means, they have shown they can liberate enormous amounts of energy from limited amounts of matter. Now they are moving to the next rung of this ladder of understanding and scientists are now recognizing, more and more, that consciousness is actually the root cause of energy, and thus, material substance eventually.

Once we recognize the reality and the priority of these more subtle domains of existence, we need to redefine our sense of subjective versus objective, since objective facts placed before the external senses are necessarily derivative and not primary facts, and it is the ‘subjective’ reality of the realms of consciousness, that determine this external world we see around us and respond to with our external, surface consciousness.

As consciousness continues to evolve and develop, we can expect that things we cannot currently perceive with our external senses will become sensible to us in other way. This is an ongoing process and some individuals may develop these capacities earlier than others. This does not mean that they are not “real”, it simply means that not everyone will be able to validate them at the same time. We need to adjust our view of these matters from a ‘static, fixed’ view to a more fluid ‘dynamic, evolving’ view.

Sri Aurobindo notes: “Subjective visions can be as real as objective sight — the only difference is that one is of real things in material space, while the others are of real things belonging to other planes down to the subtle physical; even symbolic visions are real in so far as they are symbols of realities. Even dreams can have a reality in the subtle domain. Visions are unreal only when these are merely imaginative mental formations, not representing anything that is true or was true or is going to be true.”

“This power of vision is sometimes inborn and habitual even without any effort of development, sometimes it wakes up of itself and becomes abundant or needs only a little practice to develop; it is not necessarily a sign of spiritual attainment, but usually when by practice of yoga one begins to go inside or live within, the power of subtle vision awakes to a greater or less extent; but this does not always happen easily, especially if one has been habituated to live much in the intellect or in an outward vital consciousness.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Powers Within, Chapter XIX Occult Powers of the Subliminal, pg. 151