Microsoft Word - Taimni - The Science of Yoga.doc

he does not need to adopt this crude method of discovery and investigation if he is able
to get a light. He can see them directly. Knowledge on the spiritual planes beyond the
intellect is based neither on inference nor on testimony but only on direct cognition.
But this direct cognition, unlike the direct cognition through the sense-organs, is not
subject to error and does not require correction by means of inference and testimony.
What does the phrase Visesarthatvat mean? Literally, it means ‘because of hav-
ing a particular object’. It has been pointed out already that the intellect is capable of
grasping only one thing at a time, either one object or one aspect of an object. It is this
fragmentation of knowledge, this inability to see things in the background of the whole
which is the greatest limitation of intellectual perception and intuitive perception is
free from this limitation. In the higher realms of consciousness each object is seen not
in isolation but as part of a whole in which all truths, laws and principles have their
due place. The intellect is like a telescope which can be directed only on a particular
star and can see it in isolation from other stars. Intuitive consciousness is like the eye
which can see the whole heavens simultaneously and in true perspective. The analogy
is no doubt crude but it may help the student to grasp the difference between the two
types of consciousness.
The need for taking the help of inference and testimony arises because of the
insufficiency of knowledge and this insufficiency is due to the absence of the whole in
the background. It is true that intuitive knowledge may not be perfect and may lack the
precision and detail of intellectual knowledge but as far as it goes it is free from the
possibility of error and distortion. A dim light in a big room may not give a clear pic-
ture of its contents but it enables things to be seen in their proper proportion and per-
spective. As the light becomes stronger all things are seen more clearly but in the same
proportion and perspective. On the other hand a man who is groping in the dark, feel-
ing one object after another, may get an entirely wrong idea with regard to any object
and will have to revise his uncertain conclusions constantly and sometimes drastically.