The Purpose of Personal Perception: Why I Make the World the Way I Do
HI, I AM SRI SRI CHIMPANZEE. How are you today? That's good. Now, let's get on with it.
Hang in there with this one; it’s not easy at first, and this is a long one. But it may be one of the most powerful realizations you ever have, and you may need to read it more than once, so focus in now.
From the individual’s point of view, your point of view (unconsciously until now), the purpose of perception is to maintain the existence of the individual perceiver. The perceiver, you, and its world are objects of perception and have no separate existence apart from the process of perceiving. Yes, even you, the individual perceiver, are an object of perception and have no separate existence apart from the process of perceiving.
We can call the process of perceiving the “Universal Mind.” The Universal Mind, which is your mind, is the creative capacity of the universe, or multi-verse, or Cosmos (whatever all-inclusive word you like that represents the totality). My world, my whole universe of conscious experience is made by the process of perceiving, and is purposive - perception serves a purpose. It is not random or merely "appearing." Nothing is merely "appearing," the whole universe of experience is purposive. You haven't realized this yet? Oh, you will. The process of perceiving is my own mind, the One Universal Mind.
Are you satisfied with the "only an appearance" or "everything is awareness" explanation of your conscious experience of the world?
When your foot is infected by a rusty nail lodged deep within, will calling it an illusion, or only an appearance, or one with awareness effect a cure? When your mind is infected by the idea, "I am a separate self," calling thoughts, emotions, sensations and experiences illusory, or only an appearance, or one with awareness is also ineffective; and quite silly. We can do better than that, yes? When your mind is cured of the idea, "I am a separate self," your self and your world as you know them are no more. And that is your fear.
Nothing is merely "appearing" on its own. Merely saying that objects are "only an appearance," or "illusury," or "one with awareness," is a sign of ignorance. Ignorance of how and why our conscious experience is made through the process of perception. And perception is made to fulfill a purpose. Do understand this. Perception is your problem and must be corrected. Running away to your "True Nature" will not help you because your True Nature is not your problem. Do not run away from the "appearance" of suffering. When you UNDERSTAND the illusory nature of the appearance of suffering it will dissolve on its own; but you must focus in and really understand it. Please, do yourself this favor.
Any appearance at all is a sign of ignorance, and ignorance is cleared away through understanding, not by repeating words or running away.
The Universal Mind (my mind - your mind) has all power over the universe of conscious experience because it is the creator or maker and perceiver of the universe of conscious experience. There is no conscious experience apart from that which is made by Universal Mind (my mind – your mind). The Universal Mind has all power over the universe of conscious experience so when it identifies itself with one of its creations and thinks the thought, “I am” this object, it becomes the object in its conscious experience. This is how the Big You becomes the little you.
The terms Universal Mind, or Universal Consciousness, or Creator-Preserver-Destroyer, or the dreamer-perceiver of separate existence are virtually synonymous, but can have different connotations depending on the context.
At the “highest” level, the purpose of the Universal Mind (your mind) is to know the love of being.
Everything in the universe loves “to be.” You love to exist. You love to be alive. You love to experience. You love to love. You love to be. Why? Because the purpose of the whole universe is to know, feel and experience the love of “being.” You may need to explore this idea a bit on your own, but you will soon notice it is universally true. Do not take it as true until you investigate it a bit though. If it is not already, it will become quite obvious.
It is crucial to understand this: the purpose of the Universal Mind, the whole universe of conscious experience is to know the love of being, to fulfill the universal desire "to be." I am. I know that I am. And I love to be.
When the Universal Mind identifies itself with one of its created ideas (you or me), it becomes that idea – “I am Sri Sri Chimpanzee, silly-ass smoker.” Do you like the lovely lucid alliteration? When the Universal Mind “becomes” one of its ideas, it experiences itself as separate from itself, separate from the whole, separate from all of its other ideas, which are based on the idea “not me.”
The Universal Mind, your mind, is so powerful (by the process of perception it is the maker of the universe of experience and nothing exists independent of it) that it can and does identify itself as one of its creations, the idea “I am Sri Sri Chimpanzee,” and it can and does temporarily forget or push out of consciousness into unconsciousness the fact that it is the creator and the created.
So now, you, as the Universal Mind, maker, dreamer and perceiver of the whole universe, have forgotten you are the creator; you divided yourself and identified yourself with one of your creations, and you experience yourself as though you played no role in your own creation, and as if you were created by some power separate from yourself.
I think it’s time to stop for a moment, step back and give yourself a round of applause! Bravo! Brilliant! Un-fucking-believable! Wow!! Amazing! And if you think you already know all of this, do yourself a favor and think again. If you don't know this, stay focused.
Okay, sit back down or they will come and take you away. “We’re coming to take you away, haa-haa, hee-hee, we’re coming to take you away!” “Who knows what evil lurks in the minds of men? The shadow do!” My dad used to quote those to me.
Now, let’s get back to that pesky purpose of Universal Consciousness, the Universal desire “to be.” The purpose of Universal Consciousness, your consciousness, is to know the love of being. The Universe loves to be, and know that it is: I exist, “I am.” Universal Consciousness, Universal Mind, your consciousness, your mind, loves to be, and will not be thwarted, it will not be stopped.
Here’s where the trouble begins; do you smell it brewing?
When I, as Universal Mind, which is the power of creation through perception, identify myself with one of my creations, Sri Sri Chimpanzee, the Universal desire “to be” stays with me because Sri Sri Chimpanzee is not separate from Universal Mind even though I think “I am” separate.
So now, Sri Sri Chimpanzee’s desire to be has the full force and power of the creator behind it. Sri Sri Chimpanzee, who experiences himself as separate from the creator, and separate from all of creation, still has the same Universal desire to exist, “to be,” and Sri Sri’s desire “to be” will not be thwarted because it is the Universal desire to be, and know the love of being - I am!
Do you see the problem developing here? It is my problem and your problem. Do not run away. Face it.
Now, Sri Sri believes he is separate from Universal Life, and separate from all of creation, he experiences himself as separate, and his desire and purpose is to maintain his own separate existence, his own separate being, his own experience of being Sri Sri; “I am” Sri Sri Chimpanzee! And he loves his own separate being with the full power and love of Universal Mind, the One Love of the Universe.
As Sri Sri looks out through his eyes, listens through his ears, senses through his body, thinks and feels with his heart and mind, everything he perceives serves one purpose. Everything Sri Sri perceives serves one purpose. EVERYTHING Sri Sri perceives serves ONE PURPOSE.
EVERYTHING SRI SRI CHIMPANZEE PERCEIVES SERVES ONE PURPOSE
The one purpose of Sri Sri’s perception is to maintain his separate personal existence. His whole universe of perceived experience is made to fulfill one purpose: to maintain his personal existence, to maintain his personal being, to know, feel, and experience the fact that “I am” Sri Sri Chimpanzee!
Anything in the world that threatens Sri Sri's personal existence will be perceived as “evil.” Anything in the world that supports Sri’s personal existence will be perceived as “good.” And off he goes to kill the evil ones, and “love” the good ones. He projects a world of good and evil; the “good” is for me; the “evil” is against me. And the war goes on.
And I need the war to go on. I need the separation to go on. I need the conflict to go on. When there is no war, when there is no conflict, when there is no separation, there is no Sri Sri Chimpanzee. Sri Sri Chimpanzee can only exist in the percieved separation from the One Universal Mind. In the One Universal Mind there is no separation, no separate me, no separate you; there is perfect oneness, perfect peace, perfect harmony, unconditional love - and no Sri Sri.
On the surface I claim to want perfect peace, harmony and unconditional love; but I know that in perfect peace, harmony and unconditional love "I am not," I have no separate being, I do not exist. And I will fight to the "death" to save what I percieve to be my own being, my own existence as Sri Sri Chimpanzee.
There is an "internal" battle going on in me: consciously I claim to want perfect peace, harmony and unconditional love, but below the level of consciousness, I know that in perfect peace, harmony and unconditional love, the I, as I perceive and experience myself to be, ceases "to be." This internal conflict, the desire to know, feel and experience myself as the One Universal Love of Being; and the fear of the loss of my separate being is the root cause of anxiety, fear, depression, anger, hatred, war, pain and suffering - the whole universe of personal conscious experience.
I will do whatever it takes to maintain my separation, maintain the pain (that rhymes), maintain the suffering, the conflict, the war. I will even use this brilliant teaching of Self Knowledge, this beautiful teaching of Oneness, Love and liberation as a weapon against my fellow man, my brothers and sisters who are learning and teaching the same brilliant and beautiful message. Why? Because we are petrified of what we are learning and teaching. We are scared shitless of perfect Oneness, scared shitless of unconditional love, perfect harmony, non-duality, Self Knowledge. We are scared shitless of the "death" of our own special, separate existence.
So we puff up our chests, posture, and pose as know-it-alls, as "true" teachers and "true" students of the one "true" teaching; and we cut ourselves off from each other, cut ourselves off from the true love of the One that we are. We silly boys and girls. And war is exactly what we want - to maintain our own special separate existence, to maintain the pain - at least we still exist!!
Oneness, unconditional love, perfect harmony and peace, Self Knowledge, non-duality, "Fuck that!" In perfect peace, harmony and love there is NOTHING in it for ME!!
Bring on the war!!
And that is the purpose of personal perception. That is why we make the world the way we do.
