The ignorance that we suffer from now is because of a certain mode of perception that we have. A certain way of seeing which is caused by the conditioning that our ego produces. In Sanskrit this mode of perception is called Parakalpita. Kalpita relates to something that is illusory, something that is false. This mode of perception is a view of life that is projected by the ego. In other words, we project our view. Our ego projects it. We see life simply as a physical thing, we only believe our five senses. And then we see everyone else as if they have the same point of view. Meaning, that we think everyone else sees things the way we do, as physical matter. If we have the focus entirely on money, on becoming famous, then we have this view and mistaken perception that everyone else must see things the same way. And so we compete with everyone else. We project our point of view, but it is an illusion, it is a lie.
This kind of identification is produced by desire. And when we say that desire produces identification, we can say that when we have a desire that arises within us, it causes us to forget everything else. We forget everything else and our focus becomes entirely on that desire, so we lose perspective. We forget the bigger picture. And then we begin to pursue that desire at all expense. Once again, we return to the example of an alcoholic. Someone who is desperately craving their next drink only sees that desire and will do anything to get it. The same occurs with a drug addict. They will do anything to satisfy that urge, to feed that addiction, to feed that sensation. When we become angry, when our anger is very strong, all we can see is the anger. Everything that appears to us is filtered by that anger. And so we project the point of view of that anger on everything. When we are out of work, out of money, at the brink of poverty, our fear affects everything we see. That ego, that form in the mind, discolors our entire mode of perception.
In other words, we do not see the whole picture. We fail to see the reality. This mode of perception is the mode of perception that all of us are existing within from moment to moment. But we ignore it, because our consciousness is asleep. We are not seeing those impulses that strike us physically, to act in certain ways, that strike us emotionally, to feel certain things, to crave certain things, to avoid others, and that strike us in the mind as thoughts. We think this body is who we are, our thoughts are our real self, and our feelings are genuine. And this is all mistaken. And it can all be demonstrated as mistaken if we awaken our consciousness.
The adulterer who becomes identified with her desire for another person becomes so absorbed in that lustful desire that she forgets her spouse. She forgets her children. This is Parakalpita, the mode of perception that is illusion. It is a distorted picture.
This form of identification is very evident when we watch television. We do not like to hear this. We really like TV. But when we watch TV and movies, we completely forget about ourselves. We become the movie. We become so identified with the story or the characters that we feel emotions. Our body will jump. We feel our pulse racing. We sweat. Because of something, an illusion, that is playing out on a little screen, that has hypnotized us, completely hypnotized us. We become so absorbed that we feel all kinds of emotions and thoughts and sensations that are not ours.
All of those thoughts and emotions and sensations are transactions of energy. They are a waste of energy. How can we say that this experience has improved our lives? That this has made us better people? How can we say that the few minutes we watch of a show and the few minutes we watch of commercials are good for us? When really, all it is is a form of programming. They even call it that. You know what “programming” means? Conditioning. When you program something you condition it to behave in a certain way. The television is programming you to behave in a certain way. To mimic the actors and actresses, to act like Al Pacino, or to act like your other stars that you like, to behave like them. It is also programming you to have certain kinds of humor, to indulge in your lust, to express your anger, to celebrate your envy, and to buy all the products that they desperately want you to buy. This is not beneficial for anyone except the actor or the advertiser, who is like a great vampire, sucking the blood (energy) of humanity.
This forgetfulness of self is the very ignorance at the root, the core, of the Wheel of Suffering. And this is why we always return to this point of view: pay attention. Be here now, be in your body, do not forget.
Be very aware of how you use your energy in each moment, because it has a consequence, a direct consequence.
Understand that if you learn how to overcome identification, you can begin to use your energy in a way that is harmonious with the development of your consciousness. That is why in Proverbs, it says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.” Righteous does not mean someone who believes. Someone who is righteous is someone who behaves properly. That behavior is not physical, it is conscious. It is behaviors in the mind and the heart. Behaviors of the consciousness, which are both beyond the body, and with the body.
If we are ignoring even the laws in the physical world, if we do not know how to behave in accordance with the laws here — for example, with our continued addictions to lust and alcohol and drugs and money and all the other things that we are addicted to — that is just here in Malkuth. We also have to learn how to act in harmony with all the other laws that modify nature, in all the other planes of consciousness. This is not easy to do. It is impossible to do if our consciousness is asleep, because we will have no awareness of those places. We have to develop that awareness by starting here and now.
As another example of how we ignore the Law and rely too heavily on science, there is this materialistic idea of how things function. To demonstrate for you that we really do not know what science is and not even science knows what matter is: Did you know that in recent experiments with a single particle, the scientists project that particle toward a card that has two holes, and that single particle can pass through both holes at the same time, and emerge on the other side as a single particle? The scientists are dumbfounded. How can that one thing be in two places at the same time? They can prove that it happens, but they cannot explain it. This is because matter and energy function in ways that our physical senses cannot perceive. Nonetheless, our consciousness can see it, and that is how the Buddha discovered the atom 2500 years ago, and understood the functions of energy. Because he could see it.