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SUTRAS
THE KEY TO THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE
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rary fashionable ideology29 regard the systematic application of these abilities as impossible - without ever having studied them.
We can use the more subtle channels in the same natural way we employ our senses. - Sensory knowledge (mati) - arises when we perceive objects and events through our five senses and the mind.
Sense-perception also includes the processing of this information by our mind, e.g. memorizing, recollection, deduction etc.
The clarity with which our senses and our mind perceive objects is determined by the number of karmic blocks that obstruct the functioning of this channel.
Sutra 13 to 19 explain the mechanics of sense-perception in more detail.
- Knowledge from external sources (sruti) - arises when we proc
ess and assimilate information obtained through verbal instruction or from scriptures and other media.
Knowledge from external sources give us access to a far wider range of reality than mere sense-perception. External knowledge makes us aware of experiences our conscious understanding would otherwise have missed. It offers us concepts how to choose from the multitude of alternatives the one path that manifests the values and ideals we feel deeply within us.30
29 the belief that the functioning of reality is only governed by the
mechanisms of matter - science 30 There is a huge difference between sense-perception and knowledge
gained from external sources. One example: Consider the fleeting sensation of intense awareness when we leave the dense hypnotic envelope of level one. As long as we use only sense-perception, these moments remain fleeting since we do not know what to do with them. - External knowledge gives us an idea how to interpret and to stabilize this experience. We now can extend their duration and transform this vibrant wakefulness into a firm foundation of our life.
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