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THE SECRET OF THE LIFE OF THE SPIRIT
Let us take a lemon in our palm. We know that it is a lemon by seeing its colour and form. If it is dark, we can cognise it by its smell. We can also cognise it by touching and tasting it. All physical object are cognised by the senseorgans or by means of touch, taste, colour and sinell. But the colour and form of the lemon are not the lemon. These are only the modifications of the lemon. Each sense-organ is capable of cognising only a single modification of an object. The eye catches the colour only and the nose catches only the smell. The skin catches the touch only and the tongue catches only taste. What then is the object whose modifications alone are known by the sense-organs ? What is the real nature of the objects? Scientists have been trying to ascertain the essence of objects for centuries together and the search is continuing even today. They have come to know the particles of which things are made but the real nature of objects continues to evade scientific investigation.
Philosophers also have been engaged for the last thousands of years in search of the basic substance of the universe but they have not been able to as certain it. The difficulty arises because of the fact that the universe is composed of waves and waves only. The universe is a modification of its original substance. This substance remains hidden behind the waves and modifications. The sense-organs which catch the waves and modifications are themselves the modifications of the substance or of its waves. Each one of them can catch only a single modification of the substance. The eve for example can catch only colour. No sense-organ is capable of comprehending what lies behind the waves or modifications. Therefore, what lies beyond the waves or modifications
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