Behind the Human Mind

What allows the human mind to see, think and enjoy this world?

 



"Know that when the eye looks into space it is the spirit of man that sees: the eye is only the organ of sight. When one says I feel this perfume', it is the spirit that feels: he uses the organ of smell.  When one says, 'I am speaking', it is the Spirit that speaks: the voice is the organ of speech. When one says, 'I am hearing', it is the Spirit that hears: the ear is the organ of hearing. And when one says, 'I think', it is the Spirit that thinks: the mind is the organ of thought. It is because of the light of the Spirit that the human mind can see, and think, and enjoy this world" 
-( An excerpt from Juan Mascaro's translation of the Chandogya Upanishads(1965, Penguin) as quoted in The Complete Yoga Book ( Hewitt, 1977, pg 487)

For what it is worth...I shot that in manual mode: f-5.3; 1/1250....ISO 100 at 220 mm.  It really doesn't make a lick of difference does it?  Not the greatest shot but I feel it.

The point is I see how shiny that hump backs dorsal area is, how the light just bounces off it; I can smell the salt water again; I can almost reach out and feel the sleek wetness of his skin. Why?  Not because of my senses, not because of my camera. Because of Spirit. 

It was Spirit that allowed me to experience this whale and it was Spirit that allowed me to capture it on camera and in my memory. The body and the camera are just organs that allow us to do this.

Spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer it has chosen.-Minor White

Reference

Hewitt, James.(1977) The Complete Yoga Book. New York: Schocken Books