PYS IV.15 vastu-sāmye citta-bhedāt tayor vibhaktah panthāh Each individual person perceives the same object in a different way, according to their own state of mind and projections. Everything is empty from its own side and appears according to how you see it. There is a story called The Blind Men and the Elephant, where four blind men were brought to the presence of an elephant for the first time. The first man touched the leg, noticed that it is strong, steady, and solid, and concluded that an elephant is like a pillar. The second man touched the trunk, noticed that it is soft, flexible, and has a hole at the end, and concluded that an elephant is like a hose. The third man touched the tusk, noticed that it is hard, smooth, and pointed, and concluded that an elephant is like a spear. The fourth man touched the ear, and felt the breeze created by the ear flapping side to side, and concluded that an elephant is like a fan. When the four blind men met, their discussion escalated to an argument. One insisted that an elephant is like a pillar, another a hose, another a spear, and another a fan. Each person was attached to his own experience and unwilling to accept the truth that the others shared. As we can see, all of them are correct, but all of them have experiences and perceptions that are limited. Our own perception of the world, like a blind man's experience of an elephant, is personal and unique and beautiful, but it is also subjective and partial and incomplete. If we want to be free, then we must release ourselves from the bondage of thinking that our way is the only way, our view is the only valid view, our reality is the only acceptable reality. Try this visualization exercise. In your mind's eye, see yourself as you are right now, in the exact place where you are. Now zoom out and see the room that you are in, then the location or the building, then the city. See how many different individuals there are with different opinions and perspectives and realities. Zoom out to the country, and to the continent, and to the world. See how even more varied the opinions and perspectives and realities become. See how you are where you are, occupying a small space in this Earth, touching a very small part of reality. In the universe that is like the elephant, notice how easily we could be like one of the blind men, attached to our own experience and unwilling to see the big picture. If our interest is in Yoga, then we become grateful enough to validate our own experience while being humble enough to acknowledge the more expansive view of the world that is out there.
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