Isha Upanishad - Super school - Auroville - Isha Upanishad 901

SESSION IX − 7.02.2003

You should remember this and we have to do something, which is very urgent for some other reasons we'll understand it but otherwise whenever, however long you want me, I'll be with you. All right, but if there is something else, which is very pressing, then you kindly understand but still at present, Monday, Tuesday and afterwards, if I still have time and no other pressing pressure, I'll be with you, all right.

We are at the riddle, which has been posed by the statement of knowledge and ignorance. What is knowledge on what is ignorance? I said last time; ignorance is a state of ignoring. When an object is presented, all objects are presented, you look at them and you look only at a few of them and ignore all the rest. Then you are bound to pronounce your judgement in ignorance. What is the process by which you ignore that will give the clue by what process, we happen to ignore. A number of objects are given to you and you happen to look at a few and not all. There must be some process by which you happen to ignore, just give a thought to it for a moment and let us analyse it.

There is what is called process of non-observation. This non-observation may occur by virtue of the fact that you don't have the capacity to observe. If something is presented and I don't observe it, it is because I don't have the capacity to observe it. For example, we know that infrared and ultraviolet rays are there present all the time but we don't observe because we don't have the capacity to observe. Our eyes cannot observe the infrared and ultraviolet rays, our eyes are not capable.

Question: why?

Answer: This is the question. First of all, I'm only analysing the non-observation. It is only because we don't have the capacity to observe. The adequate question would follow, why don't we have the adequate capacity? Before you answer this question, we may have another question. I enter into a room, where I could observe the entire room if I wanted. But as soon as you enter the room, I see that a certain object is about to fall, so my attention is drawn to that object and nothing else. And I try and I rush simply to protect that object, so that it may not fall. Here non-observation is not there, here it is because of what reason, because of the pressure, as a result of which I concentrate only upon that object. Something has to be done on the spot. You can't wait, even before seeing anything else, I rush to the point. So, I ignore all the rest, I do not observe the rest. This small example is very important; it is called a process of exclusive concentration of consciousness. This exclusive concentration of consciousness is a power of consciousness. Consciousness has many powers but this particular power is very important, it is capable of exclusive concentration.