Are You Seeing Truth or Just Your Version of It
Aum
Dear Beautiful People
This was a small exercise to illustrate Vedanta’s three realms of reality. We rarely see reality as it truly is; we mostly experience our perception of reality. Wisdom begins when we recognize that our personal assessment is just one layer of truth.
Vedanta outlines three levels of reality to help us navigate this distinction:
Pratibhasika (Subjective or Individual Reality): This is your personal, momentary, and often illusory truth. Each mind interprets situations differently - like the different meaning we gave to this image. Your initial, emotional take on a situation represents your Pratibhasika truth.
Vyavaharika (Transactional or Collective Reality): This is the conventional truth necessary for daily life and shared understanding. It emerges when individual perspectives converge to a commonly agreed perspective - for instance, agreeing that the image represents 1957. Stable and practical, it is the reality most people rely on for interaction, but it still doesn’t reveal the ultimate essence.
Paramarthika (Absolute Reality): This is the unchanging, ultimate truth underlying everything. Using the example of the current image, Paramarthika truth is recognizing that the image is of human beings with the same inherent consciousness. It is the essence that transcends momentary differences.
When we base our judgments solely on Pratibhasika or individual perception, we see only a partial and unstable reality.
A simple Vedic directive helps us expand our view, beautifully symbolized by Lord Ganesha’s small, focused eyes:
Take a step back. Before declaring something “the truth,” pause and recognize that your initial perception is just your Pratibhasika - a subjective interpretation.
* Step back once more. Consider the other person’s Pratibhasika - their perspective shaped by experience, emotion, and context. But just because many agree on something does not make it the Paramarthika or the absolute truth.
* Step back further. Seek the Paramarthika - the unchanging essence underlying the situation, the ultimate truth beyond individual or collective perception.
By moving consciously through these layers, we cultivate clarity, discernment, and equanimity, learning to act from insight rather than reaction. Like Lord Ganesha’s focused gaze, our perception becomes precise, discerning, and aligned with universal wisdom.
Wishing you Love and Light
Your Partner in Positive Change
Nivedita
