ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

The seen is within the 'seer'

Updated on December 2, 2011

Who is the seer?

The title itself is intriguing to many. Neither I am quite comfortable with the subject chosen but I have come across this statement in certain texts of philosophy. Let us delve on this subject since I am also new to this philosophy.

First, let us try to define the terms, 'seer and seen'. The 'seen' is all that we see in the external world including our own body. Then what constitute the seer? Are we not the 'seer'? Let us first understand the process of seeing itself. How everything is seen? I have read in some books which poses a question. Are the scenes fall on our eyes or the eye seek the scenes? Even while we examine this aspect, let us assume that the rays fall on our eyes, caught in the retina in upside down fashion. The optical nerves convey the scene to the brain which perceives the scene in straight way. Now 'light' is the medium through which our eyes captures the scenes which falls in the eye screen through the lens. Now, we understand that the eye is only an organ which do not perceive the scene but the brain reconstruct the image. But, the scriptures say, it is not the brain but there is a seer behind who perceives the pictures. Then, the real question arises. Are we not the seers? The scriptures assert that the physical entity called human beings are also included in the scene category but there is an 'invisible seer' who utilize the body, mind and senses to see the world!

Again, the scriptures assert that the 'seer' is none other than the "SELF" of every individual. The bodies of each individual may differ but the 'seer' in each and every body is one and the same.There are no two 'seers' since the self is one only as per the non dual philosophy advocated by Adhi Sankara and many other saints in India. In fact, Vivekananda too subscribed to this view. During his historic lecture in Chicago, he said, "The centers are everywhere but the circumference is nowhere. Each individual self and the cosmic Self are one and the same. The individual 'i'(ego self) falsely identifies itself with the body and feels that he is the enjoyer or sufferer. It is the 'myness', the feeling of identity with the body makes him to think in this fashion. But the real 'seer' is behind all this illusions created by the mind! Here, I remember an episode in the life of great saint Ramana Maharishi of Thiruvannamalai, in South India. When he was seriously ill with carcinoma, and he was about to pass away, the devotees pleaded with him, "not to leave them'. To this Sri Ramana Maharishi replied, "Where I can go, I am always here". It is a very profound statement. He is not referring to the dying body. He is referring the 'immortal self' which neither comes nor goes. It was there before, It is now here, It is going to be here forever. It is not born nor it suffers death. Only the bodies takes birth and perish since they came in between and hence they will perish. Which comes in the middle goes away too. But the Self or the SEER is ever present everywhere.

The conclusion is 'neither the eye, nor the brain nor the individual is the seer. All these are 'seen'. The seer is the SELF alone!

Ramana maharishi absorbed in the Self.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)