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A recent observation and question for you and me about our relationship to the world:

1. Do you believe that we observe nature and then formulate our beliefs about reality from what we observe?

2. Or, do you believe that we hold beliefs about reality and then later find evidence for these beliefs in nature?

I can say that I used to believe number one was true, and now I believe number two to be the truth.

Number one is the standard materialistic view of the universe where nature and matter exist outside of us; we observe it, then we make conclusions about what we observed. In this way we build our knowledge of what reality is. Science becomes the ultimate vehicle for determining what is true by cataloging our observations and leading us to draw certain conclusions based on these observations.

One question that arises from this view is, What role do human beings play in our reality if we believe all of what is real lies only outside of us? If it is true that humans can’t change their reality and only observe it then it seems that we are victims of circumstance. Something about that just doesn’t sit right with me.

Over time I grew to understand the second statement and ultimately embrace it as the truth. I now believe we hold certain things to be true and then what we observe is evidence that does or does not support it. This view is in alignment with so-called New Age views. I started to notice that by believing in the possibility of spiritual truths I began to have more experiences that provided evidence of a spiritual dimension. An open mind allowed me to let in the possibility of new truths, truths I did not notice with a closed mind. Over time I began to see that the things we experience in life are the result of our thoughts. If we change our thoughts, we change our experience.

Our beliefs color our observations

It should be noted that just because we believe a thing to be true doesn’t mean it is. Believing something is true before we have evidence for it does not mean we know it is true, it just means that we are open to receive all information. We still have to be discerning in collecting information and in forming our beliefs about reality. Science is indispensable, but, in order to form a complete picture of reality it needs to be coupled with the larger truth that our thoughts form our experiences.

I used to be the person who believed he was wrong at everything, and I always found evidence to support that belief. Now, I know that I am not wrong about everything so I am not fixed in the same kind of self-defeating observations as before. My thoughts about myself, other people and society have changed, and so have my experiences. I can see now that reality is not limited to what we can observe but is intimately tied into the unlimited imagination.

The question of whether the universe is intelligent is crucial to understanding the true nature of our life and our world. If the universe is intelligent, then what we call God would be the source of that intelligence; if not, then the universe might just be a random series of events, as many of today’s academic scientists believe.

One implication of an intelligent universe is that we would each embody an aspect of the universal intelligence. Each human consciousness, then, becomes a representation of the universal, and each human life becomes one example of what an individualized portion of the whole can do.

Using our five senses we interpret and measure, quantify and organize the material world so that we can talk about it in a more meaningful way. We utilize the facts of our common experiences to explain to each other what we think about the world we live in. What we think becomes scientific when an experience can be duplicated under controlled circumstances, or falsified through observation or experimentation. But the common factor among all observations of the material world is that they are interpretations. By definition they use the intelligence of the human consciousness to claim something about the world. So the intelligence comes first.

What this proves is that our consciousness is a fundamental characteristic of life. Our intelligence is first, then there is the world. One conclusion that can be made from this is that since our consciousness itself is more fundamental than what our consciousness does (namely, interprets the material world), seeking to understand ourselves first is a wiser choice. While memorizing facts and understanding the order behind the material world is valuable, knowing the knower will give us more valuable information about the nature of life and intelligence.

A nice explanation of this point is given in the following interview with Gopi Krishna.

(The following is excerpted from “An Interview with Gopi Krishna,” for Kundalini Awakening Systems 1 http://www.kundaliniawakeningsystems1.com/downloads.html#checklist)

You take for granted there is an intelligence behind the universe?

Spiritual science is a science as logical, as consistent, and as demonstrable as any other science.

“Most surely. There would be no intelligence in us if there were no intelligence behind the universe.

But there are scientists of international reputation, for instance, the Nobel Prize biologist, Jacques Monod,

in France who claim that such an idea is nonsense, that the universe is founded on chaos, or chance.

They are correct to some extent, because they are condemning themselves. You see, an animal views the

universe as a place of sun, of rain, of darkness, of light, of what it sees, but it never attempts an

explanation for it. He just sees it, observes it, and reacts to it by certain instincts already implanted in him

by nature. Just one step ahead is man, who sees the universe, studies it, measures the dimensions, probes

the depths, calculates the heights, gives the reasons, sees regularity, punctuality, and law in it. And where

do all these things come from except from his own consciousness? He is only reading his own

consciousness.

“An animal does not argue, does not invest the universe with law. It is man who does it. We see then two

different phases of consciousness. In one the universe is just a mechanically moving something, but in the

other it is a lawful and ordered creation. From where has law and order come when it is not in the animal

mind? It has come from consciousness. It has come because man has advanced one step higher in the scale

of consciousness. If he were to advance another step, then what he sees is the whole universe as a

manifestation of consciousness and intelligence, the same consciousness and intelligence which, in a

restricted way in him, invested the universe with law and order.

Everything that you see, every calculation that you make comes from you, comes from your inmost depths.

Now a material scientist may argue that, well, we have gained this by experience. Why has not the ox and

the cow or the fish gained it? Then he will again argue that, well, man’s consciousness took a leap. But

when we ask him, how did it take a leap, he is dumb. He knows nothing. Even Darwin had to admit that we

could give no definite explanation for it except that it is a part of natural selection. So you see, the whole

structure of materialistic philosophy has been built on suppositions and premises, not on realities. The first

reality that we come across is consciousness. The world comes later. We know first ourselves and then the

world.

So, the wiser course is first to understand the knower. What modern thinkers have done is to ignore or

bypass the knower and start investigation of the known, forgetting that it is the knower who is doing it.”

By Gopi Krishna