English
, 0r8 , anism re ports differences and qualities tne Mind is thus informed of the nature of the object. animfi ° f Sme11 is vef y h ‘g h ly developed among nals, who are compelled to rely upon it to a consider- e extent. And many occupations among men require • e cvelopment of this sense, for instance, the tobacco- • ls ’ the wine dealer, the perfumers, the chemist, etc. It ^ related that in the cases of certain blind people, it has manner erVCd tll3t t!ley could distinguish persons in this The sense of Hearing is a more complex one than in the °K Se ° f Taste ’ Touch and Smell. In the latter three wim°5 eCtS 10 be sensed must be brou ght in close contact be fa 16 sense ‘ or gans, while in Hearing the object may v ihr :, J re moved, the impressions being carried by the r >on., of the air, which are caught up and reported RAJA YOGA by the nervous organism of the sense of _ lltjje'internal mechanism of the ear is most wonder_ intricate and complex, and excites to wonder the person examining it. It cannot be described here for want of space, but the student is advised to inquire into it if he has access to any library containing books on the sub¬ ject. It is a wonderful illustration of the work of the mind in building up for itself instruments with which to work —to acquire knowledge. The ear records vibrations in the air from 20 or 32 per second, the rate of the lowest audible note, to those of 38,000 per second, the rate of the highest audible note. There is a great difference in individuals in regard to the fineness of the sense of Hearing. But all may develop this sense by the application of Attention. The animals and savages have wonderfully acute senses of Hearing de¬ veloped only along the lines of distinctness, however: on the other hand, musicians have developed the sense along different lines. The sense of Sight is generally conceded to be the highest and most complex of all the senses of Man. It deals with a far larger number of objects—at longer dis¬ tances—and gives a far greater variety of reports to the mind than any of its associate senses. It is the sense of Touch magnified many times. As Wilson says of it: “ Our sight may be considered as a more delicate and diffusive kind of touch that spreads itself over an infinite number of bodies; comprehends the largest figures, and brings into our reach some of the most remote parts of the universe.” The sense of Sight receives its impressions from the outside world by means of waves that travel from body to body—from sun to earth, and from lamp to eye. These waves of light arise from vibrations in substance, of an almost incredible degree of rapidity. The lowest light CULTIVATION OF PERCEPTION ?n is about 450,000,000,000,000 per second, lest is about 750,000,000,000,000 per seco 1 se figures deal only with the vibrations recognizable by the eye as light. Above and below these figures of the scale are countless other degrees invisible to the eye, although some of them may be recorded by instruments. The different sensations of colour depend upon the rate of the vibrations, red being the limit of the lowest, and violet the limit of the highest visible vibrations—orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo being the intermediate rates or colours. The cultivation of the sense of Sight, under the aid of Attention, is most important to all persons. By being able to see clearly and distinguish the parts of an object, a degree of knowledge regarding it is obtained that one may not acquire without the said exercise of the faculty. We have spoken of this under the subject of Attention, m a previous lesson, to which lesson we again refer the student. The fixing of the eye upon an object has the power of concentrating the thoughts and preventing them from wandering. The eye has other properties and quali¬ ties that will be dwelt upon in future lessons. It has other uses than seeing. The influence of the eye is a marvellous thing, and may be cultivated and developed. We trust that what we have said will bring the student to a realization of the importance of developing the powers of Perception. The senses have been developed by the mind during a long period of evolution and effort that surely would not have been given unless the object in view was worth it all. The “ I ” insists upon obtaining knowledge of the Universe, and much of this knowledge ma y be obtained only through the senses. The Yogi student must be “ wide awake ” and possessed of de- velopcd senses and powers of Perception. The senses of Sight and Hearing, the two latest in the scale of Evolu- MIN IST^ growth and unfoldment, must receive a pat RAJA YOGA i *ee of attention. The student must make hints el '"aware ” of what is going on about and around him, so that he may “ catch ” the best vibrations. It would surprise many Westerners if they could come in contact with a highly developed Yogi, and witness the marvellously finely developed senses he possesses. He is able to distinguish the finest difference in things, and his mind is so trained that, in thought, he may draw conclusions from what he has perceived, in a manner that seems almost “ second-sight ” to the uninitiated. In fact, a certain degree of second-sight is possible to one who develops his sense of Sight, under the urge of Atten¬ tion. A new world is opened out to such a person. One must learn to master the senses, not only in the direction of being independent of and superior to their urgings, but also in the matter of developing them to a high degree. The development of the physical senses also has much io do with the development of the “ Astral Senses,” of which we have spoken in our “ Fourteen Lessons,” and of which we may have more to say in the present series. The idea of Raja Yoga is to render the student the pos¬ sessor of a highly developed Mind, with highly developed instruments with which the mind may work. In our future lessons we shall give the student many illustrations, directions, and exercises calculated to de¬ velop the different faculties of the mind—not only the ordinary faculties of everyday use, but others hidden behind these familiar faculties and senses. Commencing with the next lesson, we shall present a system of exercises, drills, etc., the purpose of which will be the above-men¬ tioned development of the faculties of the Mind. In this lesson we shall not attempt to give specific exercises, but will content ourselves with calling the atten¬ tion of the student to a few general rules underlying the development of Perception. WHlST/fy CULTIVATION OF PERCEPTION General Rules of Perception first thing to remember in acquiring the art of Perception is that one should not attempt to perceive the whole of a complex thing or object at the same time, or at once. One should consider the object in detail, and then, by grouping the details, he will find that he has considered the whole. Let us take the face of a person as a familiar object. If one tries to perceive a face as a whole, he will find that he will meet with a certain degree of failure, the impression being indistinct and cloudy, it following, also, that the memory of that face will corres¬ pond with the original perception. But let the observer consider the face in detail, first the eyes, then the nose, then the mouth, then the chin, then the hair, then the outline of the face, the complexion, etc., and he will find that he will have acquired a clear and distinct impression or perception of the whole face. The same rule may be applied to any subject or object. Let us take another familiar illustration. You wish to observe a building. If you simply get a general percep¬ tion of the building as a whole, you will be able to remember very little about it, except its general outlines, shape, size, colour, etc. And a description will prove to be very disappointing. But if you have noted, in detail, the material used, the shape of the doors, chimney, roof, porches, decorations, trimmings, ornamentation, size, and number of the window-panes, etc., etc., the shape and angles of the roof, etc., you will have an intelligent idea of the building, in the place of a mere general outline or impression of such as might be acquired by an animal in passing. We will conclude this lesson with an anecdote of the methods of that famous naturalist Agassiz, in his training of his pupils. His pupils became renowned for their close m mi RAJA YOGA topers of observation and perception, and their ^pt ability to “ think ” about the things they ha&'seen". [any of them rose to eminent positions, and claimed that this was largely by reason of their careful training. 1 he tale runs that a new student presented himself to Agassiz one day, asking to be set to work. The natural¬ ist took a fish from a jar in which it had been preserved, and, laying it before the young student, bade him observe it carefully, and be ready to report upon what he had noticed about the fish. The student was then left alone with the fish. There was nothing especially interesting about that fish—it was like many other fishes that he had seen before. He noticed that it had fins and scales, and a mouth and eyes, yes, and a tail. In a half- hour he felt certain that he had observed all about that fish that there was to be perceived. But the naturalist remained away. The time rolled on, and the youth, having nothing else to do, began to grow restless and weary. He started out to hunt up the teacher, but he failed to find him, and so had to return and gaze again at that wearisome fish. Several hours had passed, and he knew but little more about the fish than he did in the first place. He went out to lunch, and when he returned it was still a case of watching the fish.