Sensory Experience and Reality

Perception through senses is illusion. For example it is illusion when a person thinks a rope to be a snake experiences snake and not the rope. This experience of the rope as a snake is reality. The rope is the absolute reality. Here distinction is to be made between reality and absolute reality. In vedic terms, nature of the world is looked into through the individual perspective and his subjective experience.


Everything that a human experience is reality and truth. This in Sanskrit is referred to as “vyavaharika Satya”. It is to be remembered that Vedas do not label human experiences to be “false”. The correct interpretation of this term in English could be “illusion”. Moving on the Vedas also recognize the truths which are not experienced through senses but are known to the individual. There are things which the individual will not deny whether or not the same is experienced through senses. These are things which he simply knows. These are not known through experience through senses. In English this could also be termed “apriori knowledge”. These are from the individual perspective undeniable irrespective of how it is perceived by others. These could also be called “truth for truth sake”. These are also called “Parmardika satya” or “absolute reality” in Vedas and Upanishads. In terms of Vedas this reality or truth is the objective reality since its awareness is known to the individual not through senses and the experience obtained through them but it is known.


The above example of rope and snake should not be interpreted out of the context. In the example, rope is assumed to be reality and snake to be illusion. But in vedic terms, both the perception of rope to be snake and the perception of rope itself are illusions. In the example, if the rope does not exist then the individual would not perceive the snake. Here since rope is absolute reality it is the basis for another reality although not absolute which is “illusion of snake”. The point being made is absolute reality is always the basis for “reality” or truth is the basis for “illusion”. When there is no absolute reality there is no reality.


Similar to Descartes assertion that whatever is not 100% reliable all the time is not reliable at all and needs to be rejected in toto, Vedas reject all the ‘perception of the world as human experience through senses’ as illusion. But the point of difference here between Vedas and Descartes is that while Vedas recognize human experience as” illusion” or “maya” Des cartes almost labels human experience to be false. Vedas accept illusion as accepted truth i.e the truth which is experienced but which is not actually the truth. Whereas Des cartes does not assert what is truth Vedas assert that all that which human being is ‘aware’ (which the individual can never deny but also cannot prove through senses) without relying on experiences generated through humans senses is the absolute reality.


All of the above concludes that the modern perception of reality is diametrically opposite to the vedic perception. Objective reality in Vedic sense is that reality which is not perceived by senses and experience generated by them. Whereas in the modern scientific sense it is what is perceived through senses and additionally verified by other means of proof (instead relying entirely on senses). The absolute reality in vedic sense becomes “false hood” or “illusion” in the modern sense of reality.


The “objectiveness” in the modern sense is entirely based on senses which both Descartes and Vedas discard. Scientific experiments claim not to be based entirely on senses in so far as the experiments provide data and conclusions are drawn based on data. However, it is the human mind which perceives the data, analyzes it and draws conclusions. Therefore scientific experiments also fall within “perception of senses”. Objectivity in the vedic sense is non dependence on human experience generated by human senses. That which is independent of human senses and the experience generated by them.