Quality

We attach qualities to each and every thing we see and then use that quality to identify any subject. Without quality, identification of any sort is not possible. The physical identification of anything is through our basic senses and the brain attaches the quality required for identification. As soon as the brain senses something through sense organs, it compares the sensed subject and finds at least a quality from memory to attach with subject. For the brain to attach a quality with any subject, it must have previous knowledge about certain qualities of that subject. If there is no previous knowledge of the quality of subject under observation, the brain cannot identify or perceive that object. This may be one of very basic understandings which are required for anyone wishing to travel in the path of intelligence into the field of spirituality. For understanding this, we need to have some understanding about knowledge also.

Now the basic question arises out of this is that what is our knowledge about qualities? Are there any absolute qualities which everyone knows exactly the same way? These may be very difficult questions to answer. But one can find the answer oneself, provided probe this questions with certain openness, with the understanding that our knowledge itself is derived from what we already knows and what we will find out will also be derived from what we are already knowing. Unless we understand this and sufficiently free from our knowledge, the finding will just be a projection of what we already know and viewing multiple dimensions is not at all possible.

We never question about our knowledge. We never probe how we attained that knowledge. We always consider our knowledge as final. We never realize that what we knew or what we will know is the continuation of what we already knew. If we do not know anything at all now, there is absolutely no possibility of any knowledge in future. On the other hand, if at all we know anything absolute, then only there is a possibility of absolute knowledge. On the other hand, knowledge is continuous. Now, we starts identify ourselves with the knowledge we acquired. Once this starts happening, we will have deep attachment with what we know and look into anything else within the constraints of that attachment. We look into anything with in the field of our knowledge. Unless we break this attachment with the knowledge we acquired, there is absolutely no possibility of learning or perceiving totally new. If we really understand this to the core of our being, the very quality of ourselves will change completely. It may not be a change which others can observe, but a clear change within ourselves, which entirely changes the way we live our life.

So, the quality we attach with any subject to identify that subject entirely depends on our knowledge. The subject under observation may be physical object or certain ideas or philosophies or Guru or God…. or any other thing which our thought can conceive. There is a concept called “Freedom from Known” or “Freedom from Knowledge”. This has been put forwarded by J. Krishnamurti in a raw and blunt manner, even though it was available in certain ancient Indian philosophies. When we are attached to our knowledge, we always stick to what we know. We refuse to see the subject from another perspective. With that knowledge, we are in certain egoistic state which will not allow us to see the subject from another perspective. The same objects have as many numbers of perspectives as the number of persons viewing that subject. And even for a very simple physical subject, this is true. One may see the color of that subject, another one size, another one physical composition, and another one may be chemical composition and so on and so on. As long as we refuse to see the same object free from the knowledge we have about that subject, another perspective of that subject is not possible.

Hence there may not be anything called quality. It may be just our perspective of the subject. If we are attached to our knowledge, we will be having limited perspective of the subject. As we gain freedom from our own knowledge, there is a possibility of looking into the object from another perspective or probably during each instant of observation of that subject the observation may be with a new perspective. When we are free from our knowledge about the subject, we may be seeing many, many perspectives of the same object. When we are free from all our knowledge, everything in the existence may be perceived with unlimited perspectives which may be the height of ecstasy.