The Truth about the Seer

In  Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, there’s a powerful, yet curiously interesting passage:

The truth concerning the seer (experiencer) is that there is only the ever-pure act of seeing (experiencing). 2.20 

The Act of Seeing

What does ‘the ever-pure act of seeing’ mean? The idea refers to the potential of ‘seeing’ without automatically intervening and interpreting any experience through your mind. For your mind divides, catorgizes, and ranks all experience. These judgments appear instantly and unknown to you – the result of life-long conditioning that biases your mind. Things aren’t seen as they truly are, but perceived through the lens of the past, with its’ judgments, categorizations and perpetual analysis. 

Is it possible to see the world without judgment? Is it possible to see the world without endlessly dividing experience into likes and dislikes? These deeply ingrained biases, permeating all your perception, ‘color’ your mind and hence all experience. At first, it may seem like a curious idea. What does it mean that the world isn’t seen as it truly is, but through old assumptions? From this perspective, there’s literally nothing new under the sun, as you’ve seen it all before.   

The Awareness Anchor

Yet this fascinating Sutra implies it’s not necessary for thought to divide experience into innumerable categories. It asserts you can experience life ‘purely,’ without building up your mind’s judgments, layer after layer – each experience reinforcing old mental patterning. What a wonderful Sutra! It proclaims the very act of perception can happen without the ‘pollution’ of past thoughts, without old thoughts fragmenting every experience. 

Awareness anchors this discovery of the ‘pure act of seeing’ –  for with relaxed observation, you can open your eyes as if for the very first time. It’s actually startling to perceive this ‘extra’ layer of judgment lying over what lies before your eyes. It’s not even a formed thought, it’s just a ‘coloring,’ a bias. Then, through awareness, just ‘drop it’ to see anew! This results in a freedom most don’t ever know, yet the process and journey towards ‘ the act of ever-pure seeing’ is available to everyone, at every moment.