Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #27 – Seeing, But Not Seeing, and the Five Components of Perception
Dhanurdhara Swami June 30th, 2025
Recently, someone shared with me “the gorilla on the screen” experiment.[1] In the experiment people watch a video of two groups passing a basketball. They are instructed to count the passes made by one of the teams to the other requiring them to be very focused. During the video, a person in a gorilla suit walked through the scene, even thumping its chest before walking away. Surprisingly, half the participants were so focused on the task of following the ball they did not see the gorilla, which demonstrates that perception requires attention, not just the senses.
After seeing this, it dawned on me how important this point is. In fact, when I thought about it more deeply, I realized that there are several factors required for perfect perception. I came up with five in total. Most importantly, I realized how important these components of perception are in the practice of bhakti. Before I get into that, let me describe what I came up with.
The Senses
The objects we perceive are composed of five sense attributes—sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. Our initial experience of the world is therefore through five knowledge-acquiring senses—the eyes, ears, nose, skin and tongue. Pratyakṣa, direct observation, is therefore one of the three most important pramāṇas, means of knowing.
Attentiveness
As our experiment showed, however, the senses alone are insufficient for good perception. The focus of the mind on the appropriate sense viewing that object is also required. Therefore, even if an object comes into the range of our view, we may not perceive it. Some of us may have had that experience in a conversation or a class. The mind wandered and we did not momentarily hear what was said, although the sound vibration we were listening to was still in the air.
Understanding
Even if we are attentive and perceive an object, if we lack a proper understanding of an object our perception may still be faulty. In other words, if you don’t understand what something is, you are not really perceiving it. For example, imagine you present an iPhone to a tribal person who never had contact with Western civilization. He picks it up and stares at it. Could you truly say he is perceiving an iPhone?
Attitude
Even if we are attentive and understand what we are seeing, our perception of that object is still questionable. We also need to have the proper attitude. For example, let’s say you meet with someone that you know, but you are envious of them. If out of envy you fail to recognize some of their good qualities, to what extent then are you fully perceiving them? Our attitude, especially when we hate or like, certainly skews our perception.
Revelation
Perception depends on the will of the object when that object is a person. People are, fundamentally, understood in terms of their nature as a servant, master, friend, parent or lover. That attitude can only be perceived if that person chooses to reveal it. For example, one may work with someone and know and respect them, but still not know their intimate side. As a result, one may never perceive that person’s nature as a friend, unless that person chooses to reveal himself as one’s friend.
Let’s end this post with just a few simple examples of how important understanding the complexity of perception is to the practice of bhakti.
Attentiveness and Bhakti
Whether we are chanting the mahā-mantra or hearing the Bhāgavatam, our perception and experience of Krishna depends on our attentiveness. Here’s a simple reference from Śrīla Prabhupāda about perceiving Śrī Krishna in the Bhāgavatam.
“One should hear with rapt attention from the real person, and then he can at once realize the presence of Lord Krsna in every page.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.3.44, purport
Understanding and Attitude
The goal of the Bhāgavatam is to understand and feel our relationship with Radha and Krishna. It is not presented until the Tenth Canto because without a proper understanding and a purity of heart, we will not perceive the Absolute Truth when we hear Their pastimes. Instead, we will perceive something phantasmagorical or mundane. Therefore, one must first study the first nine cantos to purify our understanding and heart (attitude). Only then when hearing about Radha and Krishna we will perceive and experience what They truly are, the highest reality.
Revelatory
“To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” Bhagavad-gītā 10.10
We should therefore understand that perception of Krishna in the form of His name, pastimes, deity, holy dhāma, and pure devotees is not possible without rapt attention, the proper understanding, a pure heart, and the mercy of God. In other words, all the components of perception must be operating.
Understanding that “seeing, is not seeing” is therefore especially relevant for one on the path of bhakti.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo
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