Looking Vs Seeing

The words Looking and Seeing seem to be very similar and we often use them. We have not paid enough attention to understand how deep these words can mean and how different their meanings are. To look is not to see and to see is not to look. The person who looks cannot see, and the person who sees cannot look. I guess all of you might be confused about my statements, as the English dictionary almost gives the same meaning for both words. In this article, let us have a different perspective on utilizing these words and understand the hidden meaning from the spiritual point of view.

We often use the words or phrases like ‘I am looking for ….. Something’. When we are looking means we are looking for something. We have some ideas in our mind about what we are looking for. When you say ‘I am looking for a pen or paper’, means you have thought about it and you move around everywhere looking or searching for it. The mind already has the imagination of what you are looking for. A person who looks is always prejudiced. If he is looking for love, then he will never find it. The reason is when you look for love, you have created the idea of love in you. Now you want the love to be the way you have imagined. The concept of love has been created by your mind. Your idea is your creation and it cannot go beyond you or it cannot be higher than you. The idea is always borrowed and rooted in ignorance. We create the idea of love and imagine that love should be like this or like that. Our idea of love is that a person should always fall in love and have a good feeling about himself and others. It is just a belief and we have been conditioned for it. We try to pursue it with all our efforts, with all our energies, with all our might, and when we get what we are looking for; the ego within rises. The person looking for something will never find it because he is not open beyond his idea or his imaginations.

If you are reading this article with some prejudice or preconceived notions, you will miss the deep meaning within. Then whatever is written here, you will understand according to your idea which will be your meaning. You might agree or disagree with me over this but agreeing and disagreeing is not the question at all. When you agree, you don’t agree with me, you agree with your idea of this topic. You have a certain thought process and if this topic fits well within the boundaries, you will agree with me. Here in both cases, your idea or your own preconceived stories are more important. A man who looks for something will always be missing it. A person looking for something has always a defined conclusion in his mind.

Seeing on the other hand is just clarity, seeing with eyes and mind open. The mind here does not exist. No thoughts are hovering. The person seeing is always ready and receptive. He is at his peak of sensitivity. He does not look for something as the mind is open and he is seeing whatever is being shown to him. He is more alert, receptive and welcomes everything which comes his way. Seeing is a continuous process and there cannot be a conclusion to it. You never know what the next moment brings to you. The seeing is for the unbiased, enjoying the current moment and not worried about the future. Seeing is the process of meditation. Seeing as the process when the mind is passive, when we are looking the mind is active. When we are looking, the mind may present the information as per your idea or concept, it manipulates. It will not allow us to accept the fact and thus blinds us from originality. We are more receptive, and our senses work great when we are seeing. Seeing is the process of watching, being available and open, with no idea to enforce on reality. Seeing is beautiful, it is naked, it has no mind and thus there are no clothes, philosophies, theories, and a person is empty-handed. The person is eager and excited at the moment. Looking is knowledge and seeing is innocence. The goodhood flows through innocence while the knowledge will always frame god in some of the other dimensions. How can you define someone in boundaries who is infinite? Reflect for a moment…..

- Dr. Dhananjay Patel