09/08/2025
Q:
Why do we see such permanency and constancy in the waking state?
Maharshi:
It is seen on account of wrong ideas. When someone says that he took a bath in the same river twice, he is wrong because when he bathed for the second time, the river was not the same as it was when he bathed for the first time.... On seeing the brightness of a flame, a man says that he sees the same flame, but the flame is changing every second... The waking state is also like this. The stationary appearance is an error of perception.
The Power of the Presence Pt.1, David Godman, ed., p. 252
