Gateways of Knowledge

3 days ago By Yogi Anoop

The Three Gateways of Knowledge: The Power of Seeing, Hearing, and Reading, and Their Spiritual and Psychological Impact

Empirical Understanding:

Our brain absorbs visual experiences the fastest and most effectively. When we see something with our eyes, it gets immediately registered in memory because it is a direct experience. This is why children learn more quickly by watching something rather than just listening to an explanation.

Through visual experiences, our brain does not just receive information but also absorbs colors, shapes, motion, and emotions simultaneously. This is why an image or a moving picture remains more impactful and long-lasting in memory compared to verbal or written information. This is also why audio-visual methods are widely used in education, as they leave a permanent imprint on the brain. In spirituality, the first path given is Bhakti Yoga, where the mind is elevated spiritually through images and motion pictures.

Auditory Experience:

Hearing is slightly more challenging than seeing because the brain has to process sound along with its context. When we listen to someone without seeing them, we must interpret their words along with their tone, emotions, pitch, and pace.

Media such as radio, podcasts, discourses, or conversations give us the essence of a subject, but without visual support, they are not always as impactful as visual mediums. For example, if someone explains how a machine works by showing a demonstration, it is much clearer and easier to understand than merely describing it verbally.

One issue with auditory learning is that if attention wavers while listening, comprehension is disrupted. With reading or seeing, we can control the pace at our convenience, but in auditory mediums, we are bound by the speaker’s speed. Hence, while auditory mediums can be effective, they demand more intellectual energy compared to visual learning. However, they have greater potential in enhancing logical and spiritual capacities.

Text-Based Understanding:

Reading is a more complex process than listening because it requires the brain to construct an entire structure using only words. When we read a text, we must use our imagination and intellectual capacity to fully comprehend the events, characters, ideas, and emotions described.

Reading acts as an exercise for the brain, as there is no visual aid—everything must be understood solely through words and their meanings. This is why reading is considered the most effective medium for deep understanding.

However, reading is not merely a means of acquiring information; it also develops a person’s ability to think, reason, and analyze. When we read, our brain does not just absorb information—it assimilates, analyzes, and derives new conclusions from it. This is why reading leads to greater intellectual maturity and cognitive development.

Yet, the impact of reading depends on how deeply a person understands the content. Superficial reading does not provide as much benefit as deep, contemplative reading. This is why those who engage in profound study are more intellectual and self-analytical compared to casual readers.

The Tendency Toward the Easy Path:

Notice that until now, the mind tries to reach external scenes through the senses and attempts to understand them, thereby enhancing its intellectual capacity.

This process is easy because the nature of the senses is to take the mind outward—whether through images, sounds, or words. In all these mediums, the mind must connect with the external world.

However, the true journey of spirituality begins after this. When the observer attempts to understand himself by knowing the mind and intellect, the reliance on such external tools becomes almost negligible. The reason this path is difficult is that the natural tendency of the mind is to absorb the most while expending the least energy.

The mind finds it easier to understand the external world because it can connect with it effortlessly through the sensory organs. That is why seeing seems easier than listening, and listening is easier than reading.

Yet, there is a major difference in this ease—what is acquired too easily is also forgotten quickly. It lacks permanence. It does not bring complete inner peace and stability.

The Spiritual Path: The Profound Journey of Self-Knowledge

When the observer seeks to understand himself by examining the senses, mind, tendencies, and intellect present within this body, the need for external tools diminishes—there is no requirement for words, images, colors, or any other external symbols. In this journey of self-realization, a person must deeply understand his own nature without any external support.

This process appears exceedingly difficult because it is not about acquiring external knowledge but about continuously observing and realizing the subtle events occurring within the body and mind. One must recognize that all experiences and realizations emerge purely from direct self-experience and self-examination.

The body does not express its experiences through words or visible shapes. It remains in a state of continuous motion in its natural flow, and the conscious soul—the observer—must comprehend this flow using its intellectual and spiritual faculties.

This process of self-realization requires insight beyond logic because this journey moves inward—from the external world to the inner self—where thoughts cease, and only pure awareness remains the truth.

finally, I mean to say is that the closer something is to you, the harder it is to understand. That which has no shape, no words, no sound—understanding it is not an easy task.

To grasp this, the guidance of an enlightened spiritual master is essential. Such a guru continuously sharpens the disciple’s logical and intellectual abilities, encouraging them to know themselves.

Eventually, the ultimate solution to life is found. The great proof of this lies in the Indian Upanishads, where deep logical, practical, and knowledge-based discussions between guru and disciple take place.

Even in Greek philosophy, we find similar philosophical exchanges between masters and disciples.

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