Questioner (Q): Acharya Ji, because we are standing here and our sense organs are allowing us to see only this side of the hill, we cannot see the other side. Similarly, perhaps there are many objects, many life forces that we are not available to, because of our limited perspective in life. There are friends of mine, there are people I know who argue that ghosts, souls, subtle bodies; they cannot be seen by these naked eyes but if you develop certain powers, you can for sure see them. And when I see this analogy, it makes sense to me. What do you have to say?
Acharya Prashant (AP): See, you're talking about something material here, right? And you're talking about the laws of movement of light. When you say that you can look at only one side of the hill and not the other side, you are actually, indirectly referring to the law that light moves in straight lines, that's all.
So, there is nothing mysterious here. You are referring to a fundamental characteristic of the material universe. And when it comes to the material there are certain laws and those laws are inviolable. Those laws pertain as much to the observed material as to the observer in the sense that the observer can observe only the material and that observation takes place according to certain laws.
So, there is nothing really called paranormal observation or paranormal experience. The observer may have certain irregularities inside his mind, and that can lead to a distorted sense of perception, but that distortion has all to do with the observer, and that distortion tells nothing at all about the observed material or phenomena. For example, if I am under the influence of alcohol and my sensory functions, brain functions are distorted a little, I might just perceive that these are six fingers here (referring to his hand). That does not tell anything about my hand or the number of my fingers. If anything, it tells about the state of my brain.
