RELIGIOUS & SPIRITUAL
Non-duality through Rubin's vase
Self-realization and non-duality through Rubin's vase
This is the famous optical illusion image devised by the Danish psychologist Edgar Rubin often used to illustrate the concept of figure ground. When two fields have a common border, one is seen as figure and the other as ground. You can see the image as either a central vase, or two faces that are looking at each other. This image is popularly called the Rubin's vase (sometimes known as the Rubin face or the figure–ground vase).
The spiritual truth: We see an article. The act of seeing has both an object (the particular article seen) as well as the subject (one who does the act of seeing). These two states (object and subject) are separate and distinct from one another. The body is seen, so it is the object. Atma (soul) sees, so it is the subject. This analogy can be extended to other acts such as perception or consciousness. The body is perceived, so it is the object. Atma (soul) does the act of perceiving . so it is the subject. Thus the body and the soul are separate from one another. He who considers the soul as that which is seen (that is, confuses the object for the subject) can only be termed as an aggyani (ignorant of reality/truth).
The spiritual seeker eventually acquires the intuitive wisdom of direct perception and understands the Eternal Truth and solves the mystery of how the Brahman (divine) is seen at the same time as both manifested in (immanent) and encompassing of the material world (transcendent). He realizes his oneness with God and understands that he himself is a microcosm of immanence and transcendence (Non-duality).
