Quotes About Observation

The fascinating and eccentric concept of Arcturan "back-rays", beams of special light that strive to reunite with their own source, is propped up by the observation that there must be light that pulls as well as light that pushes, or else "how would flowers contrive to twist their heads round after the sun?

Of course not. It's only funny when it happens to other people. I'd have thought that was obvious.

I looked at this man. He was in his fifites, mostly bones inside hisblack suit, and gave off an odour, if you were as close up to him as I was, of a long-closed keyboard opened suddenly in an empty house. (73)

The mere observation that something is popular, or even that it became so rapidly, is not sufficient to establish that it spread in a manner that resembles a virus. Popularity on the internet is driven by the size of the largest broadcast. Digital blockbusters are not about a million one-to-one moments as much as they are about a few one-to-one-million moments.

A writer will find inspiration anywhere. They have to look and see, that's all. Then they have to write.

When I carry out my novice efforts to capture these, I feel both detached from the world (as any observer might do - especially when looking at it through a viewfinder) yet feel very connected to people around me. I am paying far more attention to them than normal; I'm far more interested in life. I'm attracted to people and the snapshots of life that show through their postures and faces.

My techniques are concerned with reading signals from people, tiny unconscious clues that betray their thoughts. I tend to see it like a game...

To know what people really think, pay attention to what they do, rather than what they say.

Better we see them seeing us, because then we can all see together, but when not seeing them seeing us we might not see them seeing us doing what we are doing. MI5 agent Iona von Ustinov (father of actor Peter Ustinov) to MI6 agent Desmond Bristow about the PDVE (Portuguese Secret Police) in 1944.

The city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo.

To be a woman is like becoming a prey, her every move watched by hungry predators. Every glance of man is a violation. No one is spared. No one. Not mother, not sister, not daughter. It is only fear of Dharma that keeps men in check.

Within infinite myths lies the eternal truth Who sees it all? Varuna has but a thousand eyes, Indra has a hundred, And You and I, only two .".

The devotee looks at the deity (darshan) and the deity, with large unblinking eyes, looks back; the relationship is 'two-way' not 'one-way'.

Memories Distort Observation

Our behaviour towards others is based on what we see and how we process our observation.

Our behaviour towards others is based on what we see and how we process our observation. But not all things can be seen. Jati can be seen but not varna.

A world created by observation evokes insight, hence affection, for we see the hunger and fear of all beings. Life becomes a performance on a stage (ranga-bhoomi) aimed to nourish and comfort the other, while deriving nourishment and comfort from their delight. Krishna's performance (leela) leads to him being worshipped as Ranga-natha, lord of the stage. He never judges, so he sees no one as a victim. This is how he begins The Gita:

Within Infinite Truths lies the Eternal Truth Who sees it all? Varuna has but a thousand eyes Indra, a hundred And I, only two

Just sit in one place and pay attention to all that I throw light on. The more attention you pay, the more you will want to know.

observers create observations!

The word 'darshan' has a double meaning: view as well as worldview, sight as well as insight.

God and Goddess. Purusha and Prakriti. Observer and observation. Subject and object. That's what it is. Not this, not that; this too, that too. That's who we are. Tat tvam asi.

By introducing the idea of immortality and rebirth in Chapter 2 of The Gita, Krishna changes the scope of the discussion, for without death serving as a boundary, there is no fear, no yearning for food or meaning, nowhere to come from, or go to, for the end is no longer the end and the beginning is no longer the beginning. Rather than change the world that defies control, rather than seek validation from things temporary, we engage, observe, discover and enjoy.

Life is like a river. You can struggle to change its course but ultimately it will go its own way. Bathe in it, drink it, be refreshed by it, share it with everyone, but never fight it, never be swept away by its flow, and never get attached to it. Observe it. Learn from it.