Three Mind-Bending Truths That Will Shatter Your Sense of Reality

Introduction: The Veiled Reality

Have you ever wondered if the world perceived through your five senses is the full picture? Ancient esoteric wisdom, particularly from the Proemio of "The Secret Doctrine," suggests that what we call reality is but a slice of a much grander existence. Before one can even begin to approach the deeper mysteries of the cosmos, the text insists we must first grasp three foundational principles. These are not mere facts to be learned, but perspectives that invite us to question the very fabric of what we know.

1. What We Call Light Is Actually Darkness

This startling idea is best understood through a modern analogy: the electromagnetic spectrum. Science reveals an infinite continuum of waves, from the unimaginably small to those spanning millions of kilometers. Yet our physical senses can only perceive an infinitesimal band—the warmth of infrared and the narrow range of visible color.

We call this tiny fragment "Light," and all the rest, "Darkness." But from this vaster perspective, the totality of the phenomenon is the "TRUE LIGHT." The small portion our senses can grasp is, in a symbolic sense, an illusion—a form of darkness masquerading as illumination. As the text notes, "In mystical and symbolic language, we frequently find this inversion of meanings: darkness as light and light as darkness." This sensory limitation points toward the first fundamental principle: an ultimate reality that is fundamentally beyond our grasp.

(I) "An Omnipotent, Eternal, Boundless, and Immutable PRINCIPLE, about which all speculation is impossible, because it transcends the power of human conception…"

This forces upon us a profound humility, a recognition that what our senses report as the totality of "light" is, in truth, but a sliver of an inconceivable radiance. This humbling realization about our sensory limits naturally extends to our conceptual limits—how we think about ultimate reality itself.

In short, our perception of reality is comparable to looking through a tiny slit; what we see is real within its context, but it's illusory when we consider that what lies beyond our sight is the true and total magnitude of what exists.

To solidify this idea, imagine you live in a dark room where only a small ray of sunlight enters through a keyhole. For you, that ray is "the light" and defines all you can know of the world; however, outside that room, there is a radiant sun and an infinite landscape that that small ray can barely suggest. What we call reality is that small ray, while Absolute Reality is the sun shining outside.

To understand this better, imagine that reality is a grand symphony concert playing perpetually with thousands of instruments, from the lowest to the highest. However, your ears are only capable of hearing a single, repeated note. For you, that single note is "the music," and the rest of the time you believe you are in silence, when in reality you are surrounded by a whole orchestra that you simply cannot hear. What you call reality is that single note; Absolute Reality is the complete symphony.

2. Ultimate Reality Isn't a 'Being,' It's 'Be-ness'

The Absolute Principle, being limitless, cannot be called a "Being." The reason is as simple as it is profound: the verb "to be" implies attributes and qualities. To be something—tall or short, fast or slow—is to be defined and therefore limited, because affirming one quality necessarily excludes its opposite. All existing beings are, by their very nature, conditioned by form, space, and time.

Because this Principle is the unconditioned source of all conditioned beings, it is better described by the term "Be-ness." It is the abstract, absolute potential from which all existence arises. The very etymology of our word "existence" affirms this dynamic. It derives from the Latin exsistere, meaning "to stand out," "to appear," or "to manifest." To exist, therefore, is to be an active appearance projected from the unmanifest ground of Be-ness. Our very being is a manifestation, an emergence from a source that is itself beyond being.

3. The Universe Breathes, and You Are Its Eternal Pilgrim

This brings us to the second and third principles, which reveal a cosmos that is both eternal and ceaselessly dynamic. The universe "in toto" is described as an eternal, boundless plane that includes both that which is manifest and that which remains unmanifest. Within this totality, countless universes—from solar systems down to individual souls—incessantly manifest and disappear in a grand, cyclical rhythm. This cosmic process is compared to the flow and ebb of human breath, where a period of universal manifestation is called a "Manvantara"—an interval during which the universe appears before being reabsorbed into its source.

Within this vast cosmic drama, each of us has a sacred role. The core of our individual existence, the "Human Monad," is a microcosm operating within the macrocosm of the manifesting universe. It is described as the "Eternal Pilgrim," our own personal universe undertaking an obligatory and purposeful journey. This pilgrimage is not random but is guided by immutable universal laws.

(III) "The fundamental identity of all Souls with the Universal Over-Soul, the latter being an aspect of the Unknown Root; and the obligatory pilgrimage of all Souls—sparks of the former—through the cycle of incarnations, in accordance with Cyclic and Karmic Law."

This perspective reframes life not as a singular, isolated event, but as one essential phase in a continuous and meaningful journey toward reunion with the source.

Conclusion: A Glimpse Beyond the Veil

These three truths build upon one another to dismantle a conventional worldview. First, we learn that our senses deceive us, mistaking a sliver of reality for the whole. Next, we see that our concepts fail us, as the ultimate source of reality is not a "Being" we can define, but an infinite "Be-ness" we can only experience as it manifests. Finally, we understand that our individual lives are not finite stories but single breaths in the eternal life of a breathing cosmos, each of us an eternal pilgrim on a purposeful journey. What we call reality is but a temporary, cyclical expression of an incomprehensible and absolute whole.

If this life is not the whole story but a single verse in an eternal poem, what grander meaning might you find in the challenges and triumphs you face today?

For an easy understanding and clarification, have a look to our short video:

Three Fundamental Principles

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