Shadows, Perception and Unity - An Excerpt from Unity, the Audiobook, and the Upcoming Documentary Film by Shaun Monson
In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, prisoners living underground, prevented by chains from turning their heads, could only see what was before them, on the back wall of the cave. At a distance above and behind them was the mouth of the cave. Between this source of light without, and all the prisoners within, was a low wall, like a dividing line. Nameless men passed along this wall carrying all sorts of vessels, statues, and figures of animals made of various materials. Some talked as their objects cast strange shadows on the opposite wall. As the prisoners conversed, they would name the shadows before them, and when they heard the echoes of voices behind them, they believed these came from the passing shadows. The Truth was literally nothing but the shadows of the images. In this cave-world of resentment and malice, military tactics, politics and competition, the prisoners were in the habit of struggling for power and conferring honors on those who were quickest to observe the passing shadows—until one of the prisoners was released and enlightened—led to see reality and given permanent illumination. He realized that the Truth was nothing like the mere shadows of images, and that the Sun and the Light were the cause of all the things he and his fellow prisoners had long been accustomed to behold.
What does this Allegory of the Cave tell us? How far is our nature enlightened…or unenlightened? English poet William Blake wrote, “If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is: Infinite. For man has closed himself up, til he sees all things thru’ narrow chinks of his cavern.” Everything we see, we also interpret, like shadows on the wall of a cave. But shadows make sight difficult, so it becomes a matter of perception. Therefore, in order to gain clear perception, the first obstacle to be removed is the persona—also called the Ego.
There are times when this world appears on the brink of degenerating into massacre. Somehow, the population has adopted a great apathy. We see increased apathy toward suffering—human and animal alike. It’s as if society is growing numb; oblivious to any equality; blinded by ego and by gain. Where did this apathy come from?
By definition, apathy reflects a lack of interest in things that one does not consider important. Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters called it “an attraction to the peeling away of feeling.” What do we consider unimportant?
There was once a so-called “compassion experiment” conducted between two monkeys in adjacent cages at an animal research facility. The vivisectors rigged one of the cages with two levers. The first lever produced the most food, which was of a higher quality, while the second lever produced considerably less food and of a much poorer quality. However, when the monkey in the first cage wanted more of the high-quality food, the other monkey in the adjacent cage received an electric shock. The second lever, on the other hand, the one that provided very little food and of a lesser quality, produced no shock affect whatsoever.
The first monkey is therefore already capable of compassion. Once he learns about the shock, which he discovers quickly, he readily gives up the high-quality, more abundant food, and opts instead for the smaller portions of lower-quality food, (in essence, to go without) in order to save the other monkey from electric shock. Sadly, this tendency is lacking in a great many humans.
In other parts of the world we are killing each other recklessly, exhibiting not even a modicum of the monkey’s level of compassion. And yet here in this deplorable lab, which is a terrible existence for a monkey, he won’t purposely cause another monkey pain and suffering, if he can avoid it, (which he can) even to the extent of giving up more of his favorite food.
Human beings continue to show selfishness and a desire to kill others for money, and any kind of gain. But what is to gain? Sadly the answer is: the gaining of people, places and things—nothing but nouns.
All this has to do with dominion—man over man, man over woman, man over animals. In fact, throughout history all equal rights have been a struggle against dominion—human rights, civil rights, women’s rights, animal rights, etc. The list goes on.
The question is often asked, “When will peace and happiness prevail on earth?” And the answer always is, “When the ‘without’ is as the ‘within’...and we treat them both as equally possible.” Lasting peace and happiness are indeed possible; they just can’t come from objects...because objects don’t last. None of the objects in this world are meant to give happiness to anyone. The mind vainly seeks to find such happiness in these objects. But happy are they who are free from egotism and who are not swayed by the cravings of sense pleasure. Nor does happiness come from our bodies, which are protoplasm, because they won’t last either—for bodies are objects too, and every object in the field of time grows old.
Peace and happiness, therefore, comes from realizing just how old we really are—the True Selves—which are ageless and timeless. So the only question is how can we begin to recognize this more often, day by day? Which way should we turn? The answer is inward. As Victor Hugo proclaimed, “There, inward, we compare the serenity of the heart with the serenity of the skies and open ourselves to the thoughts that fall from that Unknown.”
It is from your own peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises. This is how we leave appearances and approach reality. True knowledge replaces perception. When the human engine works as one: the organs of the body, perceptions of the mind, matters of the heart, and the components of the soul—when there is a marriage between these four cylinders of our mortal/spiritual engines, and all are synchronized, then we are no longer stuck. And that is precisely the kind of unity that spreads to others. The internal becomes external. Civilization can then become awakened at the level of the heart, which is to say: harmonious; at peace. And not only peace within ourselves, but peace with other human beings; peace with nature beings, and peace with the animal beings. It means peace with all beings and with all expressions of life—the very definition of Unity.
Writer/filmmaker Shaun Monson’s credits include the award-winning documentary Earthlings which is about the suffering of animals for food, fashion, pets, entertainment and medical research. He is currently working on Unity, which is volume two of the Earthlings trilogy. His comedy Bad Actors, a certified Dogme 95 film, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001. After 9/11 he directed a one-hour documentary on the Taliban called Holy War, Unholy Victory, hosted and narrated by Academy Award winning actor George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke). Shaun has also written several screenplays, including a biopic on legendary filmmaker Orson Welles. (www.earthlings.com, www.unitythemovie.com).