Reality of Imagination

Why humans care to explain

- Devdutt Pattanaik

Narada said he had a mango for whoever was first to go around the world.

Kartikeya immediately jumped on his peacock and flew around the earth. Ganesha simply walked around his parents and declared himself the winner. Ganesha argued his parents were his world and so he went around 'his' world, not 'the' world. Narada had not clarified which world he was talking about - the objective world which is located outside the mind (the world, common to all) or the subjective world, which is inside the mind (our world, exclusive to us).

This simple story is not about loving our parents more than the world (which is how many children interpret the story). It is a story that draws attention to the sharp divide between the measurable world of matter and the non-measurable world of the mind.

In Hindu metaphysics, nature is separated from the imagination. The word for nature is Prakriti. The objective ontological reality outside all human minds. The word for human imagination is Purusha. The subjective epistemological reality within each human mind.

People often use complicated words like 'consciousness' or 'spirit' or 'soul' for the imagination because the idea of imagination terrifies even the smartest of scholars, politicians and activists. Imagination exists, but cannot be measured, controlled or predicted. It is this imagination that separates humans from animals and plants.