When speaking about the necessity to return the observer to science, we are obliged to define more precisely that state of the researcher that ensures purity in the cognition process, which we term the state of the pure observer, and how it differs from the ordinary.
Knowledge is inherently embedded in human consciousness but depends on its state. During deep sleep, an individual has almost no awareness, so there is almost no knowledge. During dreaming, consciousness is more alert, so there is more knowledge, though it remains detached from reality. An awake person can also experience varying degrees of awakening. His knowledge will be closer to the truth the higher his state of consciousness.
If the researcher is in a state common to most people, he wrongly refers to his logical reasoning as a theory. The true meaning of the term “theory” (Greek theos — “God”, horao — “to see, to perceive”) is a vision or testimony of the hidden order of things, resulting from the experience of the Supreme Light in the higher state of human consciousness.
The state of the true scholar is the impersonal state of the pure observer cognising truths.
In the state of the true scholar — in the impersonal, or cognitive, state of the pure observer — the researcher is able to perceive above himself the source of existence as the source of the subtlest Light, and around himself the infinite variety of the phenomena of life as Darkness. With the Source above himself, by directing his attention to the object of his interest, he directly sees its essence in the subtle plane of reality, just as if he were examining an item on his desk in the light of a desk lamp.
The state of the pure observer can be cultivated in an individual, and our work is largely dedicated to that.
