Oju Inu, The 3rd eye
By Abdulrazaq O Hamzat

The third eye also called the mind's eye, or inner eye is a mystical and esoteric concept of a speculative invisible eye which provides perception beyond ordinary sight.

The third eye is said to be the special mechanism that has the ability to control reality in omnipotent fantasy.

In Yoruba philosophy or traditional circle, it is called oju inu (eye from within). People with this oju Inu in Yoruba land are considered special and regarded as people with ability to see things beyond the ordinary.

While some people feel that this 3rd eye is more about the knowledge acquired from life experiences overtime, which gives one greater insight into life issues, others think that the 3rd eye is super natural or mystically developed. However, this writer feels that both perceptions may not be entirely correct.

Based on my personal experience, i can say with some level of confidence that everyone has a 3rd eye and as a matter of fact, everyone, at some point, consciously or unconsciously has utilized the 3rd eye. If you doubt my claim, kindly close your eyes right now, calm down your body, visualize and tell me if you are not seeing anything.

Don’t be mistaken please, understand that when you close your eyes, you may not be seeing things from outside or around you, but deep from within, you will be seeing something else.

At first, what you see from within may be dark, but as you settle down, some kind of vision will begin to appear and as you get comfortable, you might begin to see far and wide. That eye from within, which enables you to see things, even when your two physical eyes are close, is what is called 3rd eye.

The sharpness and accuracy of the 3rd eye is developed as a result of some higher level of consciousness about human body and mind.

If you pay conscious attention to your body and mind, the 3rd eye will naturally be developed and you may be able to channel it to see whatever you want to see, even in your physical world.

Furthermore, some section of believers in the 3rd eye concept had argued that, the pineal gland, a pea-sized gland shaped like a pine cone, located in the vertebrate brain near the hypothalamus and pituitary gland is known as the third eye, it is a revered tool of seers and mystics and considered to be the organ of supreme universal connection.

C.W. Leadbeater, a researcher on the 3rd eye concept claimed that by extending an "etheric tube" from the third eye, it is possible to develop microscopic and telescopic vision.

Similarly, It has also been asserted by Stephen Phillips that the third eye's microscopic vision is capable of observing objects as small as quarks.

It is believed that, humans had in far ancient times an actual third eye in the back of the head with a physical and spiritual function. Over time, as humans evolved, this eye atrophied and sunk into what today is known as the pineal gland.

Additionally, Dr. Rick Strassman has hypothesized that the pineal gland, which maintains light sensitivity, is responsible for the production and release of DMT (dimethyltryptamine), an entheogen which he believes possibly could be excreted in large quantities at the moments of birth and death.

Other experts on the 3rd eye maintained that, the two physical eyes are very deceptive, they make you see things the way it is necessary for your survival not necessarily the way they are in the actual sense. The two physical eyes are like a calculator, which helps to quickly sum up figures and arrive at answers. The 3rd eye on the other hand helps us do the summation ourselves, taking us through some routes to develop other aspect of our brain.

While the calculator helps in a great way to make things easier, sometimes, only our brain can get the job done and if left undeveloped, we become less effective. This is where the 3rd eye comes in and the need for its development. A developed 3rd eye helps us see what the ordinary eye cannot see.

In India for example, 3rd eye is called Ajna. Ajna is called the 3rd eye because with it, you see things the way they really are. Once your energies touch Ajna, it allows you to see things the way they are.

Similarly, Ifa babalawo in Nigeria holds the view that, every human has third eye, unlike some esoteric school of thought that teaches that only few people has it. We are souls in human body and third eye is the eye of the soul.

According to some Ifa babalawo, the 3rd eye has to be opened for it to be fully operational, but unfortunately; there are a lot of danger in opening the third eye. They opined that, if the 3rd eye is forcefully opened like those who wash their eye (weju), it can lead to insanity because it is close to the brain and you don’t want to tamper with your brain.

For you to activate your third eye and enjoy it endless benefitsm, you must detach yourself from your body.

The third eye is connected to clarity, concentration, imagination and intuition they believe. In certain dharmic spiritual traditions, the third eye refers to the gate that leads to inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness.

In New Age spirituality, the third eye often symbolizes a state of enlightenment or the evocation of mental images having deeply personal spiritual or psychological significance.

The third eye is often associated with religious visions, clairvoyance, the ability to observe, precognition, and out-of-body experiences.

People who are claimed to have the capacity to utilize their third eyes are sometimes known as seers.

In Taoism and many traditional Chinese religious sects such as Chan (called Zen in Japanese), "third eye training" involves focusing attention on the point between the eyebrows with the eyes closed, and while the body is in various qigong postures.

The goal of this training is to allow students to tune into the correct "vibration" of the universe and gain a solid foundation on which to reach more advanced meditation levels.

Taoism teaches that the third eye, also called the mind's eye, is situated between the two physical eyes, and expands up to the middle of the forehead when opened.

In Christian theology teaching of Father Richard Rohr, the concept of the third eye is a metaphor for non-dualistic thinking; the way the mystics see. In Rohr's concept, mystics employ the first eye (sensory input such as sight) and the second eye (the eye of reason, meditation, and reflection), "but they know not to confuse knowledge with depth, or mere correct information with the transformation of consciousness itself. The mystical gaze builds upon the first two eyes—and yet goes further." Rohr refers to this level of awareness as "having the mind of Christ".

In Islam, 3rd eye is something that Islam doesn't practice. However, some scholars believe that you can only achieve a 3rd eye awakening in Islam through the purification of your soul (Tasawwuf) through following a spiritual teacher who has purified his/her soul and engage in consistent spiritual practices. According to them, when your third eye starts opening, you’ll become interested in Sufism and look for a Sufi Shaykh, because the Sufi is a Muslim either with an open third eye or in the process of opening it. Sufism is the path for a Muslim who is in the process of opening third eye.

In sufism, 3rd Eye is called Haqiqat, derived from one of the 99 names Al-Haqq, meaning the ability to see truth, or clairvoyance. In Sufism, you achieve Haqiqat through the path of Tariqat (Sufi order), where under the guidance of a Sheikh and additional spiritual practices you start receiving inner knowledge (Batin) of reality. This knowledge comes like an intuition directly to your heart. The most similar western terms for this is either “an Aha-moment” or “Heureka!”.

Opening third eye is not a binary (either open or closed) kind of thing. It’s a life long process. But unfortunately, for most of us, developing our third eye and its abilities is challenging at best, and may even sometimes seem out of reach. However, if we want to live a fulfilled life in its fullness, there is need to try, as much as possible, to develop our oju inu, the 3rd eye.

Abdulrazaq O Hamzat