(Sep 24,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – The Nature and Location of Consciousness

 

 

The Nature and Location of Consciousness

Divine Life Society Publication: The Nature and Location of Consciousness by Swami Krishnananda

What is consciousness? Where is it situated? What is its origin? How is it related to us? And what is its final importance?



Where is your consciousness? “It is inside me; it cannot be anywhere else.” When we say it is inside, what do we actually mean? Water is inside a bucket; fruits are inside a basket; we are all inside a room. Do we mean that consciousness is inside us in this sense? Then it would mean that consciousness is not the body, because we say it is inside the body. Or, are you prepared to say that it is the body itself? If you say that perhaps consciousness is not inside in the sense explained, that it is inseparable from the body, then inseparableness also involves a kind of relation.

When you think, you will agree that it is consciousness that is responsible for thinking. Who is thinking? Is it your body that is thinking, or is there something else that you think is thinking? What do you mean by “I am speaking”? Who are you?

There is a certain unavoidable relationship between body and consciousness, because the body, also, is conscious. Consciousness is perhaps an emanation from the bodily individuality, as fire emanates from a matchstick. This is the reason why no one can feel that oneself is a consciousness; there is always an insistent feeling that one is a body only. There is an intense fondness for the body. It is taken care of as identical with one's own self: It is me, and I cannot be different from what I appear to be.

If it is true that consciousness, for the purpose of our present argument, is accepted to be inside the body only, whatever be its relation to the body, then it cannot be outside the body. If the consciousness is only inside the body, there would be no means of knowing that there are things outside the body.

How do we know that there is an object outside us? Often, it is said that the objects, as they really are, are never known by us. The objects are known by us only as they appear to our mind or consciousness. This is to say that we have a descriptive knowledge of the behavior of objects, but we do not come directly in contact with the objects as they are in themselves.

The true nature of the object is supposed to be constituted of what are known as primary qualities. If only the secondary qualities are available for cognition to the sense organs, how do we know that things exist at all, except in the sense of a reaction produced by them in a representative manner, not as a direct contact with the object? There is no means, of really coming in contact with the essence of an object.

Only if an object is designated by a particular description called name, we can know what that object is. This is one point. The second point is, apart from the name or the verbal description of an object that is necessary in order that we may locate the object, there is also, in our mind, an idea of what the object is. We have an idea that a tree is tall. In a similar manner, we have a particular idea of every other thing in the world.

There is an object called a hard stone or granite. We take for granted that this granite is exactly as it appears to the sense organs. But, by investigation we can know that this hard, impenetrable object called granite is constituted of little particles. These particles can be divided further into more and more minute components until they become indistinguishable from the basic components of all things in the world. This essence, being the basic reality of the so-called varieties of things, makes us conclude that there is a unity at the back of the apprehended duality and multiplicity of objects.

The Samkhya calls this fundamental material essence of the objects as Prakriti. Then, who becomes conscious that there is a Prakriti?

The consciousness that apprehends this universal material essence is called Purusha, which should not be identified with man or a human essence. It is a metaphysical definition given to the consciousness which is supposed to know that there is a universally distributed material essence. Consciousness cannot be identified with matter because there is a total dissimilarity between consciousness and matter. Matter does not know itself. Consciousness knows itself. This is the distinction between objectivity and pure subjectivity. Purusha is infinite, all-pervading, and the Prakriti that is known by it also is all-pervading.

Samkhya philosophy explains that consciousness does not really come in contact with this material object, because they are dissimilar in nature. What happens is that the consciousness reflects within itself the presence of this ubiquitous material substance, as a crystal which is pure in itself, and has no color by itself, can reflect the color of an object such as a rose flower brought near it, and because of the proximity of this colored object, the whole crystal may also look red.

In this manner, the Samkhya explains that consciousness – wrongly, we must say – begins to associate itself with the objects in the world and the basic Prakriti, and creates a wondrous universal situation. That objectified consciousness, which has arisen on account of this reflection of the ubiquitous material substance on the all-pervading consciousness, is the ultimate metaphysical reality of the Samkhya, called Cosmic Being, which knows Itself as all-pervading.

The omnipresent Being should know that it is omnipresent; otherwise, it would be just Being-as-such. This is a particular descent from the original stage of pure omnipresence or omniscience, wherein there is a universal self-consciousness of the fact of being omnipresent. “I am” is the feeling of this omnipresent Being. It is not the “I” of myself or yourself. It is a universal omnipotence and omnipresence asserting Itself, “I am”. God cannot be described by any other way than “He is”; and God can regard Himself as “I am”. There is no other possible definition available to this great “I”, which includes every other conceivable little dot of “I's”, like ourselves.

The self-consciousness attributed to this otherwise all-pervading omnipresence suddenly manifests itself in a threefold form. That threefold form is known in Vedantic language as the objective reality called adhibhuta, the subjective reality called adhyatma, and the divine superintending connection between the subjective side and the objective side known as adhidaiva. The world appears to be external to the knowing consciousness, and the knowing consciousness places itself as a subjective knower of this world that is outside, and this connection between the subjective knower and the objective world cannot be established unless there is a link between the subjective side and the objective side.

This is the reason why you cannot know what is happening between you and the object when perception takes place. Some invisible operation which is consciousness by itself seems to be operating, because the link between the knowing subject and the object cannot but be conscious.

Excerpts from:

The Nature and Location of Consciousness by Swami Krishnananda

If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit:
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?

If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at:

generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org

(Aug 23,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – Consciouness and Matter

Consciousness and Matter

Divine Life Society Publication: Discourse 37: Commentary on the Bhagavadgita by Swami Krishnananda

There is a belief among commentators of the Gita that the great Upanishadic statement tat tvam asi has something to do with the threefold classification of the chapters of the Gita. The individual is tvam – 'thou'. This 'thou', or individual, is taken up for an intensified form of study in the first six chapters. Tat means 'That' – the Supreme. The nature of 'That' is taken up for study in the next six chapters. Asi means 'art'; 'That thou art'. The unification of the 'thou' and the 'That', the methodology of attaining the unity between the individual and the Universal, in all its detail, is explained in the last six chapters.

Sri Krishna Himself starts speaking, without any question from Arjuna. Idam sariram kaunteya kshetram ity abhidiyate (13.1): "This body, this physical embodiment of the human being, is technically called kshetra or the field where some activity takes place. A field is an area where something happens.

While this body, which is physical in nature, is a field of operation, there must be somebody who carries on this operation in the field. The field is the body; but the knower of this body is the operator behind it. This body is, no doubt, the vehicle of action; but there is somebody who is conscious that there is a body which is to be used for the purpose of some activity. This body is an instrument of action in this world, but this body cannot act by itself. It is inert, constituted of the five inert elements – earth, water, fire, air and ether. Inert instruments cannot act by themselves. Even a car cannot move unless there is a driver. So is the case with this body. Unless there is prana and an intelligence that drives the prana in respect of the bodily limbs, there can be no activity.

So while this body may be called kshetra or field, the one who knows this field is conscious of it, and operates through it – lives in it, indwells it, and handles it in a different manner – such a principle is called kshetrajna. Jna means knower, and kshetra is, of course, field, so kshetrajna means 'the knower of the field'. Hence, this body is the kshetra, the field, and the one who knows this field is kshetrajna.

Consciousness and matter constitute the subject of this chapter. The so-called field – this body or anything that is material – is an unconscious presentation that is usually called matter. That which knows matter is consciousness. How do we connect consciousness with matter?

The knower of the field knows the field. Consciousness has no characteristic of matter, and matter does not have the characteristic of consciousness. Consciousness does not move, whereas matter is always in a state of flux and agitation. Therefore, they are dissimilar in their character. Objectivity is the character of the body and matter, whereas subjectivity is the nature of consciousness. They are totally opposed to each other. So how can that which is pure subject come in contact with that which is pure object? How would we solve this great issue of what the relationship between two terrible contraries is? They cannot have any kind of connection. Yet they seem to be working together in some way for the purpose of effecting some aim, which seems to be the very process of evolution.

"Arjuna, I am the knower of the field." The Lord says, "I am the Pure Consciousness that knows all things and operates these material forces; and I am not merely in one body. When I refer to the body, you may be thinking of some particular body – this body or that body – and there is a consciousness in each body. That may be so – that consciousness is inherently present in every body, within each person – but that is not the point. "I am present as the kshetrajna, or the knower of the field, in all the fields. That is, all individuals whatsoever – right from Brahma, the creator, down to the atom – are indwelt by Me, and I know all things as the Omniscient Knower."

In a sense, it means that the kshetra is the entire physical universe. The whole of creation can be considered as the kshetra or the field of action, and Omniscient Intelligence that is operating in terms of this material manifestation is kshetrajna. Therefore, the question of the relationship between God and creation, consciousness and matter, kshetrajna and kshetra, purusha and prakriti – all mean finally one and the same thing.

"This is real knowledge. I consider this to be supreme and real knowledge." What is that knowledge? It is the knowledge of kshetra and kshetrajna. If we can know the actual relationship between God and the world, soul and body, consciousness and matter, knower and the known – if this can be clear to us – we have known everything. This knowledge is the highest knowledge. 

Excerpts from:

Commentary on the Bhagavadgita by Swami Krishnananda

If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit:
http://www.dlshq.org/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?

If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at:

generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org