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On
Consciousness
June
27, 2010
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Swami Atmajnanananda
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Summary of this Lecture:
According to Vedanta philosophy Consciousness is the source of everything.
The most intimate experience of Consciousness that we have, is the existence
of 'I', which cannot be denied. Vedanta discriminates between real and
unreal based on the concept of Consciousness and comes to the conclusion,
as described by one of the four Mahavakyas, that Brahman, the ultimate
reality is pure consciousness. It is transcendent and remains unchanged.
In Western philosophy, the 'Existential Phenomenology' as propounded
by Sartre, the French Philosopher echoes similar thoughts. It takes
into account everything as a phenomenon; even ego is an object of experience
and is different from consciousness. The mind distorts the pure consciousness
by adding layers or colors to the perception. In Vedanta, Sakshin, the
pure consciousness is the real witness and experiences everything without
the mediacy of sense organs. In devotional terminology, It is the personal
God and in philosophy, It is the Atman. Consciousness is the Subject
and can never be known through subject-object perspective. According
to Sartre, Consciousness is what allows the world to exist; Consciousness
knows what it is only through the knowledge of what it is not; Consciousness
knows it is not a being, nor a nothingness. That is the language Used
by Bhagawad Gita in Ch 13.
In Vedanta Brahman or Consciousness is beyond space and time, and yet
It manifests in this universe through Its inscrutable power, Maya. Brahman
can be compared to light that illumines everything and yet remains invisible.
As the single ray of light becomes variegated through the prism, similarly
Brahman gets variegated as this universe through the prism of Maya.
Brahman can be compared to water, that water has no shape of its own
and takes the shape of the container. Water is odorless, colorless;
so also Brahman is without any attributes, Nirguna. As water flows down
to the lower level, so also Brahman wants to manifest, coming down to
our heart. How Consciousness is responsible for projection of the universe?
Sartre says that all Consciousness is self-consciousness. It can be
best described with the famous analogy of two mirrors facing each other.
Who sees who? - the question can never be answered. The only conclusion
that cannot be disproved is - the reality of existence of 'I', where
'I' is the Consciousness.
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