The need for Vijnanam

 (adapted from my article “Jnanam and Vijnanam” published in Medha, annual journal of Sydney Sanskrit school)

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna in the beginning of chapter 7 of Bhagavad Gita

ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदं वक्ष्याम्यशेषतः।(Jnaanam te’ham savijnaanam idam vakshyaamyasheshatah)
यज्ज्ञात्वा नेह भूयोऽन्यज्ज्ञातव्यमवशिष्यते।।(Yajjnaatwaa neha bhooyo’nyaj jnaatavyamavashishyate)

I shall completely impart to you this Jnanam along with Vijnanam gaining which knowledge nothing more remains to be known in this life.

Let us explore the two words Jnanam and Vijnanam in the context of Lord Krishna’s advice to Arjuna and the need for Vijnanam  to foster religious unity in our faction-ridden world.

In the closing verse of previous chapter, namely chapter 6, Lord Krishna stated that that the yogi who devoutly worships Him with his mind fully focussed on Him is the best of yogis. In the following verse, which is the first verse in this chapter,  Lord Krishna stated how He can be known in full without any doubt.  We should remember here that Lord Krishna is not speaking these words as the son of Devaki and Vasudeva but as the cosmic Supreme, who has taken the mortal body for the protection of the virtuous and destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of Dharma (Ch.4 – 8).

Cosmic Supreme is defined in Upanishads as Brahman.  Brahman which means “Big one” is only an indicator and not a name and it only means It is bigger than whatever big you can think of or however big you can conceive.  Hereafter we will refer to the Cosmic Supreme, as Brahman only.  Brahman is spoken of as being of two natures, one with the three gunas, satva, rajas and tamas unmanifest, called Nirguna Brahman or simply as Brahman and the other with these three gunas manifest called Saguna Brahman or Iswara. The three gunas together are known as Prakrithi or nature and also as Maya. Maya does not mean an illusion, as ordinarily understood, but refers to the phenomenon which is valid for all our ordinary experiences but is proved false on investigation. When something is referred to as Maya what it really means is that it is not really what it appears to be. A common everyday experience of Maya is sunrise and sunset.  The time of sunrise and sunset is given in print media, displayed on TV screen and we also experience sunrise and sunset.  But does sun really rise or set?  No, it is only the earth’s rotation that creates this phenomenon and all of us are aware of this fact, even while talking or referring about sunrise and sunset. That is why Swami Vivekananda referred to Maya as a simple statement of facts as it is.  The Nirguna Brahman, which is the One without a second, and which is the Absolute Truth, is referred to by Lord Krishna, in verse 5 of the same chapter as His Higher nature that forms the adhishtanam for the whole Universe.  The knowledge of this Nirguna Brahman is referred to here as Vijnanam, visesha Jnanam and Jnanam refers only to the knowledge of Saguna Brahman or Iswara.    It is Vijnanam that makes Jnanam complete and whole as Iswara’s higher nature is Nirguna Brahman.   Only with Vijnanam we can truly imbibe the spirit of the pregnant Rig Veda mantra ‘एकं  सत्  विप्रा  बहुधा  वदन्ति ‘ (Ekam sat viprah bahudha vadanti) meaning “Truth is one, learned men call it by various names”  

We will now examine how Vijnanam, the knowledge of Nirguna Brahman can contribute to religious harmony and unity of humanity.  Kena Upanishad first reveals pure Consciousness, also called Athma, as the power behind all our powers of cognition. The pure Consciousness is an independent principle which is not part, product or property of the body and it enlivens the body- mind complex, which is made of pancha bhuthas.  The pancha bhuthas are inert by themselves and so the body mind complex as their compound is also inert.  It is only the blessings of pure Consciousness that makes the body mind complex sentient.  Later the Upanishad goes on to equate this pure Consciousness with Nirguna Brahman.  From this we conclude that Nirguna Brahman as pure Consciousness, enlivens all body mind complexes, irrespective of sex, age, race, religion. colour and nation.  So when you have Vijnanam, you realise that the consciousness principle that enlivens your body mind complex is the same One that enlivens all other body mind complexes.  You also realise that whatever be the external differences the internal power that makes people move and function as sentient human beings is the same.  This power is the Nirguna Brahman, the pure Consciousness, referred to as Sat in the Rig Veda mantra. It is One only without a second and it is this One which is called by many names in its other nature as Iswara.

Kena Upanishad also makes it clear that the forms which are worshipped, are only that of Iswara and not that of Brahman.  Iswara is the one that is commonly referred to as God and worshipped in different forms or symbols under different names.  This Iswara only is the srishti, sthithi, laya karanam.  Since it is worshipped in different forms or symbols, the worshippers of each symbol or form feel theirs is the true God and all other representations are false/inferior Gods, when worshippers’ knowledge stops with Iswara without extending to Nirguna Brahman, the higher nature of Brahman i.e. with Jnanam without extending to Vijnanam.  So people with Jnanam only without the Vijnanam are only aware of the dividing factors that separate them and miss the uniting principle. So Jnanam alone without Vijnanam had been and is the breeding ground of religious fanaticism and intolerance, This and the resulting zeal for conversion has been the cause for fights and wars, not to speak of present day terrorism, in the name of religion. With Vijnanam you see not only the One Brahman in all, but also all in One Brahman, and know this Brahman is none other than your own real Self.

Burt Harding, one of the advaita teachers of west, presents the same idea in different words.  He says in his satsanghs that human being is a mix of human and Being.  Being is the Oneness principle, the word he uses for Brahman, which is same in all human beings, irrespective of their race, religion, colour, sex or sect or nationality.  When people’s knowledge stops with the 'human' only, without the knowledge of the 'Being', there is emphasis on factors that divide humanity.  When it extends to 'Being' and one discovers that his real Self is the Being that is Oneness and not the human, which is ego, then one sees the intrinsic unity of all people i.e. pure consciousness and does not see others separate from oneself.  Deepak Chopra, another advaita teacher, calls this knowing state of mind as the state of Unity Consciousness. Vijnanam leads one to this Unity Consciousness that is necessary to achieve the principle of real brotherhood among humanity. 

---------------------------------

Athma - One's Real Self

Tattva Bodha - 5

The sthula sareera of an individual is matter only as the Pancha Bhuthas, of whose gross matter it is made of, are matter only.  The sukshma sareera is also matter only as it is made of subtle matter of these material Pancha Bhuthas.  The karana sareera is also matter only as it is nothing but the seed of these two bodies.  So all the three bodies of an individual are matter only, and do not contain a sentient substance. But the human body is sentient, conscious of itself and the environs and is capable of intelligently reacting to the environs and not inert like a table or chair which are matter only and not sentient.  From this we infer that there must be an independent inner sentient entity, Consciousness principle, lending sentience to sukshma, stula sareeras. That invisible inner entity, the Consciousness principle, is called Athma. Tattva Bhodha introduces Athma with these words:

स्थूलसूक्ष्मकारणशरीराद्व्यतिरिक्तः पञ्चकोशातीतः सन् अवस्थात्रयशाक्षी सच्चिदानन्दस्वरूपः सन् यस्तिष्ठति स आत्मा।(sthula sukshma karana sareerad vyathiriktaha panchakosatheethaha san avasthathraya sakshi sachidananda svarupaha san yas thishtathi sa Athma)

That which is other than the Sthula, Sukshma, Karana sareeras, beyond the five Kosas, the witness of the three Avasthas and of the nature of Sat, Chit and Anandha (Existence, Knowledge, Bliss) is Athma.

We had seen earlier that sentient Athma is different from three sareeras. Since five kosas are only the three sareeras seen from another angle Athma is beyond the five kosas as well. Avasthas relate to the sareeras, and Athma which is different from sareeras, exists only as a witness to the avasthas. These descriptions tell what Athma is not.  What is not Athma is referred to as anathma. So Sareera Thriam, Kosa Panchakam and Avastha Thriam all come under anathma. After describing Athma negatively by telling what it is not through the listing of the anathmas, the text proceeds to describe positively Athma as Sat, Chit, Anandha. They are not three separate attributes but the nature of this Consciousness principle, Athma, described in three different ways. 

Swami Paramatmananda lists the properties of Consciousness as follows:
1)    Consciousness is not a part, product or property of the body. It is not a part like hair, nails etc.; it is not a property like birth, growth etc., and it is not a product like enzymes, cells etc.
2)    Consciousness is an invisible, independent entity that pervades the body and makes it alive.  Kena Upanishad describes in Mantra 2 thus:

श्रोत्रस्यश्रोत्रं मनसो मनो यद् वाचोहवाचं स उ प्राणस्यप्राणः। (strosya strotram manaso mano yad vachohavacham sa u pranasya pranaha)

चक्षुषश्चक्षुः (chakshushas chakshuhu)

Ear of the ear, mind of the mind, speech of speech, prana of prana and eye of eye.  

That  means Consciousness is the power behind all the faculties of the body that makes them carry out their respective functions.
3)    This Consciousness is not limited by the boundaries of the body. It is boundless or infinite.  When associated with the upadhi of body it is called Athma; when associated with the whole Universe it is called Brahman.   This concept of Athma as Brahman is something unique to Advaita Vedanta and from this flows property 4.
4)    Consciousness will continue to survive the body medium even after the body perishes.
5)    The surviving Consciousness is not recognisable by us because the medium through which it was recognised is absent.  Through its reflection in the anthakaranam, Chithabasa, Consciousness lends sentiency to the human body. At the time of death, as sukshma sareera with Chithabasa leaves the body, the medium that reflected Consciousness is not available and so the surviving Consciousness is not recognisable.

This can be illustrated with the analogy of electricity.   Electricity passing through filament of the bulb makes it glow, which in turns makes the bulb shine with light and illumine the environs. Electricity is one and it makes aglow bulbs of all sizes and shapes and powers. So we can say:
1)    Electricity is not part, product, property of the bulb.
2)    It is an invisible entity that pervades the filament and make the bulb shine.
3)    It is not limited to the boundaries of the bulb.  It is infinite.
4)  It will continue to survive the bulb medium even after the bulb is fused out.
5)    The surviving electricity is not recognisable as the medium for recognition is not there.

The text defines Sat, Chit and Ananda as the inherent nature of Athma.  “Sat” stands for Existence i.e. pure existence.  This existence principle is not bound by time and is valid for all the three periods of time, past, present and future. So it is eternal.  Athma being eternal and unchanged in the three periods of time is indicated by ‘Sat’.  “Chit” stands for Knowledge, not knowledge about anything but Absolute Knowledge that illuminates for one  the objects of experience in the outer and inner world.  The Consciousness principle illuminates all it comes across without any preference and irrespective of their nature and quality.  The Consciousness being boundless or infinite is complete, पू्र्णः purnaha.  Purnatvam is total bliss as nothing is lacking and no shortness or deficiency is felt.  This is the “குறையொன்றுமில்லை” state that Sri Andal attributes to Lord Govinda in Thiruppavai verse 28.

This Athma is our real self.  It makes the Anthakaranam  sentient through its manifestation in the Anthakaranam as its reflection, called Chithabasa. The sentient Anthakaranam in turn makes the whole body sentient. One mistakes the ego as the real self, not knowing about the invisible inner self that has lent sentiency to the ego itself  due to which the ego identifies with actions, pleasures sorrows, emotions etc. and claims doership and enjoyership.  We can say that Athma is the ego’s Ego on the analogy of Kenopanishad Mantra we saw earlier.  The ego is only the imposter “I” and the Real “I”, is Athma, that cannot be known directly as it is invisible and is not available for perception by the senses or for conceptualisation by intellect.  The goal of Self enquiry is to discover the Real “I”, Athma, rejecting  all anathmas and claim identification with it as one’s Self, disowning the imposter, ego, and through it  disclaim the body-mind  complex as “me” 

------------------

The greatest tapas

The great Sanskrit scholar Kavyakanta Ganapathy sastry approached Ramana Maharishi with the plea “All that has to be read I have read; even Vedanta sastra I have fully understood; I have done japa to my heart’s content; yet I have not up to this time understood what tapas is. Therefore I have sought refuge at your feet. Pray enlighten me as to the nature of tapas.”  Ganapathy Sastry has made a number of ‘I statements’  in his query and  Maharishi’s simple reply was “If one watches whence the notion ‘I’ arises, the mind gets absorbed there; that is tapas.” In his work 'Upadesa Undhiyar', Maharishi says in verse 19:

“For the one who continuously enquires” wherefrom does this ‘I’ arise, the ‘I’ notion drops.  This is the path of Self-enquiry, the best path for acquiring Athma Jnanam.” 

In the last verse of this work, he states:

“The destruction of Ahamkara leading to the realization of Athma Jnanam is indeed the greatest tapas.”

Putting these together we can say that Maharishi considered the enquiry into the source of ‘I’ notion resulting in destruction of Ahamkara as the greatest tapas.

One usually refers to one’s body, mind or intellect by the first person pronoun “I”. When one says ‘I am not well’, ‘I’ refers to the body.  When one says ‘I am happy or sad’, ‘I’ stands for the mind.  When one says ‘I find the problem tricky’, ‘I’ refers to intellect. But one also says, my body, my mind, my intellect implying that they are one’s possessions and not the real Self which is beyond all the three. By enquiring "Who am I", one is enquiring into the notion of ‘I’. This is enquiry about the nature of one’s real Self  and is called Self-enquiry. Maharishi’s prescription for this exercise is to turn one’s attention inward and enquire wherefrom the ‘I’ thought arises. By asking continuously in a focused way “Who am I” the mind can be made to look inward, towards the source of ‘I’ thought, the Self, which is pure Consciousness.

This pure Consciousness is none other than Supreme universal power, which is one without a second, eternal, infinite, and indivisible and which is also called Brahman at cosmic level and Athma at the level of individual.   It pervades all beings living and non-living in the universe and is the same in all; only the upadhi in each case is different.  Kena Upanishad in Mantra 2 calls it “The Eye of the eye, the Ear of the ear, the Prana of prana, the Mind of mind, Tongue of the tongue”.  It also further states in this mantra that the wise man knows the Source, the Athma, separate from these faculties.  The process of separation and transcending the identification with senses, prana, mind and intellect is achieved through Self-enquiry and leads to Self-Realization i.e. realizing Athma only is one’s Real Self. This knowledge that only Athma, which is same as Brahman is one’s Real Self is Athma Jnanam.  Maharishi calls this Athma, which is the source of ‘I’ thought, also as the heart, not the physical heart which is a muscular organ on the left side pumping blood all through the body but the spiritual heart on the right side, two digits to the right from the median, which is the core of one’s being. It is the place where one, young or old, involuntarily points his finger when he says ‘I did this or I did that” or makes some such similar statement.  Maharshi said “Call it by any name, God, Self, the heart or seat of Consciousness it is all the same…. It is by coming down to the level of ordinary understanding that a place is assigned to the heart in the physical body".

All our thoughts arise and resolve in the mind and if we analyze the mind, we find it is nothing but the flow of thoughts.  When the thoughts are arrested as in Nirvikalpa Samadhi there is a stillness of mind and direct communion with one’s real Self is achieved.  This state of stillness of mind is called the state of Manonasa.  The philosophical meaning of Manonasa is the vision that everything other than Athma, including the mind and the perceived universe, is all mithya.  Anathma can be experienced and anathma has utility; but it is only apparently real and not absolutely Real.  Further all our thoughts revolve around the ego ‘I’ thought.  So when one enquires into the source of this ego ‘I’ thought under the guidance of a competent Guru, one realizes the Athma as one’s true Self.  On this realization, deahabhimana drops off, Manonasa occurs and one feels totally fulfilled, enjoying the pure bliss of one’s divine Self.

This idea Maharishi conveys in verse 20 of Upadesa Undiyar:

When this ‘I’ notion drops i.e. the ego is destroyed, the Real ‘I’ reveals itself  as eternal,  whole, self-evident shining Pure Existence. This is the self evident eternal whole Self, the Athma. (20) 

Maharishi always lived in this state of Manonasa.  Whether he was talking to disciples, or  was alone; whether he was doing work in the ashram or walking around the mountain, he was always conscious of his identity as the eternal, infinite Chaitanyam and was fully aware that all his experiences involving  the world at large and the various people were only relatively real. It is as though his mind was blissfully singing ever, in the midst of activities or no activities- 

नाहम देहम्! (Naaham deham), I am not the body

        कोहं? सोऽहम्॥ (Koham? Soham) Who am I? I am He only

For this internal enquiry, he did not prescribe any path.  As he once told a questioner, “Guru, who is God or Self incarnate, works from within and helps the man to see the error of his ways, and guides him in the right path until he realizes the Self within …….. The Master is both ‘within’ and ‘without’, so He creates conditions to drive you inward and at the same time prepares the ‘interior’ to drag you to the Centre”. So the external Guru turns your attention inward and the internal Guru draws you to Himself and makes you realize that as Athma, you were never bound nor were you ever in samsara. So in this tapas of Self-enquiry that is started seeking something  that one considers as outside oneself, he ends up with the discovery that what he sought externally was all along with him only, with its mind-boggling corollaries,  waiting to be discovered.  So this indeed is the greatest tapas that one can undertake.

-----------------------

Silence – the Real Self

Silence can be of body, speech or mind.  As physical silence is called stillness, we generally associate silence with speech or mind.  Of these the popular association is with speech. Silence of speech is practised more as a vrata, mouna vrata.  In mouna vrata also, one keeps the mouth shut but does not stay still and the mind also keeps its chattering and wandering. The silence, I am referring to is the silence of the mind, the inner stillness, which is also referred to as mano-nasa, the destruction of the mind.  Here the mind is not destroyed but only quietened with the thought process of the mind arrested. This state can be achieved only when there is total silence, silence of body, mind and speech.

Our mind being a product of the satva component of the pancha bhuthas i.e. space, air, fire, earth and water, which by themselves are insentient, is also insentient by itself.  It is made sentient by the pure Consciousness, called Chaitanyam that the mind manifests through its reflection in the mind, called Chidabasa. So in every thought experience called Vritti, Chaitanyam is associated.  One Chaitanyam associated with numerous thoughts is symbolically represented as Rasa Krida.  Krida stands for the coming and going of thoughts and Rasa stands for Anandha, that is Chaitanyam, which is Sat, Chit, Anandha. Rasa Krida is the figurative interplay of thoughts with Chaitanyam, which is one and changeless.  Normally we are experiencing Chaitanyam with Vritti in all our thought experiences. When the mind is silent, it is thought free and we are experiencing the Chaitanyam only and so the peace and happiness experienced in the moment of inner stillness is the peace and happiness associated with Chaitanyam. 

In Kenopanishad this is explained beautifully by the fit student first and later the guru explains it to the mediocre student. In the second verse of chapter 2, the student states as a reply to guru’s question, “I do not think, ’I know It well’, Not that I do not know; I know too.”  The student cannot know it well because Chaitanyam cannot be known as an object or as a concept.  But at the same time he cannot also say he does not know because it is part of his thought experiences. Thereafter the teacher explains this to the mediocre student in Mantra 4, with the oft-quoted statement. “प्रतिबोधविदितं मतम्”.

Here the teacher again explains to the mediocre student that Chaitanyam is associated with every thought modification of the mind.  Every experience we have has a variable component, thought and a non-variable component, Chaitanyam, the pure consciousness principle. One registers only the thought and not the Chaitanyam. To see an object one not only needs good eyes but also a source of light to illumine the object.  For even if one has good vision, one cannot see the object if there is no light and it is totally dark. But when we see an object, our mind registers the object only and not the light pervading it which makes it possible for us to see the object.  This you can experiment, while walking in the daytime.  The mind registers the objects only and not the sunlight that makes it possible for us to see the objects.  Even if there is nothing to notice, the emptiness also is revealed by the light only. In the same way not only the thought but also absence of thought is revealed by Chaitanyam. So in the moment of inner stillness, when thought is absent we have the experience of the revealing Chaitanyam and this explains the deep peace and serene happiness enjoyed at the time of inner stillness.

When mind is silent there is total silence i.e. silence of body and speech as well. And the inner stillness experienced then is the experience of Chaitanyam, which is our Real Self. This is conveyed by Mandukya Upanishad as well  through Mantras 7 and 12. Mantra 7 describes Turiyam, which is Athma and Mantra 12 describes Amatra, the state of silence, and both have identical descriptions. For as we have seen earlier, it is Chaitanyam that illuminates the chatter of mind as well as the silence of mind.  So this inner stillness is Athma that is Brahman, the Cosmic Supreme.   So if you meditate on ‘Om Namasivaya’ or on ‘Om Namo Narayana” or some similar Mantra, slowly spelling out the words mentally, concentrating on the silence in between words and lengthening the period of silence as meditation progresses, then you are  meditating  on Silence, your inner Real Self. 

This is the concept Wayne Dyer employs in his Gap Meditation, through which he says one can have conscious contact with God.  This inner stillness, Eckhart Tolle equates with ‘Now’, the container; the events that take place at any time being only the contents. So in his book “Stillness Speaks”, Eckhart Tolle states “When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself ----- This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form.  Stillness is your essential nature” and goes on to equate the stillness with Awareness which is Chaitanyam. From this we can see that what Lord Dakshinamurthy does, is not teaching in silence but teaching ‘Silence’, that is one’s Real Self.

---------------------------------

Dimensions of Consciousness

I had sent to Burt Harding the link to my blog “Being-the Oneness”.  He was good enough to respond and in his reply while appreciating the blog, he also made a comment which I am reproducing below.

“One point I would like to stress dear Sam is that while this knowledge is excellent yet we are entering the 4^th dimension and we are living in extremely consciousness-shifting times when everyone’s values are being challenged to be met and transcended.  Therefore, in view of this, the ‘Life-Energy’ is shifting from the emphasis of clearing the past as done in modern therapies to the SEEING of What-Is at the moment as already Divine.  It is this SEEING that is bringing the mass awakening of humanity.  This also means that the human is not seen as something ‘bad’ but as a catalyst for greater growth and acceptance.” 

I was intrigued by his reference to ‘4^th dimension’ and ‘consciousness-shifting’.  For as per my reading, Consciousness is nirvikara, i.e. it does not undergo any modifications and is One only without gradations, which means it is free of levels as well. Also it is all-pervading.  So where it can shift to?  So I wrote back seeking clarification mentioning my doubt as follows.

“In your comment you are making a mention of our entering into fourth dimension.  This I had also heard you mention in your satsangh.  Is it the consciousness you are referring to as the fourth dimension, the body, mind and intellect being other dimensions?   And is it the awakening to consciousness as our Real Self the entering into fourth dimension?  You can briefly clarify, at your leisure.”

Quick came his reply with the clarification which is as follows:

“The question you asked is fully loaded and requires some research to understand it more.  You see, we are all born human being – as you know it is BEING playing the human role.  While BEING is already perfect, the human is what is needed to learn from and its evolution is what creates this seeming universe.  Evolution is the gradual growth of the human getting to know its own true nature through seeming ‘time.’  Dimensions are levels of deeper conscious understanding of this ‘seeming’ process.  It is like the years of physical life for in this lifetime.  We start as infants, then children ready to walk and talk, then develop ego around 3 or 4 years old, then the difficult years of teenage-hood then the slow maturity to greater unfoldment. 

During the war years we lived in the 3^rd dimension level of consciousness where everything was either white or black, good or bad, right or wrong etc.  This was a time of great conflict of the physical knowing of our world where three-dimensions (height, width and depth) predominated our consciousness.  At this time we completely believed the world was real and material.  Therefore religions had more power over the people.  Then we started entering the 4^th dimension around the years of the 60’s where sexual revolution, outmoded ideas where beginning to be seen.  This is a time of emphasis on emotions where people began to get in touch with what they felt more than just beliefs.  Thus many atheists arose around this time.  There were also more intellectuals asking deeper questions. Still the word ‘God’ became taboo for most intellectuals. 

 Now in this year of 2013 we are entering the deeper side of the 4^th dimension that is transcending time and space.  For example, technology such as iphones, advanced computers,skyping are proving that time and space are illusory.  However, what is most important at this time is GOD and its realization.  This is a time for vibrational transformation where words alone are not enough; where scriptures and teachings are not enough but deeper recognition that GOD is all there is.  GOD is love; God is perfect and absolute unconditional love and many people are awakening to that knowing beyond words by awakening their insightful heart.  Also there is greater acceptance of the human as a longing and yearning for God whether it is expressed in drinking, drugs or sexual exploits or through needs and seeking of love through relationships, greater understanding of each other and so on.  In other words, it doesn’t matter how one lives their life, behind their suffering is a yearning for God without knowing it.  All human seeking is a seeking of BEING (God). 

When we start seeing clearly how everything we do, seek and want is God above all because it is all there is, then our love nature flowers like never before and start recognizing our Oneness. Thus in a few years we will be entering the 5th dimension where all our values of the past will drop away and what is left is truly the Divine Nature of Humanity.”

After reflection on what Burt has said I replied to Burt as follows: “I went through your detailed comment carefully and took time to think about it.  I think you are referring to the individual consciousness manifested in the mind of the individual as consciousness, as this can have only dimensions of growth based on the evolution of the mind from the animalistic origin to the divine nature, which is the true Self of the human, the Being.  ---------  In Advaita Vedanta texts, pure Consciousness is referred to as Chit and the manifestation in mind, Chitabhasa, meaning reflection in the mind. So when I translate Awareness to Chit and consciousness to Chitabhasa, I am able to understand and agree with what you say.” 

Proceeding on this premise and calling Chitabhasa as individual consciousness, to distinguish it from pure Consciousness, we can see individual consciousness also moves to a higher dimension as the reflecting medium, when the mind is refined through spiritual studies, satsanghs, spiritual practices and studying with a teacher.  I shall hereafter refer to pure Consciousness as Chaithanyam and Chithabhasa, the individual Consciousness as simply Consciousness.  Swami Ranganathananda remarks "Spirituality is not a mere scholarship; it is being and becoming in the words of Swami Vivekananda: it is growth, development and realisation.  Spiritual knowledge, unlike scholarship does not arise in the mind of man if  it is morally impure”  Unless the mind is made subtle and refined through sadhanas while leading a good moral life, the knowledge will not get assimilated and become part of oneself however much one hears or reads.  When knowledge is absorbed and becomes part of oneself,  then this knowledge of Self, Athma Jnanam, will be available, at all times. So there can be stages of growth in Consciousness depending on the growth in subtlety of the mind.  These stages can be called as dimensions of growth.  

Dimension 1,2 &3 are everybody’s everyday dimensions, corresponding to waking state, dream state and deep sleep state.  They can be called waking consciousness, dream consciousness and deep sleep consciousness.  Since the mind is fully awake, interacting with the outside world in the waking state, partially awake interacting only with the individual’s dream world in dream state and in sleep with no thoughts in the deep sleep state, they are classified separately. They are basic dimensions common to all.  Spiritual growth and development starts from fourth dimension, in which one awakens to the fact that one is not the body-mind-intellect complex, which we shall hereafter refer to as BMI, but the Chaitanyam, which lends sentiency to the BMI through its manifestation in mind as Consciousness, and this Chaitanyam is only a silent witness of the activities of BMI. We can call this fourth dimension as witness Consciousness.  When one realizes that the Chaitanyam is none other than Brahman, the cosmic Supreme, one divinises the mind and this can be said to be fifth dimension, divine Consciousness. The next stage of growth is when one sheds the individual ego, realizing that one’s true self is Brahman and this we can call the sixth dimension, cosmic Consciousness. The final stage of development is when one can stay in this realization all the time 24/7, seeing all in Brahman and Brahman in all, animate and inanimate and that Brahman in himself as his true Self.  Such a person is called Brahma Nishta and people like Ramana Maharishi are example of people who have attained that state. This we can call the unity Consciousness, when one is constantly aware of Brahman in all and all in Brahman, that Brahman being one’s own true Self.

The dimensions, names and analysis are a result of my trying to reconcile the ideas of advaita teachers of west like Burt Harding and Deepak Chopra with my knowledge from Vedanta texts.  The number of dimensions and some of their names are borrowed from Deepk Chopra’s analysis of higher states of Consciousness and the concept of dimension and Consciousness has been inspired by Burt Harding’s satsanghs.  To purists who may frown upon the idea of Consciousness having dimensions, I will only invite their attention to Burt’s remark  “Dimensions are levels of deeper conscious understanding of this ‘seeming’ process.” and my definition of Chitabhasa  as individual Consciousness.

------------------------