Psychology (psyche, Soul), literally means study of the soul.

  Soul is the invisible divine essence

of the individual, of which the body, mind and intellect are the instruments for action in the
world.  The body being a rather gross instrument, psychology has traditionally concentrated on
the relationship between the mind, intellect and the soul.  However, the division between
different parts of the being is only superficial; at a deeper level they are all interconnected.  What
goes on in the mind may get reflected in body language; physical illness may be the result of
underlying mental distress; and bodily pain may manifest as anxiety or depression.
 
        -    Although the mind and the intellect are instruments of the soul, they ordinarily function
independently of the soul.  That is because most of us have an ego-driven personality most of the
time, and the soul is quite content to stay in the background as a mute spectator.  When the mind
and the intellect revolve around the ego, they often come into conflict because the mind seeks
what feels good, and the intellect may argue in favour of something logically better.  The conflict
may end either by suppressing the mind, which leads to stress; or by the mind exploiting the
intellect to fabricate reasons to justify the demands of the mind, which is what getting carried
away by feelings is.  The soul speaks in a voice that is even more authentic than that of the
intellect, and it also cannot be exploited the way the intellect can be.  Hence the ideal solution is
to centre both the mind and the intellect on the soul.  When the mind and the intellect are so
centred, what is truly good feels good to the mind, and the intellect also comes up with reasons
which justify what is truly good.  This is the route to making the right choices in life, lasting
inner peace, and fulfillment.  Psychology based on these principles is called integral (complete),
because it takes into account the totality of the being.  Integral psychology is based on
the spiritual worldview, and is the psychology inherent in the Gita.  Reading the Gita in
moments of crises has possibly prevented more psychological breakdowns than any psychiatrist. 
More recently, Prof. Indra Sen, former Professor of Psychology at the University of Delhi, was
pleasantly surprised to find a complete system of psychology in Sri Aurobindo’s classic on
spiritual philosophy, The Life Divine.  He developed this system of psychology in the 1940s, and
also coined the term integral psychology.  Integral psychology has been further developed after
that by another psychologist, Dr. A.S. Dalal, and physician, Dr. Matthijs Cornelissen – both
devotees of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
 
          - Where does modern (western) psychology stand in relation to integral psychology?  If we
go back to the 19th century, Carl Jung had brought western psychology very close to integral or
Indian psychology.  In the normal course, it should have been only a matter of time for the two to
coincide, merge and enrich each other.  But in the twentieth century, western psychology started
undergoing a self-imposed restriction, which prevented such convergence and creative
synthesis.  The reason was that by the early twentieth century, science was an enormously
successful enterprise.  Hence the adjective scientific almost became a synonym for good, valid
and worthwhile.  It became a matter of prestige for any branch of knowledge to qualify as a
science. However, in order to qualify as a science, the subject had to fit within the framework of
science.  Psychology, in order to assert its status as a science, underwent a voluntary amputation. 
It got rid of those elements which did not fit within the framework of science.  The first thing
that it got rid of was the soul, because science denied the Divine, of which soul is the essence.  
Consequently, psychology became the study of the mind.  However, even the mind is difficult to
quantify.  Hence psychology gradually became the study of behaviour.  It started concentrating
on questionnaires for the study of behaviour.  The responses to these questionnaires generate
numerical data.  The numerical data can be analyzed statistically as in any other hard-core
science.  Thus psychology became a science, but simultaneously also impoverished itself.  The
deficit in western psychology has been filled-in to some extent during the last few decades by
transpersonal psychologists, the best known among them being Ken Wilber.  The process of once
again giving a spiritual orientation to psychology has not made psychology lose its status as a
science because now science itself has started stretching its limits.  The framework of science
today is much wider than it was a hundred years ago.  Hence there is scope today for including in
science a much wider body of knowledge.  Therefore, we can now look forward to a synthesis of
Indian and Western psychology.
Psychology Of Consciousness

Viewpoint from India

By Yatindradasa

Introduction

From very ancient times, philosophers and theologians have been seriously trying to understand the
exact nature of consciousness without much success. In modern times also, despite all the scientific
advancement, the one mystery that still eludes the grasp of scientists is the incomprehensible
phenomenon of consciousness. The world-renowned psychologist Dr. William James has said that a
breakthrough in the understanding of consciousness will pale into insignificance all the scientific
achievements of the past. Mind and consciousness are not one and the same. Mind is the thinking,
feeling and willing faculty in man. Psychologists say that conscious mind is only one-tenth of the
memory like the tip of the iceberg and the balance lies sub-merged in what they call the sub-conscious
or the unconscious. In fact, psychology is defined not as the study of human mind but as the study of the
states of consciousness. It is the consciousness that is in the driver's seat of the physical brain and the
conscious mind, which needs detailed study.

Nature Of Consciousness

The enigma of consciousness poses the greatest challenge to the scientists who deny the very existence
of the non-physical mind as something separate or different from the physical brain. They also explain
consciousness as a by-product or the incidental fall-out of the activity of the brain. Conscious state is the
very base of human personality. Cessation of consciousness will mean the total loss of personality.
Mental states and brain activity are the effects of consciousness and not the cause of consciousness.
Existence of consciousness can be personally felt by an individual and no external evidence or proof is
either necessary or possible to establish the existence of consciousness. The presence of consciousness
is a self-evident and personally experienced axiomatic truth requiring no testimony of any kind. The
simplest and by far the easiest way of proving the existence of consciousness is to know what happens
to a person who is devoid of consciousness. An unconscious person is unaware of his own existence and
he does not also know what is happening around. It is the existence of consciousness that gives an
awareness of our existence and enables us to know the external world. Some believe that only in the
thoughtless state when the mind is in a vacuum without any brain activity can one know the exact
nature of consciousness. Nature abhors vacuum and a thoughtless mental state devoid of brain activity
is a psychical impossibility. Such a state may only be a fantasy of a deluded mind.

Brain damage and head injury do affect the normal functioning of the human mind and memory.
Neurologists have observed that the mutilation of the brain stem causes the loss of consciousness in the
patients. They, therefore, infer that the locus of consciousness could possibly be in the brain stem.
Though consciousness may be in one location, sensation extends over the whole body and the feeling of
consciousness is not confined to any one particular part of the body. The jurisdiction of consciousness
covers the whole body. Some may ask-- How can it be possible that the function of an organ located in
the head extend to the entire body? Consciousness is not a physical organ but is something ethereal
similar to light.

Consciousness can be compared to the flame of a lamp. Though the flame emanates from the wick its
radiance covers a wide area. Similarly, though the locus of consciousness may be in the physical brain,
the light of conscious awareness extends over the whole body. Scientists are unable to make much
headway in the study of consciousness, as it is not a visible tangible substance like a physical organ to
which scientific methods of study can be applied. Senses perceive because of the existence of
consciousness. A dazed or drowsy or absent-minded person with all his senses intact is unable to
perceive worldly things on account of the pre-occupation of his conscious mind with some thoughts or
on account of his physical or mental fatigue.

Salient Features of Consciousness

Though it is not possible to precisely define the nature of consciousness, it may be worthwhile and even
useful to take careful note of certain distinguishing characteristics of consciousness on the basis of our
own personal experience in life. The following features are something very distinct to consciousness:

 Consciousness is the one substance that stays with us right from birth until death. Human life can
have no meaning without consciousness.

 Consciousness is a single indivisible whole without any parts. Neuro-surgeons are astonished at the
plasticity of the brain, as the removal of even a sizeable portion of brain tissues does not affect the
functioning of consciousness.

 Consciousness cannot be transplanted like the physical organs of the human body.

 Even in very serious ailments of the physical body, the functioning of consciousness may get dimmed
but not totally extinguished.

 Consciousness enables us to know and be aware of our individuality and the environment prevalent in
the external world.

 Barring sleep, the loss of consciousness may need immediate medical attention.

 Consciousness brings about the unity of awareness and experience. The activities of the senses of
perception, the mind and intellect, the memory etc, seem to be coordinated by consciousness.

 Unlike the physical body, consciousness does not grow old with age, though the extent of conscious
awareness may perhaps be impaired by amnesia, senility or dotage.
 In the weightless state of zero gravity, astronauts do not lose their consciousness and report to us
their experiences in space. These experiences look similar to the out-of -body experiences reported to
para-psychologists by the patients who have undergone the near death state.

 Consciousness without the existence of life is inconceivable. Life and consciousness always seem to go
together. Inorganic solid, liquid or gaseous matter, which is inert, has no life and is, therefore, bereft of
consciousness. Consciousness is not life but is inalienable from life.

 There can be several states of consciousness like drowsiness, sleep, wakeful state, dream, hypnotic or
meditational state of trance etc. l) The extent of conscious awareness can be different among different
individuals. The level of thinking, intelligence, comprehension, remembrance, perception,
concentration, retention, etc seems to depend much on the level of consciousness.

 Consciousness flows as a continuous stream of light in which thoughts or feelings surface one at a
time. The sub-conscious is the memory which does not fully surface in the conscious or wakeful state of
consciousness. Scientists do not as yet know how the changes in the complex patterns of neuronal
networks in the brain store the vast amount of thoughts, feelings, images, experiences and events that
constitute the private world of each individual.

 One's own will is the chief part of one's consciousness. The will to live and to succeed, the will to resist
temptations etc, arise from the consciousness and

 Acquisition of knowledge of anything under the sun can only be possible in the conscious state of
mind.

The foregoing general description of the more important characteristics of consciousness is only
illustrative and can by no means be considered exhaustive. In order to remove the several
misconceptions about consciousness, it is equally important to know what consciousness is not:

 Consciousness is not something physical or tangible to be perceived by the senses. In fact, the senses
function because of consciousness. Consciousness seems to be ethereal, non-physical and without
visible form,

 Consciousness is not a by-product of physical brain or non-physical mind. The senses, mind, intellect,
memory and physical brain appear to function on account of the existence of consciousness,

 Life and consciousness are not one and the same. Life can turn out to be vegetative without
consciousness,

 Consciousness is not affected by advancement of age to become old or incapacitated and

 Physical handicaps or mental derangement do not affect consciousness.

Twin Aspects of Consciousness

There is tremendous amount of confusion among philosophers about consciousness and knowledge.
Man is only a knower and not mere consciousness. Consciousness always remains functioning
throughout life and even momentary loss of consciousness can be quite serious needing medical help.
Our knowledge is the conscious awareness of our existence in the world in which we live. Though
consciousness is a single indivisible whole, it has two important functions to perform. Its first function is
the creation of an awareness of oneself as a distinct being different from all others with
an I consciousness. It is the I consciousness that gives us a sense of individuality and separate identity of
our own as a distinct and unique personality. One can refer to oneself only by the pronoun I to
distinguish one's identity from all others. The second function of consciousness is the creation of an
awareness of the existence of the inert objects and living beings in the external world.

Acquisition of knowledge or creation of awareness is the result of the existence of consciousness.

Conscious awareness or knowledge and consciousness are two different things but many unfortunately
equate both as one, thinking that they are the very same. Consciousness is the cause and conscious
awareness is the effect and the cause should not be mixed up with the effect. In order to clearly
distinguish the two aspects of the functioning of consciousness, the first aspect of self-awareness can be
designated as `` SUBSTANTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS ``. The second aspect connected with the enlargement
of awareness may be called `` CONSCIOUS AWARENESS ``. It should, however, be clearly noted that
consciousness is a single indivisible whole and only the two aspects of its functioning are given separate
nomenclatures to facilitate easy identification for quick comprehension.

Many psychologists seem to be under the erroneous impression that there can be only one steady state
of consciousness and that can only be the normal state of wakeful consciousness. In order to clearly
comprehend the nature and characteristics of Substantive consciousness and Conscious awareness the
following points may be worth noting:

 The Substantive consciousness remains always steady in all the three states of consciousness viz.
wakeful, dream and deep sleep throughout one's life. The Conscious awareness can, however, expand
or contract during the course of life. For example, a newborn possesses Substantive consciousness but
its Conscious awareness is confined to survival instincts only. During the course of its lifetime its
Conscious awareness can expand phenomenally. Likewise, the Conscious awareness of an old man can
contract due to loss of memory, though his Substantive consciousness may remain totally intact.

 The Substantive consciousness is basically inward oriented whereas the Conscious awareness can be
both inward and outward oriented for self-awareness and awareness of the external environment.

 There can be a partial or total eclipse of Conscious awareness due to head injury or amnesia without
any impairment of the Substantive consciousness.

 The Substantive consciousness is similar to the flame of a lamp remaining always in a steady state but
the Conscious awareness like the radiance or illumination can be bright or dim depending on the extent
of use of the Substantive consciousness.

 The presence of the Conscious awareness is personally experienced by all as either knowledge or
mind or memory but the nature of the Substantive consciousness is kept by nature as a closely guarded
mystery.

 The Substantive consciousness is passive and dormant whereas the Conscious awareness is ever
active acquiring new knowledge throughout life from fresh learning experiences.

 The Conscious awareness is only an attribute of the passive and steady Substantive consciousness.

 In the process of brining about a change in the extent of Conscious awareness, the change agent i.e.
the Substantive consciousness itself does not undergo any change.
 The Substantive consciousness is one only whereas the thoughts and feelings covered by the
Conscious awareness can be many and varied.

It may be noted from the above that the flame of Substantive consciousness always stays in a single
steady state but the extent of and radiance of Conscious awareness can be bright or dim and can be
subject to swift changes of moods depending on the pervasiveness of its radiance. Consciousness, which
stays with us from birth to death can be narrow or wide depending on the scope and extent of our
Conscious awareness. With persistent and indefatigable efforts the knower can know almost everything
including the nature of Substantive consciousness itself depending on the inward or outward orientation
of his consciousness. The light of consciousness can be turned outwards to explore the external world
with the help of the senses of perception or can be turned inwards to know the Substantive
consciousness with the help of the mind. Only by turning the consciousness inwards in deep
contemplation can one expect to know the nature of Substantive consciousness.

As stated earlier, man is not consciousness but a knower possessing consciousness. Individuals only say I
am conscious. They do not say I am consciousness. The personal entity or Being denoted by the
pronoun I is only the possessor of consciousness or knower of the existence of consciousness and is not
mere consciousness. The Substantive consciousness is dependent for its very existence on its substrate
i.e. the knowing self, the Being or the individual personality designated by the pronoun I Consciousness
is thus only a dependent attribute of Being and cannot exist independently by itself. Man is a living being
possessing consciousness. Any study of only parts cannot throw any light on the functioning of the
organic whole. Consciousness cannot be studied in isolation like the physical parts of the body. Just as
flame cannot exist without the lamp, consciousness cannot exist by itself without the living being. The
ethereal I consciousness, when it associates itself outside with the physical body is called the ego or
body consciousness and when it links itself with the inner being it becomes the knowing being or
knower of truth. It is the intelligent personal Being I that serves as the lamp for the continued
functioning of the light of consciousness.

The complex concept of Being or the knowing personality as something different from consciousness,
can be more clearly comprehended by knowing the difference between natural and brain death. The
basic purpose of human life is wholly lost if there is permanent loss of consciousness. Some medical
experts therefore, regard the total impairment of consciousness beyond the possibility of revival as
virtual death. Even with total loss of consciousness in coma or brain damage, the involuntary muscular
organs like the heart, kidneys, lungs etc do not totally cease to function and life, therefore, cannot be
considered as extinct. Irreparable loss of consciousness does not mean death or extinction of life. Life or
Being cannot, therefore, be equated with consciousness. Consciousness cannot function independently
of life but life, though inalienably connected with consciousness can exist even with total loss of
consciousness. In coma or damage to brain stem, the living being loses only consciousness because of
which he has no control over the senses and the physical extremities but the basic life support system
continues to function till the stoppage of the heart. Death is regarded as natural only when the heart
ceases to function.

Planes of Consciousness

Consciousness operates at three different planes viz. the sub-conscious, the conscious, and the trance
states. The sub-conscious is the memory in which the past perceptions are stored though only some of it
can be recollected in full detail. The conscious plane is the normal wakeful state in which one is aware of
himself and the happenings around. In the conscious state one can recall and remember some of the
past experiences also. In the mystic trance state, one passes beyond the physical and mental limitations
to have a first-hand glimpse of the infinite consciousness. The wakeful state is, therefore, not the only
plane of consciousness. It is the physical and the mental limitations that stand as barriers in the
expansion of consciousness.

Concept of Infinite Consciousness

In the experience of Infinite consciousness in the mystic trance state, there is no loss of one's
individuality or the `I consciousness of the personal Being. Renowned scientist Erwin Schrödinger seems
to have held the view that consciousness can be singular or one only and not plural or many. In other
words, there can, in the ultimate analysis, be only One Universal mind or cosmic consciousness and not
several individual minds or consciousness. In the first instance, mind and consciousness are not one and
the same. The thoughts and feelings of the mind find expression through consciousness. Secondly, in the
mystic trance state, it is the individual Being with consciousness that transcends the physical and mental
limitations to experience infinite consciousness. In the mystic state, there is no extinction of personality.
The consciousness of individual living beings is not illusory or unreal to be lost. Thirdly, the extent and
scope of consciousness can differ among individuals. Human intellect has its limitations in the
understanding of the mystic state of infinite consciousness.

Any judgment on infinite consciousness should keep in view the following important aspects relating to
the nature and characteristics of consciousness:

 Only individuals who possess consciousness as an attribute, can experience pain or pleasure.
Existence of consciousness needs the support of life or Being.

 Loss of individual consciousness will mean extinction of personality and disintegration of individuality.
Every living being holds its separate identity as something very precious and sacred and under no
circumstances would it like to part with its identity.

 Each individual is interested in his own wellbeing and he makes all out efforts to gain happiness,
peace and fulfillment for himself. If one has to part company with his individuality in the mystic state,
none will be interested in foregoing all the pleasures of the worldly life to work for the loss of his
personal identity in the mystic state of infinite consciousness.

 If consciousness is singular and not plural, all should be omniscient like the All-knowing Creator.

 Singular or collective consciousness can have no place for the differences in the levels of
consciousness. In other words, the wide differences in the levels of consciousness of various living
species cannot be accounted for, if consciousness is singular only. Biologists seem to admit that the
evolution of consciousness is progressive in nature as the emergence of higher and higher consciousness
is clearly noticed by them.

 In the states of swoon, sleep, hypnotic trance, anesthetically induced loss of consciousness etc, there
is total revival of consciousness with the entire past memory remaining intact. Unless consciousness is
plural and purely individual, one cannot expect to regain one's consciousness on revival.

 Many resort to psychedelic drugs to artificially induce the mystic state of going beyond the physical
and mental limitations to experience the peak of consciousness without the loss of personal identity. If
intake of drugs result in the extinction of individuality, the drug addicts would hate it as poison though
admittedly drugs are slow killers.

 There are fundamental differences in the level of perception, comprehension, recall from memory
etc, among individuals. Smarter people with high intelligence have a higher level of consciousness while
the dull or stupid ones who are slow to comprehend and late to react have lower level of consciousness.

The differences in the levels of consciousness among the human beings and other living species clearly
indicate that consciousness can only be plural and individual and it cannot be singular or universal.

States of Consciousness

Every human being generally experiences almost every day three states of consciousness viz. wakeful,
dream and deep sleep states. In the wakeful state, the physical organs, senses of perception, thoughts
and feelings of mind are all active and functional. In the dream state, the senses of perception and the
limbs of the body remain dormant but the mind is active witnessing unreal images, which get recorded
in the memory for recall. In the deep sleep state, there is total loss of consciousness of physical body
and outside world but the ``I`` consciousness of the personal being does not cease to exist. On waking
up the person says -`` I slept well and knew nothing``. All that he means is that he was not conscious of
the pains of the body, the worries of the mind and the objects and beings of the outside world as his
consciousness was resting in the Being. That he has not lost the continuity of the personal entity ``I`` is
clear from the fact that no medical treatment is necessary for the revival of consciousness from sleep as
the Being ``I`` withdraws consciousness of body and senses temporarily for the body and mind to rest
and refresh.

In swoon, senseless dazed state, anesthesia, coma and other similar states, the body consciousness and
consciousness of the external world is temporarily lost and on revival of consciousness, the patient says
`` I was not conscious of anything.`` This only means that the person was not conscious of anything
except the personal Being of ``I `` consciousness. The functions of the physical body remain intact in
these states but the senses of perception, mind and intellect cease to function because the central
nervous system is temporarily in a paralyzed state. Man as a living being is a single organic whole. As the
personal Being I it is his Substantive consciousness that is behind the functioning of the senses, mind,
intellect, memory and the limbs of the physical body. All the systems of the body function because of
the ceaseless pumping of blood to all the organs of the body by the heart. Heart is the seat of life and
the head is the abode of consciousness and the two are inseparable to keep the body alive and the mind
functioning properly.

Permanency of Consciousness

Gross matter is changeable and perishable whereas the subtle consciousness is unchangeable and
imperishable. Consciousness seems to be ethereal with no visible or perishable form and it cannot,
therefore, be perceived by the senses but its existence can be inferred by the intellect. People who do
not know the fundamental difference between matter and consciousness naively believe that life and
consciousness will cease to exist on the destruction of the physical body. Life and consciousness, by their
very nature, are inherently different from inert, perishable matter and are indivisible, inseparable,
incapable of being destroyed and can remain imperishable as life and consciousness only. The
term death seems to apply only to the perishable gross body and not to the subtle, ethereal and
imperishable life and consciousness.

Para-psychologists have, for the last few decades, been examining the question of the survival of
personality after the destruction of the physical body and their firm and final conclusion is that life and
consciousness do continue to exist even after the death of the physical body. Their research findings
based on the use of scientific techniques, unambiguously reveal that consciousness is something distinct
and different from the physical body and it can function independently of the senses of perception and
the physical body. The psychical research organizations have thoroughly investigated the abnormal and
weird extra sensory psychic phenomena like telepathy, clairvoyance, visions in dreams, out of body
experience in clinical death state, communication with disincarnated spirits, death-bed visions,
remembrance of past existence, altered states of consciousness etc. Dedicated scientists wedded to
truth should not summarily dismiss these scientific findings as absurd and irrational but keep an open
mind free from pre-conceived notions and prejudices. If the abnormal psychic phenomena are bogus
and false, the deceit and the trickery should be fully exposed for public censure. However, in case there
is some element of truth in these findings, the scientists who are interested in unraveling the mystery of
the unknown should investigate the truth and accept the possibility of existence of phenomena beyond
the range of the senses of perception. The senses of perception have their limitations and cannot be
considered as infallible in revealing all aspects of reality. Neither the most powerful microscope nor the
most sophisticated telescopes can reveal the moving air felt by the skin or the electron moving around
the nucleus of atom.

Humanity cannot remain long in ignorance of the unknown. Fresh knowledge about the known cannot
help us in solving the mystery of the unknown. Scientists interested in the physical and psychical welfare
of mankind should make use of the research findings of the para-psychologists to learn something new
about life and consciousness from these findings. Skeptics may raise the question -How can credence be
given to things which cannot be directly experienced by the senses of perception. In this connection the
following points need careful consideration:

 Man has to accept his ancestry, inheritance of genes, sex, complexion, height, physical constitution,
country of origin etc, as given as he has no say or choice in the matter. The only possession he has which
he can claim as his very own is the I consciousness of personality and Being. Man may be born a slave to
his heredity but he can set himself free of all his physical limitations by cultivating his mind to shape his
fate and destiny. The physical handicaps, mental disabilities and disadvantages of birth can be rationally
explained only if life and consciousness are continuing entities of a personal being.

 Life and consciousness are indivisible whole and neither father nor mother can pass on to their
progeny a part of their indivisible consciousness or life.

 Newborn child does not come into the world with a blank memory and the survival and reproductive
instincts do remain intact in the sub-conscious. These animal instincts could not have been inherited
from the human parents. Within a few hours of its arrival, the newborn smiles or sobs in deep sleep.
Psychologists who do not believe in the non-physical explain away this unique phenomenon as the recall
of the experiences of the fetus in the womb. Can the fetus that is very well protected in the womb have
any painful or pleasurable experiences? Can the fetus have the telepathic extra sensory ability to read
the thoughts and feelings of its mother? The newborn cannot obviously communicate and the possibility
of biased scientific experts drawing their own conclusions on the basis of their own obsessive beliefs
cannot be ruled out. The suggestion of the para-psychologists that the new-born with its animal instincts
intact in the sub-conscious recalling the experiences in the previous state of its existence cannot be
disproved as false or biased.

 Investigation of hundreds of death bed visions all over the world reveal basic similarity in these
visions. If these visions are hallucinations of diseased minds, how can the similarities in these visions be
explained? One cannot rationally attribute them to chance or mere coincidence as patients irrespective
of nationalities, religions, sex, age etc have had the same sort of visions. Can there be something more
than what meets the eye?

 Astronauts flying in space experience weightlessness in zero gravity which is almost similar to the out
of body experience in the near death state. In weightlessness, consciousness experiences freedom from
the limitations of the physical body. According to Einstein, when a body travels at the speed of light, its
mass can expand to infinity and time can slow down. Only a conscious being freed of all physical
limitations can experience this weird state propounded by the world renowned scientist.

 Physical body consists of matter in all its three forms viz. solid, liquid and gaseous. In terms of
Einstein's famous equation E=mc² the physical body is a huge mass consisting of positive, negative and
neutral electric charges. There are no inherent properties in the sub-atomic particles to generate life
and consciousness out of inert matter. Something cannot appear out of nothing and life and
consciousness join matter to form the living being. As soon as life and consciousness appear in the
embryo there is a self-directing urge to grow fully into a living organism. Biologists say that the whole of
a living organism is much more than the aggregate sum of all its constituent parts. Life and
consciousness, in their opinion, can only be something independent of gross inert matter.

Conclusion

Life and consciousness, which are highly subtle, are different from the gross body. If energy can combine
with matter in man-made machines, there is little wonder if life and consciousness combine with the
gross body to activate it. No psychologist and no philosopher in the world has devoted so much
attention to the phenomenon of consciousness as the two medieval philosophers Sri Yamuna and Sri
Ramanuja. This write-up is largely based on the writings of these two great teachers. Scientists or
philosophers interested in learning more about consciousness are requested to go through the treatises
entitled Atma Siddhi and Sri Bhshya of Sri Yamuna and Sri Ramanuja respectively.