Consciousness:
Cosmic Intelligence of the Divine

    In Hindu scriptures, terms like “consciousness,” “divine wisdom,” “Brahman,” and many others are liberally used. These words convey nearly the same meaning in common use, but they have remained somewhat abstract for majority of the people. Hindu Rishis meditated for long periods to discover some of the salient aspects of religion, which they perceived as the inner voice of God. They realized God or the Divine as a phenomenon either without any form (nirgun) or as manifesting in various forms (saguna). They realized that there is but one Divine for all beings, as well as for the nonbeings. It is immanent, transcendental, and universal and is present in all places in the entire cosmos. The sum total of all energy and consciousness is perceived as God. The spiritual nature of God has been described as Brahman, Akshara, or Chitta. Different names of gods and religions are merely icons in the infinite divine spectrum. Brahman represents the infinite, all-pervasive godhead in Hindu theology.

      Rishis, through their long meditations, also received the revelation that the consciousness is primarily inactive (purusha). This comes in contact with the active component of nature, or prakruti, the primordial materiality of nature, which has three basic characters:
• Sattivic, which represents purity
• Rajasic, which represents activity
• Tamsic, which represents dullness or inertia
      These three are the basic characteristics, or gunas, of all beings and determine the actions performed during the lifetime. According to Hindu philosophy, human beings alone have the capacity to alter these gunas by using the free will. The transformation of the gunas is indeed the main task of all human life. According to Hindu philosophy, this task may not be accomplished in one lifetime; rather, it may evolve through eons of birth cycles. The consciousness, or the divine power, although inactive by itself, is the life force behind all activity. It has been compared to the energy of electricity, which is the moving force behind all tools and gadgets. The transformation of the inner being, or antahkaran, has been considered as the most prized pursuit of human life. From the lowest quality of the tamas, the dull and evil attitude, toward the rajasic, the active and productive trait, and further to the sattvic nature of purity and benevolence are the gradual evolutionary steps for the soul of the individual, until finally it attains the highest perfection, the super-consciousness of the Divine, and merges itself into the Divine, losing its separate individuality. This is the stage of salvation, or moksha, of the soul from the recurring birth and death cycles, known as samsara.

     How does the consciousness work? Consider the following examples:
 In our bodies, the transfer of gases takes place in all tissues at every moment. We breathe fresh air through the nose and mouth and into the lungs. In the most minute cells of the lungs—cells so small that a cluster of a hundred cells would fit on a pencil point—oxygen passes out to the small capillary vessels. Pure oxygen is then circulated to all parts of the body, and a similar transfer of gases again takes place in the tissue cells. Even more astonishing, however, is the fact that this transfer takes place only when oxygen and carbon dioxide rise above a particular level. The body tissue cells “know” about this critical level of the gases.
      This process takes place without conscious thought. Indeed, it takes place exactly the same way in most creatures on Earth. There is an all-pervading consciousness that sustains and supports this mechanism, unendingly, as long as the being is alive.

      Salmon find their way from the ocean to a fresh-water river to spawn, moving upstream against the river current. The female digs a nest in the riverbed with her tail and deposits her eggs, which the male then fertilizes. The eggs later hatch, the young salmon grow, and they then swim downstream to the sea. Years later, these same salmon will retrace their route, not only returning to the river to breed but also returning to the same spot in which they were born. This is another example of the consciousness—just one of the billions of such occurrences in our universe. Man has often taken inspiration from this phenomenon and invented wonderful things for his comfort and happiness—airplanes modeled after the flight of birds; works of art inspired by nature; a computer that seems to replicate man’s own brain.

     In the Hindu spiritual arena, there have been many scientifically recorded feats of human endurance. Yogis have buried themselves under many feet of earth, for days at a time, and survived without any harm. Some have slowed down their breathing as well as their heartbeats until their hearts were almost completely stopped for a length of time. The world’s medical community now recognizes these amazing feats. Hindu philosophy asserts that there is a universal consciousness, flowing transcendentally. One may break the shell of the ego and merge into it with spiritual practice, or sadhana. The ocean of divine wisdom abounds all over; one may need to learn to dive into it with perfect purity.

      The ancient yogis and saints of India practiced these techniques by doing deep meditations and finally merging themselves into the Divine. They would fix their attention on the Divine and become completely unaware of their own bodies and senses. They would let the Divine take over. In our own times, Sri Ramakrishna Parmahans (1836–1886) was endowed with this super-consciousness. During his intense meditations, he would often slip into deep samadhi (a higher level of concentrated meditation), when he would be oblivious to everything that was happening around him. His spiritual awakening enhanced as the years passed. It was because of this enhancement that even though he was almost illiterate—he could barely sign his name—multitudes of learned persons flocked at his feet to listen to his religious discourses. The divinity within him became palpable. Swami Vivekananda, who was then known as Narendra and was, at that time, full of doubt, asked him, “Have you seen God?” Replied Sri Ramakrishna, without any hesitation, “Yes. I see him as clearly as I can see you.” Later, Sri Ramakrishna touched Swami Vivekananda, causing Swami to lose his outer consciousness and become aware of the super-consciousness, which continued for some days. Gradually, Sri Ramakrishna became more and more disentangled from the world of material and sensual feelings. Once, when a silver coin was placed under his bed without his notice, he immediately became visibly upset and disturbed. Toward the end of his life, in the face of mounting physical agony caused by his illness, he remained exemplarily tranquil and quiet. This virtue of calmness and peace at the time of death is very conspicuous in all those who have attained the Divine consciousness.

      Spiritually exalted persons gradually identify themselves more with the soul, atman, than with the body. The pains of the body no longer affect them. Intense and sustained mental concentration on higher spiritual thoughts liberates them from any physical afflictions. Indeed, in Hindu thought, identification with the physical body and other material possessions is considered to be the root of all human suffering.

      It is the universal experience of spiritual persons from different faiths that whenever they meditate and pray to God during difficult situations, help invariably comes in ways that they would not have considered possible. None can fathom the powers of the Divine! Hindu sages, as with the sages of all religions, firmly believe that a person lives not by the power of food but by the power of God. In some mystic way, their energy needs are obtained directly from the cosmos.

      The example of Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950) is also hailed with great respect. His practices in spiritual consciousness have become a guiding light for thousands of devotees all over the globe. Ramana left his home early at the tender age of seventeen, when his spiritual awakening came, and he rushed to the place that has now become famous by his name, the Arunachala Hill in South India. He passed his entire youth in deep meditation, ignoring his personal care and comfort almost entirely. It is said that ants crawled on his limbs, but he was completely unaware of it. He was firmly settled in the Divine consciousness.
      Later, as if pulled by compassion for others, he returned to normal surroundings, but his spirituality grew every day. Until the very end of his life, he showed no sign of any personal desire, directly or indirectly. He bore his discomforts with perfect calmness and serenity. He spoke only few words each day, but conveyed his teachings by his very presence. His many devotees passed by him or sat in the room where he lived and derived all they wanted, merely by his look, the darshan. In some mysterious way, looking at a highly evolved person may cause spiritual vibrations and bestow grace. Not only did he personally take care of all the devotees and residents at the ashram, but he also fed the birds and animals there every day with his own hands. Ramana’s life is a bright illustration of spiritual consciousness. He later became famous all over the world for his deep study of self-inquiry, asking “Who am I?”

      Hindu seers often compare this communion with the spiritual consciousness to the deep leap of a diver who swims to the ocean depths in search of pearls. The pearl is the Divine wisdom. Time and again, the Hindu sages have advised to look within one’s own self and discover the Divine. Hindu philosophy asserts that when the mind is pure and applies concentrated attention, it may attain spiritual knowledge, or jnana, and one may discern what is not normally perceptible to the senses. In Hindu philosophy, this Divine consciousness, the Divine, and God are essentially one and the same thing.

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