By Victor M Fontane
Consciousness Studies gives organizing structures such as “the self” and state of consciousness the individual is in, as having a determining influence on behavior.
The word "consciousness" in Buddhism was translated from the Sanskrit word "vijnana", and refers to one's self-awareness and one's capability to discern the various energies that influence their lives.
Oxford University placed five great unsolved questions that four of them are related to consciousness. These are:
-Whom am I?
-Do we have free will?
-Do we know anything at all?
-What happens at death? What happens to consciousness at death.
-What happens to global justice?
The Vedantha philosophy has considered mind as the subtle form of matter where in the body and its components are considered the grossest forms. Consciousness, on the other hand, is considered finer than 'mind matter' and is considered all pervasive, omnipresent and omniscient.
In the Vedic discourse, the cognitive centers are called the devas, deities or gods, or luminous loci. Thus the Atharvaveda calls the human body the city of the devas. Each deva reflects primordial consciousness and one can access the mystery of consciousness through any of these.
So, making the synthesis of information and meaning from different sources, we can say that consciousness is really the true "I" of the individual, it is the divine seed or spark and the ultimate reality of humans, all omnipresent and omniscient. It is the emanation of the Divine, God or the source of everything.
But why is its manifestation so difficult? Why in modern times is that primordial energy so deeply hidden and the human behavior in general so opposite to divine qualities? Something very important to ponder and change in the face of the new era that is approaching.
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