The emergence of
individuals and
institutions that
promote and support
the evolution of
individual and
collective
consciousness is proof
that consciousness is
alive and well and
creating a stir in the
human heart.
W
henever I think of consciousness, I am reminded of the story of
the little fish that lived with his mother in the deep ocean. One
day, while playing with his friends, he was approached by a
stranger who told them stories about the mighty blue ocean and the
enormous amount of water it contained. The water was cool, refreshing
and life giving. It was the first time the little fish and his friends had heard
about water and the mighty ocean. While swimming back to his mother,
the little one told himself that he would not rest till he had tasted the cool,
refreshing water of the mighty ocean. Little did he realize that all his life
he had been living there!Despite serious interest in the last few decades, it is generally accepted
that consciousness remains a mystery to science. Though many definitions
of consciousness have emerged over time, none of them seem to capture
the complete picture. Neuroscience has made impressive strides in locating
and mapping the regions of the brain associated with thoughts, memories,
emotions and even self-awareness, to an extent. The emergence of Artificial
Intelligence has created a sense of urgency, not only in the academic
community but also in the media, to develop a greater understanding of
consciousness. It is clearly established that machines can compute better
than humans. The million-dollar question is: Can machines become
conscious? Most people think that it is only a matter of time before machines
will take over. This has spawned many doomsday theories surpassing even
alien invasion. Another related area is ‘genome editing’ which is creating
a mixed reaction in the minds of the general public. Are we at the cusp of
creating a new species by attempting to alter DNA? Are we playing dangerous
games with nature that will end up creating monsters?I will attempt to present some ideas about consciousness from the inside
out. The ancient traditions have already dealt with this subject in a
comprehensive way, and there is nothing much to add. However, what has
been passed on is knowledge in a theoretical sense. Mere parroting of59