and we cannot disown them. But we can get rid of them with help from
the part of our consciousness that is closest to our soul.
ConscienceIntelligence can be largely self-policing because it has the ability to ini
tiate action and the ability to factor in consequences of these actions.
A conscious effort to observe and identify these defects (in ourselves,
rather than in others) pays dividends. Such self-examination forms an
integral part of the study and education of self (svadhyaya), which is
the fourth segment of the ethical code of niyama. But still we need both
a yogic technique and an independent arbiter. I shall deal with the
second first. The function of independent arbiter, the witness of the
witness, as it were, is fulfilled by conscience (antahkarana). This is the
face of the lens of consciousness that faces the soul. It is less likely to
be tainted by contact with the world than the outward face of the lens,
which is in contact, through the senses, with the world about us. When
this facet of consciousness, which we call in English conscience, is flaw
less, reflecting only the light of the soul, it is known in Sanskrit as the
organ of virtue (dharmendriya).
Cosmic consciousness can be considered in a way to be the soul of
Nature, limitless as the universe, all-embracing. That part of cosmic
consciousness that is in us is the individual conscience. It is in closest
proximity to the Soul (Purusa), and therefore has a very special rela
tionship with soul. It is the nearest point of contact we experience be
tween the natural world and the spiritual world. For that reason, you
could say that conscience is the perception of consequences perceived
from the deepest level, that of unity. This is where soul infuses matter,
a bridge between Soul and Nature. That is why conscience will only
ever tell you one thing, offer one course of action, because it comes out
of Oneness. Conscience is consciousness being able to tune in to the
promptings of the individual soul (atma).
II K � I Y I· N l; A II