CONSCIOUSNESS

Is the Life Spark

It is not part of the body-mind complex.


Our scriptural texts reveal consciousness as

1. Not a part, property or a product of the body;

2. An independent entity which pervades and enlivens the body;

3. Not limited by the boundaries of the body, and, therefore, formless;

4. Surviving the death of the body and continuing to exist after the fall of the body;

5. In the absence of the medium after the destruction of the body, not being in a position to transact with the world

The consciousness enlivens all the bodies. That the consciousness illumines all experiences during the waking, dream and deep sleep states. The Consciousness is the very life spark, in all forms from Brahma to the smallest insect. Consciousness is also presented as a sole witness of the entire play of the universe. In each one of us is this consciousness and not the perceived world consisting of our body-mind complex and its experiences in the form of objects, emotions and thoughts. Consciousness is different from the body-mind complex.

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Source: Based on talks by Swamini Satyavaratananda Saraswathi, a disciple of Swami Dayananda Saraswati and Swami Paramartananda.