Consciousness is an amazing subject. Modern science with all the advancements in many areas of the body is still catching up when it comes to brain, memory, neural networks & consciousness.
On the other side, the basic tenets of Hinduism treat this particular subject with such an awe that after studying some scriptures we may very well may come to a conclusion that everything we experience lies with consciousness.
In this blog, let's start the analysis by taking the fundamental sound in Hinduism, OM or AUM. According to prominent gurus & even literature like Lalitha Sahasranam, OM can be seen as 5 states of experience by consciousness.
1) Dream State (Swapnavastha): We experience dreams when we're asleep. Mind conjures so many things & shows us a movie kind of play in the dreams with several characters. Strange part is consciousness sometimes associate with one of the characters and gets so much involved in the play that it completely forgets that every character in the play is conjured by one entity and experiences emotions considering the scenarios faced by the associated characters. Modern Science logic to this strange phenomenon is that the impressions stored in the mind come out as dream & our consciousness gets involved in the play to such an extent that it affects our wakeful state in case of nightmares/strong dreams. Once we wake up from the dream, Consciousness realizes that it's all play & there is no point in emotional connect to it as it is not real
2) Wakeful State (Jagruthavastha): This is the state where we experience the world as we see with family, friends, interests, emotions etc., Consciousness experiences this state in every second & completely connects to the world, undergoes lot of emotions. In a word, it gets attached so much to this state that it becomes the most important state of the being. Fundamental reasons for such a connect are every other being experiences this state, there is memory to this state in terms of human memory, digital memory etc., There is element of relative permanence to this state. Careful study of Hinduism gives us lot of examples on how one should experience this state beautifully with umpteen festivals, bonding to nature, family, friends, celebration, decorations etc.,
3) Deep sleep State (Sushupthi): One doesn't remember exactly what happens in this state but the experience of this state is felt as we often say "I had a sound sleep with no dreams". It means that the consciousness didn't experience any dreams but it felt the over all experience of the deep sleep.
4) Turiya Avastha: This state is where the importance of being "Unattached" comes into play. Let's say there is someone who experiences all these states but is unattached internally, who is not a robot (one does fulfil their duties in righteous manner including celebrations etc.,) but at the same time is solid internal framework of mind which helps them navigate any tough situation with focus solely on Process rather than Result. It is more like an elevation of experiences by Consciousness to next level which somehow manages to do all the other states but "Unattached" to them. Hinduism believes that ones in this state are so placid & controlled inside that even when involved with emotions like anger, joy etc., Internal core doesn't change, more like Stoics but the key difference being Stoics only inside as from outside they appear like any other.
5) Sarvavastha Varjithayi namah: This is the state when one is beyond Turiya and the point where one merges with nature of Universe. This may sound theoretical but we can imagine the experience of Consciousness not only witnessing but being that one single point from where the Universe began as per Big Bang Theory. If one observes closely, one of the basic tenets of Hinduism is the belief that the causal factor for whole Universe is "Brahman" and every entity is the Effect of this & so the saying "Aham Brahmasmi", is very similar to the single point from which Universe is emerged as per Big Bang Theory. Is that single point "Brahman", time will answer & deeper analysis for another day.
Hope this gave practical insight on how Hinduism offers us guidance on how one can experience the Consciousness & benefit from it.
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