Understanding Consciousness: Recent Advances
Papers read at a seminar held at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata, India, in January 2005, 469 Pages, Hardcover.
Consciousness is a subject that has always eluded the scientists, philosophers and mystics alike. The story of search into consciousness as as old as human race itself. This book is the deals with this topic.
Sri Ramakrishna showed through his own experience that consciousness as cit or caitanya is one and undivided, and it is transcendent consciousness that has become immanent consciousness. In order to realize Brahman as transcendent consciousness it is at first necessary to negate the world as neti neti, 'not this, not this'. But after realizing transcendent consciousness, one comes back to the world and sees that Brahman itself has become the whole universe. Sri Ramakrishna gives an example to illustrate this point: a person who wants to reach the roof of a house at first leaves behind the steps of the staircase one after the other. But after reaching the roof when he comes down, he finds that the steps of the staircase are also made of the same material as the roof.
Consciousness is a subject that has always eluded the scientists, philosophers and mystics alike. The story of search into consciousness as as old as human race itself. This book is the deals with this topic.
Sri Ramakrishna showed through his own experience that consciousness as cit or caitanya is one and undivided, and it is transcendent consciousness that has become immanent consciousness. In order to realize Brahman as transcendent consciousness it is at first necessary to negate the world as neti neti, 'not this, not this'. But after realizing transcendent consciousness, one comes back to the world and sees that Brahman itself has become the whole universe. Sri Ramakrishna gives an example to illustrate this point: a person who wants to reach the roof of a house at first leaves behind the steps of the staircase one after the other. But after reaching the roof when he comes down, he finds that the steps of the staircase are also made of the same material as the roof.
