What is Consciousness

What is Consciousness

I read a very interesting quote. It said science has, till today, not understood the way the mind works in the brain. A question arose immediately: if science cannot understand the mind, it begs the question - can we accept that there is something called consciousness, something that is deeper than the mind?

What is consciousness? It is not the thinking part - the mind, or the feeling part - the emotions, or the essence part - the soul. It is simply the observer. It is the bedrock of the Atmann, the soul. It is the observer to maya, the illusion of life. It is the observer of you. Consciousness precedes the soul, the emotion, the mind. It is the vessel which contains all three, and as a server, it stores. It stores all the imprints of lives lived, experiences had - it observes. It doesn't teach, because that's the job of the soul. It doesn't reprimand, for that is the job of karma. It doesn't teach you which path to take - that's the job of free will. It simply observes.

What is its job as an observer, and what does it do? Maharishi Ramana asked his disciple one day, “Who are you?” The disciple answered, “I am a body.” Maharishi asked him, “Are you that same body that existed when you were 5 years old?” The disciple answered, “No.” “Are you the same person you were five days ago?” He again answered, “No.” Smiling, Maharishi asked the next question, “Do your emotions change and move through you like a wave?” The disciple, by now confused, answered, “Yes.” Ramana Maharshi then asked, “So what is that which exists within you - the intrinsic you, what we call ‘I’ - that never changes, while everything within you does? Your body, your emotions, your reactions, your thoughts - changing, growing, moving constantly. Who is that observer that watches this movement as you live your life?”

That “I,” that “I Am,” is consciousness - the “I” that is present within you but observes the changes. It does not participate - that’s not its job. It’s like a plate of food. The food keeps changing, whatever you put on it - bland, spicy, delicious, medicine - it keeps changing. But does the plate become the food? No. The plate remains the same. What you put on it keeps evolving and changing. All the plate does is give the food an empty space to fill, and it simply exists to serve as a vessel for the food. Imagine if the vessel wasn’t there - what would hold the food? Therefore, the soul, mind, and body cannot exist if the vessel - the consciousness - isn’t there.

Like the sky - its vastness never changes, its intrinsic nature always remains the same. On the other hand, the clouds in the sky do. Our thoughts, our mind, our emotions - they are the clouds that move. Now imagine the sky is the observer watching the clouds moving. But the sky is the sky - vast and never changing. It only exists to observe. It stays true to what it is. In the same way, our consciousness never changes. It observes life and all its characters since the birth of the universe. It is vast and forever. It has seen countless births, the maya of life, a new character, a new drama, a new lesson, karma - and on and on. The beautiful foundation we call consciousness always exists. “IT IS.”

Consciousness is the (.) to your “I Am.” It is nothingness, and it is also everythingness. It is vast, and it is also undulating, because it is always observing the drama of life.

Thus I ask you - can you live life like that? As an observer. Knowing you are a forever concept, because your consciousness is forever. It is always present, as is the sky, or the plate. Can we just observe the drama in our lives without interacting with the pain or the joy our character feels? And tell ourselves, as an observer, I will just observe. Remind yourself that the actor that’s playing the character, or the cloud that I am, or the food I am, is not me - just one of the temporary, passing characters in the drama of life. I am the consciousness - ever steady, ever vast - and I don’t need to participate. Joy, pain, sorrow, success, ambition then become ingredients to experience, but never to interact with. For if you are just the observer, you will let all of it pass - never changing the intrinsic you.

At The Atmann Project (also searched as The Atman Project), we explore consciousness, mindfulness, and self-awareness through psychology and spiritual insight.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is consciousness in simple terms?

Consciousness is the observer within you that watches thoughts, emotions, and experiences without changing itself.

2. Is consciousness the same as the mind?

No, the mind thinks and processes, while consciousness simply observes everything including the mind.