Reflected Consciousness

Reflected Consciousness 

When physicists are searching traces of life in the quarks of quantum and biologists are decoding DNA-RNA in a cell; ‘Consciousness’ is a question mark before the modern world. Whether it is an outcome of atomic reactions or is a product of brain or is a fabric of underlying reality on which the whole play of creation, sustenance and dissolution is playing; none can prove it with mathematical models. However, probably reached to the end of the road after discovering god particle and photons, some of the physicists are seriously working on the concept of consciousness and are in infant state in the area of consciousness explained by the philosophies of the east. 

There is pure/witness consciousness, reflected consciousness, the reflectors and the play. Let’s take example of the creatures on the earth. The humans, annimals, birds, insects, etc., each has a body and mind to perform their role of survival and multiply. Each one has physical body, senses and mind (includes intellect, memory and ego). When the objects of the world come in contact of the body through the senses, the mind receives signals and it commands the action as per its understanding of the object. Each mind has a software fitted in with the type of its species and is further built through experiences. The signals and actions-reactions are the conscious acts of the body mind within their limitations of the instrument. Human can’t act as lion and lion can’t as human. Man can’t think like an ant and an ant can’t as a man. Each mind has its own world. The acts of consciousness we see around are the acts of reflected consciousness, limited consciousness. One could see the face in the mirror limited to one’s body mind instrument. 

As human is a thinking animal with an intellect and good memory box, his mind is flooded with thoughts. The analytical mind is trying to expand its horizon and trying to discover secret of the nature and the ultimate reality. Human may be a believer that he has a better reflected consciousness compare to other creatures as they carry more body-mind limitations. The plants and the trees do reflect consciousness and same can be said for the things as each object reflects consciousness limited to its body-mind. They are classified in the state of waking, dreaming and sleeping state of reflected consciousness. 

If the life on the earth is a play of ‘reflected consciousness’ then where is the ‘pure consciousness’ which is reflected through our minds. The theories of God; creator, sustainer, destroyer; omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient power; justice; etc., are rested upon the ‘pure consciousness’ whom the human on earth is praying or questioning for centuries. 

How to reach? We have only one means, i.e., the mind which is reflecting the pure consciousness 24x7 whether it is in the state of waking, dreaming or sleeping. If the observer observes the play carefully; instead of involving in the reactive play of the worldly affairs focus more on the reflection of consciousness on its mirror-mind; it may get an opportunity to walk towards pure consciousness using the bridge of the ray of consciousness the mind is reflecting. 

An intellect mind may try through the path of knowledge but an average human mind opts to surrender on the path of Bhakti. The previous is a path of a money infant who catch hold of its mother well to move with her and the mother knowing well that the infant will manage itself, doesn’t support. However her attention never goes out of the infant. The later is a path of a kitten whose mother knows its limitations and therefore extend support and carries along wherever she moves. Large majority of humans have opted the path of a kitten. 

However, the story doesn’t end. The intellect minds of philosophers went further deep into it and infer that the pure consciousness could be a fabric, a Shakti, a manifestation of another realm and therefore thought of a state of no alternative (nirvikalp), indescribable, the Param. 

All our thoughts, meditations, play and presentations are the act of reflected consciousness. A rarest of the rare may connect to the incident ray and walk through it and attain the state of pure consciousness; the journey beyond our body mind and intellect. 

Punamchand

4 December 2024