The Unity of Consciousness

The Great Master tells us that the Lord is the great storehouse of consciousness and we are each a part of him. If he is the ocean of consciousness, then we are a drop of consciousness. Maharaj Jagat Singh described our soul as superconscious energy. Therefore, the essence from which our souls are made is this superconscious energy which we call the Lord.

The author of One Being One explains it as follows:

The One Being is the ultimate energy source, the central powerhouse. And He is conscious energy, too. His energy is imbued with an intelligence and wisdom way beyond human capacity to grasp. So He projects himself as a series of energy levels. … And the bottom end of this beam of energy is what we call the material world.

An Indian-born quantum physicist, Dr Amit Goswami, defines the word ‘quantum’ as a ‘discrete quantity’. He says that a quantum of light called a photon is a discrete, indivisible amount of energy, a localized energy bundle. What a lovely analogy for the soul - a discrete quantity, or a defined amount, an indivisible, localized bundle of conscious energy - our drop of consciousness. It can never be divided, therefore it remains a part of the whole.

The essence of life that both sustains us and fills all space around us - it is in us and we are in it - is this superconscious energy. Whether we refer to it as God, Shabd, the Word, Logos, Ultimate Reality or by any other name, it is all the same thing - consciousness.

A disciple asked Maharaj Charan Singh if the real form of the disciple is the same as the real form of the Master. He replied:

What is the real form of the Master? Shabd. And what is the real form of the disciple? Soul. And what is the difference between soul and Shabd? It is the level of consciousness.
_{Spiritual Heritage}

So the spiritual difference between us and the Master is only the level of consciousness. Consciousness is one. It is indivisible, but it operates on various levels: from being dormant and unaware to super-awareness in ultimate consciousness. We are conscious beings and we are aware of our own consciousness. However, there is a stark distinction between what we refer to as consciousness and the spiritual reality which the Masters know, for the two are worlds apart.

Our sense of consciousness is more in tune with the functioning of our brain than with spiritual reality. It has more to do with our own awareness and mental activity, which enables us to interpret the world around us. As we move through the process of existence we have a continuing sense of this consciousness which, although it appears to be ageless and timeless, is still very much grounded in the physical. The whole object of following this path is simply to move up the scale of consciousness, until we are able to comprehend ultimate consciousness - to merge our drop back into that vast ocean.

Both science and mysticism accept the existence of consciousness, but they cannot agree on its source. Materialists are scientists who theorize that all matter began from the minutest forms and evolved upwards into any and every form of matter we know, including the brain with its perceptive powers and intelligence. They propose that matter is the basis of everything, and therefore, consciousness is simply a function of the brain.

Mysticism, on the other hand, teaches that consciousness is the source of all being, that it is an all-pervasive life-giving, life-sustaining energy. This is also the belief of Dr Goswami, who describes consciousness as having the ultimate power to create what we see and experience physically, so that consciousness is no longer seen as being a creation of the brain, but rather as the ground of being in which all material possibilities, including the brain, are embedded. So here we have a quantum physicist who reaches a conclusion which is exactly in line with what the Great Master wrote all those years ago -that the origin of being is pure consciousness. Great Master further discusses consciousness by saying:

The same qualities that exist in the original can be found in that which is created out of it…. If there was no consciousness present in the creative originating power, then from where has consciousness come into this universe?… Consciousness can only come from consciousness.
_{Maharaj Sawan Singh, Philosophy of the Masters, Vol. IV}

He goes on to say that the resultant can have different qualities, but its essential nature cannot be different from that of its cause. Therefore we see countless different forms in the material universe, but the essential ingredient - the glue that holds each form or object together - can only be one, and that is consciousness.

We become so excited by these many material forms that we chase after the illusion and miss the reality. We fail to recognize that it is the consciousness within them that illumines them and gives them their light and beauty. If we would only follow the Master’s instruction and do our meditation to the best of our ability, we would come to know this illuminating light and realize the futility of chasing rainbows.

An American researcher, Professor Eric Hoffman has studied brain waves and their relationship to states of consciousness. He measured the brainwaves of many people while they were meditating, and he also researched deeksha - a form of a blessing found in many Indian traditions. This is where a Master or an enlightened being puts his hand on the head of a disciple. Ancient Hindu scriptures describe it as the Master transferring divine energy to the disciple. However, Hoffman’s research indicates that the enlightened one is raising the disciple’s consciousness through his own elevated conscious vibration.

When our Master gives us darshan we simply accept that we are receiving something special. However, the Master could well be lifting our consciousness through his own powerful vibration - which is probably what we believe is happening.

We may find scientific experiments such as those mentioned above to be very interesting and intriguing, but the only thing that matters is that we follow the four simple instructions given to us by the Master and make that our life’s goal.

Spirituality is an individual undertaking and every human soul is capable of experiencing the truth - that all spiritual reality is within the essence of one’s own consciousness. We have to reach deep within ourselves to experience that level of consciousness first hand. No amount of theory or scientific proof will take us one iota closer to our goal. It is only of any benefit if it motivates us to greater effort and regular meditation. With practice, our own consciousness will lead us inwards to the divine presence and the love that we so desperately seek.