Himalayan Yoga Academy

Education & research Foundation

What is Human Consciousness

28 Aug 2021 HYN Himalayan Yoga Academy

What is Human Consciousness

Meditation is necessary because  it opens up the way to realize the potential of human consciousness . What is consciousness ? What is  mind ? We talk of the body and we talk of the brain , but yoga speaks of mins and yoga  speaks of consciousness as well . Human Consciousness is the all encompassing awareness , without any boundaries and distinctions . Mind is the manifest aspect of Consciousness which relates to the world  , the environment , at the present time . Although modern psychology has divided the mind up into different categories : the conscious , the  subconscious and the unconscious  , yogis have described the mind as an attribute of consciousness , and

the consciousness as having four different stages of expressions and experience :

  • jagrat , the awakened state , the wakeful state ;
  • swapna , the dreaming state , a stage where you are neither awake nor asleep ;
  • nidra , sleep , the unconscious ,
  • Turiya , the state of  inner effulgence in which you realize your being .

These are the four attributes of consciousness . Jagrat has been compared to the conscious , swapna to the subconscious , nindra to the unconscious , but I believe English does not have the proper words to define the actual states of consciousness , and these four states are only broad categories .

The great author Abhinav Gupta , who wrote two beautiful treatises on tantra , Tantra Loka and Tantra Sara , has described twenty –one states of consciousness . Each stage is different from the previous one . What does this indicate ? That our knowledge , our perception , our understanding of human consciousness , of human personality , of the human mind is very limited . It is a feat of analysis , logic and understanding if somebody , through years of study and research , can define twenty – one states of consciousness . This is the only one example of how deep you can go into the study of human nature .

We are talking of consciousness and you can give a shape to the consciousness in the formative years , you can give a shape to the awakened state of consciousness which relates to the outer world through the senses , through the mind , the indriyas . You can give a form to the state of consciousness which is in between the awakened and the dormant state – the dreaming state , but this dreaming state of consciousness .You can give it a shape , a form , an identity and this happens through the processes of pratyahara , dharana and dhyana . A beginning has to be made . Begin with the tools that you have , practice what you know with sincerity , dedication , and commitment . Practice what you know with the faith , sincerity and commitment to transform your attitude and outlook . Practice with sincerity to develop understanding of your nature and your child`s nature  .

Human Consciousness For Children

In acient civilizations there used to be a method of knowing the nature of the child . At the age of eight , before being taught the practices of asanas , pranayama  , and mudra , the child was put in a room in which different objects had been placed . People would  watch to see which object the  child was attracted to . When a child picked up the firdt objejct , the parents would get an idea of how the child was going to develop in the course of his life . There is a story about it . A rich person placed four items in the room : money ,gun  , a rosary and a bottle of wine . He thought ,”If the child goes to pick the money he will become a big businessman , if the child picks up the bottle of wine I know he will become a sensual drunkard .” An eight – year old child went into the room , looked around , picked up the  money and put it into his pocket , picked up the gun and put it in another pocket , picked up the bottle and  drank it , picked up the rosary and walked out the door . The father said , “My God , he` s going to be a politician . “ Do not let this happen to your child . Give your child the opportunity to growling life with proper support and encouragement . Parents have to become the support group for the child . Parents have to provide the child with the opportunity to express his or her creativity .If we can do that , we will see a new sun shine over this world .

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