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Mind and Consciousness
In most Eastern philosophy, and all yogic, tantric literature, mind is viewed as an emanation of consciousness; as an expression of the Self.
Mind is viewed as an energetic process that deals with all aspects of knowing and knowledge, with the development of an individual personality or ego, and with all forms of expression by our personality. The mind is viewed as a tool for an embodied individual consciousness to exist and functions within the limits of time and space; to think, feel, emote, desire, remember, visualize and create, and so on.
Mind and body are viewed holistically, as a single indivisible body-mind in the same way that structure and function cannot be separated. The physical body is the gross aspect of the body-mind and the mind is the subtle aspect. To work on one is to work on the other.
Yogic psychology in its purest sense is the use of meditation techniques, derived from yogic and tantric sources, to work with the mind, to view all its processes objectively, and to manage and cultivate this force for higher living.
Consciousness and Awareness
Consciousness and awareness are synonyms. They are terms for our capacity to be conscious, to feel and experience our self and life. Awareness is really that part of consciousness that is awake and experiencing. Consciousness is a broader term Consciousness is divided into three main states; the conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious states. Consciousness is also synonymous with self, or the sense of self.
The three states of consciousness can be linked to the waking, dreaming and deep sleep states, discrete states of existence and experience. At the same time these three states of consciousness co-exist in each moment, for example, when we are awake we are aware of and perceive and experience a limited quantity of experience. There are large areas of life or of our own body-mind of which we are only semi-conscious or completely unconscious. We can also be aware even when we are in a dream state, so that we are conscious of the dream state but the outside world is unconscious to us.
In western psychological thought consciousness is seen as an emanation of the brain and our biology. This is called biological consciousness and is the basis of our sense of individual self. This consciousness disappears at the time of death.
Yogis and practitioners of yoga and tantra aim to develop a form of consciousness that is independent of the body-mind. This state of consciousness continues on after death. From the yoga-tantra perspective the purpose of human life is to form this consciousness so that by the time we die we have attained an exalted spiritual state. This form of consciousness is a universal consciousness called ‘Turiya’.
‘Turiya’ is the ‘fourth’ or ‘transcendental’ state. Turiya is a continuous thread of self-awareness that remains unbroken whether the yogi is in the waking, dreaming or sleeping states. It is unconditional state that does not disappear even when body awareness is lost as it is when we are in a deep dreamless sleep. It is not the same consciousness or awareness that we have during the life in this body-mind. This is a form of non-localized consciousness that is the substratum of all the individual localized forms of consciousness that make up the human consciousness. It is a primordial awareness that is not dependent upon the body.
About the Author(s):
Dr Swami Shankardev Saraswati is an eminent yoga Acharya (authority), medical doctor, yoga therapist and internationally acclaimed author. As a direct disciple of Swami Satyananda Saraswati, he lived in the Bihar School of Yoga India for 10 years (1974-1985), where he trained to teach the highest practices of yoga-tantra.
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