What is Consciousness?

Consciousness simply means awareness of oneself as a Spirit entity, which is the essence of the Ultimate Spirit force, the Supreme Being. It is the awareness that man is the microcosm of the macrocosm. The knowledge that the spirit is separate from the mind and body and the awareness that the 'body’ is not 'I’ is essential.

The root cause of one's darkness and suffering is the ignorance of one's true self, a complete and absolute identification with the physical body and the material possessions that are acquired with the false notion that the possessions would bring one happiness. In order to find true happiness one must know the secret of life, the real goal, the ultimate reality. ‘Know thyself‘ is a commonly used dictum propounded by many seers, but few have absorbed its core message and the manner in which to achieve it. Man seldom looks within and searches for that treasure of success and happiness enshrined within himself. Hence, one needs to go on a journey of self-discovery which is essentially the peeling off of several layers of false notions, ideas, assumptions, titles, status and concepts one has cloaked oneself with. The culmination of the journey of self-discovery is that one becomes 'nothing’, free of ego and one with the Spirit force.

There has been a growing interest in recent times in understanding Spiritual Consciousness. A lot of studies are being conducted the world over and several books and papers written on this topic. Danah Zohar, an American- British author and speaker on Physics, Philosophy, Complexity and Management, coined the term “Spiritual Intelligence” and introduced the idea in 1997 in her book, ‘ReWiring the Corporate Brain.’ In the same year (1997), Ken O’Donnell, an Australian author and consultant, living in Brazil, also introduced the term “Spiritual Intelligence” in his book ‘Endoquality - the emotional and spiritual dimensions of human being in organizations’

Stephen Covey, the famed author of the bestselling book, ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ firmly believes in the importance of developing Spiritual Intelligence. Covey defines  Spiritual Quotient as “conscience, having the following characteristics: enthusiastic, intuitive, moral, wise, integrity, humble, fair, ethical, abundant, compassionate, respectful, responsible, and cause-oriented” He also goes on to say that Spiritual Intelligence is the central and most fundamental of all Intelligence because it becomes a source of guidance for IQ and EQ. Spiritual Quotient replaces the ego with the soul, both as the seat of personal identity, and as the governor of Intelligence Quotient and Emotional Quotient. When IQ (thought) and EQ (emotion) are governed by SQ (spirit), thoughts and emotions are transformed in quality and given a whole new purpose.

Sir Sahabji Maharaj, the fifth Revered Leader of the Radhasoami Faith has explained it thus:
“Providence has located within the human body a special Spiritual faculty, and it is the exclusive function of religion to teach man all about that faculty. When that faculty is developed in us like our physical and mental faculties, we shall be able to perceive the Truth and realise the Ultimate Reality in the same manner as we now perceive and realise the Sun with our physical eyes. And when this takes place, you will be astonished and amused to find the Ultimate Truth (the goal of science), Ultimate Reality (the goal of philosophy) and God (the goal of Religion), are but the three names of the same Supreme Essence.”

When man has achieved Spiritual consciousness, there will be a shift in his outlook and he will be able to see himself not as a 'body' but as a ‘Spirit entity’ and will be able to take more informed choices that will lead to the spread of happiness and cheer not only for the individual but for society at large. An integral approach to knowledge and a unified world view are necessary for achieving an enlightened society. It is said that Man is endowed with faculties of perception of a higher order than those of the familiar knowledge senses and the mind. Scientists are realising that our knowledge should go beyond the stages of information and awareness to that of wisdom. Societies the world over are fast acquiring a scientific tenor where the 'how and why’ is demanded by a questioning mind. The subject of Consciousness has ignited the minds of scientists all over the world and there is an extensive body of research being pursued in that sphere. The establishment of the Quantum Nano Consciousness Centre, Dayalbagh and the unparalleled research being pursued there, is a major leap in this direction.

To know more about the research go to http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03081079.2017.1308361