The Relationship between Brain and Mind : Last Part.

Discussion : between a devotee with Swamiji ( Q - A )


The Ultimate Reality is Substance, according to Spinoza. You may call It God, if you like. He calls It the Universal Substance, and It is conscious of Itself. That Self-consciousness of Universal Substance is called God, and you are inseparable from It, ultimately. But in the act of creation, due to the interference of space and time, this separation consciousness has arisen, unfortunately, and each part of the Universal Substance began to assert itself as something totally different from It.

A part of that mind gets separated from the total whole; It asserts itself as I am so-and-so, even down to the insects and the atoms. And, then that consciousness of isolatedness from the Cosmic Substance solidifies itself into sense organs, and instruments of action – called the body, the brain, the heart, the lungs, and so many things. So, actually, I am slowly, unconsciously, jumping into a cosmological subject, which I wanted to avoid.

You are then a cosmic being, basically, and if you know this, you shall be free. You shall have no problems. This is another way of saying that your consciousness is a part of God-consciousness.

Spanish Visitor: And to be aware of that is through meditation?

SWAMIJI: It is through meditation, and great self-restraint – control of the sense organs, and meditation correctly practiced under the guidance of a competent person.

Spanish Visitor: There is a lot of confusion about meditation.

SWAMIJI: Yes, I know. It has to be carefully conducted, and it is not an easy thing. In the beginning, it looks easy; afterwards, it becomes a little difficult. It requires a competent teacher in the case of every person.

Swami Krishnananda

END.