The Mystery of Consciousness – Part Three
As we have seen from previous instalments, all matter ultimately resolves itself into energy. But this energy is not static. It is always in motion. Physicists have found furthermore, that the patterns of energy that take the form of particles do not exist as permanent formations. They constantly flash into existence and out of existence again, much as a firefly twinkles in the night.
The universe that we see and sense around us is actually a phenomenon that is constantly being created and destroyed, and particles of matter are simply perturbations of a uniform and underlying field of energy. Physicists have called this basic field of energy the quantum field, since it is the source out of which the tiniest particles (or quanta) have been created, and into which they are dissolved again.
As Albert Einstein has pointed out, it is the field that is the only reality. “We may therefore regard matter as being constituted by the regions of space in which the field is extremely intense….there is no place in this new kind of physics both for the field and matter, for the field is the only reality.”
Mystics have known about this field for thousands of years. By an interesting coincidence, this ultimate source of all matter was also referred to as “the field” more than three thousand years ago in the sacred Hindu classic Bhagavad Gita: “This body is called the Field. Know me also to be in all fields. The knowledge of the Field and of the Knower of the Field I deem to be true knowledge.” (Chapter 13: Verses 1-2)
This field is the source of everything that we experience as our outer universe. All matter and created form are derived from this substratum of Reality. The nature of this Reality is hidden by a dark veil. This mysterious dark cavern is the source of all created life. This veil of darkness is referred to by mystics as the Void. All conscious life appears out of this Void and ultimately disappears into it again.
This Void is a brooding pregnant darkness. It possesses unlimited potential for the creation of manifested form. The German mystic Jacob Boehme described this Void as “The Dark”. He called it the Ungrund or “ungrounded”. According to Boehme, this Ungrund is the primal source, the unconditioned freedom, the uncreated root of all. It has no attributes, yet it is the inexpressible source of both God and all creation. From this dark, feminine creative source all life emerges.
The ancient Rishis claimed that all life emerged out of a sea of energy called Prana (referred to as Qi in China, and as Ki in Japan). According to these Rishis, this energy was not only the source from which all matter is derived, but it is also the intelligent principle which vitalizes all organic life. As the Indian Yogi Gopi Krishna wrote: “In its cosmic form prana is a highly diffused intelligent energy spread everywhere.”
Paramahansa Yoganada referred to prana as the “creative lifetronic force”. It is spread throughout the entire universe and is immanent in all manifested forms. Being a dynamic form of energy, prana is always in motion. It is in constant ebb and flow. It is the medium through which the entire cosmic dance of the universe unfolds. As the ancient Rishis explained, prana is not an inert form of energy, it is the secret to undertanding life itself.
For prana is not only an intelligent form of energy, it is the source of consciousness itself. As the 20th century master Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj noted: “Consciousness as such is the subtle counterpart of matter. You may consider it in a way as a form of very subtle energy. Whenever matter organizes itself into a stable organism, consciousness appears spontaneously. With the destruction of the organism consciousness disappears.” (I Am That)
As we can see from the above, consciousness is inextricably linked with form. There can be no consciousness without an accompanying form, nor can there exist in nature a form that is not vitalized by consciousness. The character of consciousness varies with form however, and as forms become more complex, so the levels of consciousness associated with these forms change accordingly.
Whenever the energy of prana manifests as a particular form, consciousness arises automatically in that form. This consciousness is always associated with a sense of identity. This identity is characterized with the sense of the individual “I am”, which then associates itself with that form. This sense of “I am” therefore exists within all forms of matter. It follows that all creatures existing in the universe possess consciousness, as Nisargadatta Maharaj has pointed out:
“This knowledge “I am” is the same, whether it is an insect, worm, human being, or an avatar (being of the highest order); the basic consciousness is the same in all of these. In order to manifest itself the consciousness needs a frame, a particular construct in which it can oocur. That form can be anything, but it needs a form, and it lasts only as long as that particular form remains.” (I Am That)
So the mystery of the source of consciousness, which has so far eluded the best minds of our scientists, stands revealed in the teachings of mystics, both ancient and modern. Consciousness does not arise inside the brain, as most psychologists today believe, and as modern scientists are still trying to prove. It is an integral part of the energy that makes up, not only our own bodies, but all of created life.
