The Hindu Vedas teach countless lessons about how man must transcend ego to touch the divine. The gods represent aspects of human nature and contain the wisdom we must adopt to dissolve ego and experience inner peace.
Ego-consciousness often prevents us from experiencing pure bliss. The ‘wisdom’ we receive with each higher conscious thought becomes polluted by the information stored in the lower conscious compartments of the subconscious mind. The ego-centric self takes over and the immature mind always think we’re right.
But the subconscious only has partial information. Consequently, we are conditioned to be blind to Absolute Truth. Until we break through the mirth of delusion (maya) the ego mind is fraught with mistakes and bad luck. ‘Bad luck’ is bad energy.
Transcending ego requires individuals to be consciously aware of thoughts, emotions and actions. To connect the divine Self, atman, with the superior cosmic intelligence, Brahman, involves raising conscious awareness. To release the ego from maya we must forget everything we think we know.
Understanding consciousness
Scientists admit they do not understand what consciousness is. Multiple studies in psychology and cognitive science are exploring the concept of consciousness, but because consciousness cannot be measured, quantified or framed in a mathematical equation, it seems modern science is always destined to fall short of rational explanations.
However, psycho-analysts are able to provide us with some insight into the psyche. Pioneers such as Sigmund Freud and Carl G Jung in the early part of the 20th century created the topographical model of the subconscious mind and the ‘shadow self’ which enables us to understand the three personalities of the mind; ego, id and super-ego.
The ego is the mind we are consciously aware of everyday. Hence, most people believe it is the ego mind which forms thoughts and makes decisions. Only the latter is true.
Thoughts come to us from the subconscious; the id, which is concerned for our survival, and the super-ego which assists us with our personal development and wants us to evolve. Furthermore, it is the super-ego that is the higher conscious mind the Vedas say connects us with the divine.
Understanding how the subconscious mind works is key to understanding the phenomenon of consciousness. The Vedas express this concept by describing wars between Gods (super-ego) and demons (id). Raising conscious awareness is only made possible by transcending ego.
10 levels of consciousness
The Vedas describe five sheaths of existence from which 10 levels of consciousness arise. The five sheaths are; Anna-maya kosa (physical), Prana-maya kosa (vital energy), Mano-maya kosa (mental), Vijnana-maya kosa (intellectual) and Ananda-maya kosa (bliss).
The 10 levels of consciousness that emerge from this template are:
- Reflecting and experiencing life through the five senses and perception
- Emotional and sensual levels that give rise to libido and instincts
- Symbols, fantasy and ego-centric thinking
- Programmed experiences we take as concrete truth (stubbornness, arrogance)
- Flexible thinking and the ability to analyse
- Visual logic which promotes synthesis and integration
- Physic and clairvoyance levels of consciousness
- Experiencing the subtle energies of astral realms
- Causal levels of divine spirit
- Understanding of non-duality and pure bliss
The spectrum to which our levels of consciousness arc are defined by our thoughts, emotions and actions. In order to evolve consciousness and shift to higher levels of awareness, introspection of the self is necessary. On a practical level, we must identify our weaknesses and cultivate the discipline to overcome emotions.
Divine consciousness
It is possible to have divine experiences at any stage of consciousness. However, unless your awareness is tuned to higher levels of consciousness, any spiritual experiences will not be fully or understood or appreciated.
On the contrary, such experiences are more likely to be considered weird and confusing. Individuals with a higher level of conscious awareness are not only able to understand the deeper meaning of these experiences, but are also able to initiate them in order to understand more about themselves and their worldly experiences.
It is a common trait for us to believe that our experiences in life are the only truth. Until we experience something for ourselves, we typically lack the ability to integrate alternative perspectives. Furthermore, the ego-centric mind can be opinionated, stubborn and arrogant.
But even individuals that are raising their conscious awareness can be mistaken by experiences they believe to be the whole Truth. Swami Vivekananda points out: “Whenever a prophet got into the super-conscious state by heightening his emotional nature, he brought away from it not only some truths, but some fanaticism…which damaged the world.”
Because the immature mind fails to fully and completely transcend ego, the connection with the divine is distorted. During such practices, initiates experience the “rapture” and believe they have attained samsara. But in most cases, they have only tasted the feeling or pure bliss for a brief moment.
Modern Hinduism
Whether modern religions are designed to help believers raise conscious awareness is highly debatable. The wisdom is clearly defined in the Vedas. First of all, there are 1.1 billion Hindus in the world. How many Hindus or followers of any religions do you know that can be considered a Buddha, or even have developed a higher state of consciousness?
You can say the same for every religion on the planet. Look at the commentary on such subjects and there is a distinct lack of understanding, agreement and consistency among scholars. Consider the tragedies and atrocities committed by world leaders and religious institutes throughout recorded history and it is clear to see that humanity has learned nothing from the wisdom in ancient records.
As science advances and the understanding of heightened psychological development becomes more understood, there is hope for the world. More and more people are consciously aware that a higher state of consciousness can be achieved. Some dedicated individuals are even putting ancient knowledge into practice.
The key to understanding the Vedas is by decoding the symbolism that is rife throughout the texts. It is the meaning behind the symbols that hold the answers to the subconscious, energy and our innate connection with the cosmic intelligence.
