Awareness and Soul of a human being, Excellent read.. Options

[dattaswami]

When the light rays fall on the object and get reflected, the image of the object falls on the retina of the eye and this image is transferred to the brain. The brain receives the image of the object. The process of receiving the image of the object by the brain is said to be awareness of the object. All the materials like rays of light, object, image of object, materials transferring the image like neurons, materials composing the brain, etc. are either inert matter or inert energy only. The process of transfer of the image to the brain is also inert work. Therefore, awareness is not different from the meaning of the word inert. Inert means that which is controlled by a controller. In the above explained system, the controller other than the above mentioned inert materials and inert work is not separately seen. If any of the above materials is absent, the work cannot take place.

Therefore, the materials control the work. The work or awareness is controlled by the presence of correct materials. Hence, you cannot say that the work or awareness is the independent controller. Each material independently cannot be a controller. The combination of these materials alone generates the work. But, the phenomenon of combination does not exist separately apart from the materials. Even the process of thinking of the brain is a play of different combinations of the impressions received through the senses from the world. Hence, a shrewd analysis also cannot capture the existence of controller in this system.

Science only speaks about ‘how the earth rotates’ and cannot speak about ‘why the earth rotates’. Due to inevitable necessity of a controller in this system, you have to accept the existence of the unimaginable controller. If the controller is like the human being made of imaginable inert materials and energies, again, the same problem is repeated. The controller should be beyond the above inert materials and inert work. Hence, the controller should be totally unimaginable. The will of such a controller should not be like the will of a human being, which is the inert work only controlled by inert materials. The will of God may resemble the will of the human being. But, the generation of that will in the absence of above inert materials is unimaginable. Since the process of generation is unimaginable, naturally, the generator is also unimaginable. Since the process of generation and the generator are unimaginable, such a will can have total independence. Qualitatively, the will of God and the will of human being may be similar. But, potentially, they differ from each other. The difference is lot and the similarity is very little. The nature of work may be same, but the potency differs.

Krishna lifted a mountain. You may lift a small stone. The process of lifting is same. But, there is lot of potential difference. Hence, you cannot compare the will of a human being, which is controlled by inert materials, to the will of God, which is totally independent with unlimited potency. Krishna is like an ordinary human being only. But, the potency is unimaginable since, He showed the entire infinite cosmic energy in Him through the vision of ‘Vishwa Roopa’. By external qualitative similarity, you cannot say that Krishna is an ordinary human being or every ordinary human being is Krishna. Similarly, due to external similarity of nature of work, you cannot say the awareness of God and awareness of a human being are one and the same. You are considering only one similar point forgetting the rest ninety-nine different points. The imaginable awareness can never be unimaginable God.

[majentis]

The process of transfer of the image to the brain is also inert work. Therefore, awareness is not different from the meaning of the word inert. Inert means that which is controlled by a controller.

The brain doesn't receive the image in the form of a postcard. It receives a burst of information, in which the image of the outside world is supposedly encoded. The brain then uses this signal to generate a picture of reality; it constantly paints a novel and subjectively unique image. I fail to see how this is inert work?

If any of the above materials is absent, the work cannot take place.

If some of the materials were absent, the work would take place differently. If all materials were absent, then quite obviously no work producing interactions would occur. This is quite obvious.

Since the process of generation is unimaginable, naturally, the generator is also unimaginable

Why then, are there so many words in your post pertaining to that which is unimaginable:

• The controller should be beyond the above inert materials and inert work.
• Hence, the controller should be totally unimaginable.
• The will of such a controller should not be like the will of a human being...
• The will of God may resemble the will of the human being.
• naturally, the generator is also unimaginable...
• He showed the entire infinite cosmic energy in Him
• you cannot say the awareness of God and awareness of a human being are one and the same

Your entire post could be written thus: "That which is, is unimaginable". But then why not just say: "That which is, is?"

I'm reminded of people that engage in long periods of speech deprivation. They reach a point where their internal voice too, is silenced, and they stop (or do it to a lesser extent) applying labels to all they perceive. It is said that witnessing a blooming flower in such a state is to witness the unimaginable beauty of reality. When that person goes back into society and speaks again - they return to the habit of labelling their experiences. They can never talk of the beauty of the flower, because that beauty they witnessed can only be experienced, not portrayed by mere wind and vocal chords.

[dattaswami]

The process of transfer of the image to the brain is also inert work. Therefore, awareness is not different from the meaning of the word inert. Inert means that which is controlled by a controller.

The brain doesn't receive the image in the form of a postcard. It receives a burst of information, in which the image of the outside world is supposedly encoded. The brain then uses this signal to generate a picture of reality; it constantly paints a novel and subjectively unique image. I fail to see how this is inert work?

If any of the above materials is absent, the work cannot take place.

If some of the materials were absent, the work would take place differently. If all materials were absent, then quite obviously no work producing interactions would occur. This is quite obvious.

Since the process of generation is unimaginable, naturally, the generator is also unimaginable

Why then, are there so many words in your post pertaining to that which is unimaginable:

• The controller should be beyond the above inert materials and inert work.
• Hence, the controller should be totally unimaginable.
• The will of such a controller should not be like the will of a human being...
• The will of God may resemble the will of the human being.
• naturally, the generator is also unimaginable...
• He showed the entire infinite cosmic energy in Him
• you cannot say the awareness of God and awareness of a human being are one and the same

Your entire post could be written thus: "That which is, is unimaginable". But then why not just say: "That which is, is?"

I'm reminded of people that engage in long periods of speech deprivation. They reach a point where their internal voice too, is silenced, and they stop (or do it to a lesser extent) applying labels to all they perceive. It is said that witnessing a blooming flower in such a state is to witness the unimaginable beauty of reality. When that person goes back into society and speaks again - they return to the habit of labelling their experiences. They can never talk of the beauty of the flower, because that beauty they witnessed can only be experienced, not portrayed by mere wind and vocal chords.

Thanks for the replies. My point is that awareness is also inert and there is a controller which is God.


When you see a pot, the light rays falling on the pot create an impression of the pot on the retina of your eye. The neuron cells in the nervous system transport this image to the brain. Here the pot, the light rays, the image, the brain, the nervous cells, the transportation of the image to the brain and the chemicals in the brain are entirely inert items. Now tell me which part of this entire process is called awareness? Awareness is only a specific inert work. On careful analysis there is nothing, which is not inert. All this entire process is taking place under systematic control of God. There is little freedom in selecting the object for seeing.

But once the object is selected the entire process is under a specific set up and has no freedom or variation. Awareness is only a specific name of a specific inert process. Hence the entire human being is inert and is controlled by God completely. Even the little limited freedom of the human being is due to sanction of God only. Hence, the human beings are completely controlled by God and this is mentioned in Veda (Aatmeswaram). The Atman or Self is inert because God is the controller of the self of any human being. This Awareness or Self or Atman is imaginable inert item, which is a specific form of inert energy only. Thus, the self is imaginable item and is totally different from the unimaginable God who is its controller.