History of the Science of Consciousness

This section should have been titled an incomplete history of the science of consciousness. As the discipline has contributions from many people, has many timelines and many many dimensions and forms. Being mysterious, multidimensional and appearing on earth in different forms, it wasn’t possible to know it accurately let alone capture it in the two-dimensional technology of (language) the written word. It is understood differently in different parts of the world. In India, monotheism, various lineages of schools and teachers, secret cults, etc. This is a narrative, in the context of the conversation we are in, with the goal to illustrate a point. The Declaration - Om iti Brahma. The cosmic intelligence that manifests itself as the primordial sounds om, is also manifested as the teacher (guru) principal. It's purpose is to guide anyone who has the desire, drive and will to reach the ultimate, unite with the cosmic consciousness, end this longing that's inherent in all creatures. The phrase 'when a student is ready, the teacher appears.' describes this principle at work. It also comes in human form to teach masses when people have fallen, forgotten the essential teachings of the past manifestations of this principle, their minds have become complicated and destructive and an update in the teaching is needed. They teach what is called Dharm in India and Tao in Chinese. An equivalent in the English language has not been found so here we are calling it The Science of Consciousness for the sake of ease, understanding and representation. This is a brief outline of some of the teachers that have come in the human form at a specific time and place to teach and update this domain of knowledge. As the science of consciousness is absolute and doesn't change, they have worked depending on the human condition at their time. As human beings and their mind got complicated overages, the teacher had to upgrade, evolve and reform the teaching for access to the seeker at the time. Shiva There are references to a being who introduced the science of consciousness. The first teacher in the Rig Veda is Lord Shiva. In Jain scriptures he is called Adi Nath Bhagwan, the first tirthankar whose name was Rishabh dev. He is the first Buddha in Buddhism. And Hazrat Muhammad Adam, the first man, in monotheistic religions. His big idea was that human beings can cause the evolution of their consciousness. In vigyan bhairav tantra he gave 108 ways to do so. Everyone after him has reached by using one or some of these techniques. Krishna Yograj Bhagwaan Srikrishna is worshipped as the complete manifestation of the divine consciousness by the hindus. As a teacher be brought forth witnessing consciousness (Sakshibhav), which is one of the foundations of the science of consciousness. Lila is witnessing life as a theatrical performance. Also, he brought in joy in the whole process of elevation of consciousness and self-actualisation. He orchestrated Raas, for young girls and boys, which is celebrating life with dance and music till your selves dissolve. This was strikingly different than how this practice was perceived before him. He also blurred the difference between materiality and spirituality. Considering them to be a part of the same spectrum he defined the glory of man by being spiritually and materially prosperous. Zarathustra 1500 BC – 1000 BC Zarathustra's teaching taught man to be a spiritual being, part of the Spirit of the whole existence; emanating from the Great Spirit. He taught integration and alignment with the cosmic principle or truth ( aša ) by the exercise of constructive thoughts, words and actions. In some places, he is ranked as first in the chronology of western philosophers. He is the founder of Zoroastrianism or Mazdayasna which is one of the world's oldest continuously practiced religions. Mahavir 540 BC - 468 BC Vardhman Mahavir can be said to have done the most in-depth analysis of the human condition. His 14 point system from illusion to self-realisation is the most comprehensive system for realisation of self. The group that studies and follows the system he developed is the Jain religion. Buddha 480 BCE - 400 BCE Shakyamuni Siddhartha Gautam Buddha can be regarded as the first teacher to put this study as science and developed it technologically. He is like a seed that branched the most. The group that studies and follows the system he developed is known as Buddhism. There is hardly any aspect of mysticism and occult sciences that his followers have not worked in. He developed the most comprehensive technique of meditation, one of the foundations of the science of consciousness. Along with meditation, a lot of work was done to develop an understanding of past life regression, karma and ethical aspect of dharma during his time. He was a scientist that dissected consciousness in all its minute details. He was born during the time when dharma that was developed in the east/indus valley had intermixed with the culture that aryans brought with them. He distinguished the core essential elements of dharm from other practices that were diffused in society at the time. Socrates 469–399 B.C.E Socrates developed a method of enquiry to arrive at the truth. He used to say that there is a demon inside him that gives him wisdom. He discussed philosophies in terms of divine entities and it was an oracle, a channeled entity, that proclaimed him to be the wisest man at that time. There were a few people before and during him who were awake but it was Socrates who caused the foundation of the Academy in Athens. Plato, his student, founded the first university to study philosophy. This bears mentioning as this happened in the west and evolved into present/ modern sciences and education. Patanjali 200 BCE Maharishi Patanjali’s major contribution was in the field of samadhi, one of the foundations of the science of consciousness. His teaching is recorded as yog sutras that has his techniques to achieve the state of super consciousness. Yog means union and this system led to formal and systematic approach(s) of the union of the human with the divine consciousness. His work did not form any religion but branched into different schools of yoga which later involved in doing energy work and today has become an alternate form of fitness training. Jesus 4 BC- 30 AD Jesus of Nazareth taught the divine presence as love. He taught a few students but was killed by the masses. Perhaps one of the most brutal elimination but it helped spread his name and message with more velocity than anyone else. His teachings formed the religion of Christianity. Nagarjun 150 AD - 250 AD Acharya Nagarjun was a realization of the idea that was in the seed form in the Buddha. He served as the head of Nalanda university which was the world centre for the study of self-realisation, spirituality and occult sciences. His major work is in the field of chemistry and subtle principles of Buddhism. Bodhidharma 483 AD – 540 AD Bodhidharma was a prince of the Pallava Dynasty in South India. Legends say that he became a monk after his father was killed by supernatural demonic forces. After enlightenment, his teacher asked him to go to China. When he went to China, he found that people were not ready/ evolved enough to understand the teaching so he sat in a cave facing a wall meditating for nine years till a student capable of receiving the teaching arrived. This was the beginning of Zen Buddhism. A branch of Buddhism that still has the essence and seed of experiential self-realisation even though much has been contaminated by misinterpretations of the mind. He also founded the discipline of Kungfu. Muhammad 571 AD - 632 AD Prophet Muhammad is considered as the last messanger in the line of monotheistic religions. He channelled revelation, the Holy Qur'an, in 23 years which formed the religion of Islam. The Quran also has a timeline of prophets who descended on the planet to spread the message of the divine. According to the hadith of the Prophet, there are 124,000 prophets sent in history before him. Only 25 of them are mentioned in the Quran with their names. 4 of them were given books and some were given pages. Allah sent revelations to other prophets in other ways. As it is not possible for a human being to have Allah communicate with them, except through inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger-angel to reveal whatever He wills by His permission. Study of Islam and Qur'an gives a unique picture of the spiritual landscape. Shankara 788 AD - 820 AD Adi Shankaracharya consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta and unified the main thoughts in Hinduism. His work discuss the unification of atmanic and brahmanic consciousness. He is regarded as the greatest revivalist of Hinduism and distinguish it from Buddhism. He is said to have designed the modern hindu temples with hidden symbols and icons to point at his philosophies. These were spaces for people to visit, practice and experience self realisation. The temple design is still found but the message seems to be lost. Gorakhnath 1200 AD Mahayogi Guru Gorakhnath was the founder of the Nath Hindu monastic movement in India. He did not teach a specific metaphysical theory or a particular Truth, but focused on the search for Truth and the spiritual life as a normal goal of man. He practiced Yoga with other spiritual practices and an ethical life of self-determination as a means to reach samadhi. He pioneered the practice of remembrance of the divine, the final pillar of the science of consciousness, and thus became the source that started the lineage of saints in India. He experimented with innumerable methods for self realisation, so much so that his name became synonymous with the attitude of dabbling around with things. Kabir 1440 AD - 1518 AD Sant Kabir was the realisation of the idea of the great saint that was in seed form in guru gorakhnath. He criticised both Hinduism and Islam which were the established religions at his time. He taught that true divinity was with a person on the path of righteousness and as saints do, found his self in all life forms. His poems encode his methods and message and carry the sense of divinely inspired art in them. A religious community known as kabir panth was formed based on his teachings. Nanak 1469 AD - 22 September 1539 Guru Nanak Devji was the realisation of the masculine essence of sant Kabir. He was considered as the guru of hindus and muslims as he tried to extract the core of the original teaching that was lost when prior religions were formed. The song after his enlightenment, Japji Sahib, starts with the declaration of the qualities of the formless divinity and unfolds to discuss the methods of realising it. He travelled far to teach the message of one divine presence that dwells in every creation. Baba Nanak’s big reform is to keep a seeker actively engaged in society when in earlier times renunciation was mandatory. He is the founder of Sikhism and first of the ten sikh gurus. Meera 1498 AD - 1546 AD Meera Bai was the realisation of the femenine essence of sant Kabir. She is a widely known figure of the Bhakti Movement and is known for her disregard of family and social conventions. Many devotional poems, bhajans, are attributed to her and are very popular across india. People used to sing and dance with her to celebrate the divine life which is a very femenine way of self realisation and its expression. Though no explicit group was formed after her, her work got diluted in the pool of hinduism. Ramakrishna 18 February 1836 - 16 August 1886 Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa was an Indian mystic and saint who was influenced by several religious traditions, including devotion toward the goddess Kali, Tantra and Advaita Vedanta. He had tried multiple extreme practices for self realisation. His chief disciple was Swami Vivekananda who founded Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission to carry on his message. Osho 11 December 1931 - 19 January 1990 Osho was the teacher for the 21st century. He updated the domain and developed techniques for realisation for the complicated mind of the modern man. He taught meditation, a more open attitude to human sexuality, death, love, celebration, courage, creativity, and humour. He was poisoned by the representatives of the masses. Epilogue Dharma can be known but it's difficult if not impossible to speak or write about it. It can be hinted towards and known in one's own experience. All these teachers came one after the other to share the same understanding in different languages and different forms. A discipline or a domain of knowledge that deals with the understanding of existence and life as something conscious, a material manifestation/ extension of eternity and self, as against the view of modern science that views existence as matter and tries to reach the truth that way. All the methods worked for the people at the time but as people made groups, belief systems and religions out of them they had to be updated and thus the cosmic teacher principal re-appeared again and again to do its job of updating the teaching for the people in the present. And we indeed are in a very interesting time.