Consciousness: The Dual Nature Of Our Consciousness

By Dharani Dhar Sahu

The Dual Nature Of Our Consciousness

All things that have consciousness may be divided into two categories - those that move and others that cause movement. That which moves is matter, and that which makes the matter move is awareness.

Nothing can move of its own accord. In the atom protons, electrons and neutrons move at great speed. The force that makes them move constantly must come from within the atom. That is consciousness, inherent in all things, including human beings.

In humans, consciousness has a dual function. In addition to enabling our functioning on the physical plane, it assists in the process of evolution, in the actualisation of our transcendental destiny. According to ancient scriptures, only in the human form can the meaning of creation, if there is any, be realised. Man's exalted position in evolution brings in its wake a host of responsibilities. Man suffers intensely because he is responsible for what happens to him.

Human consciousness has the potential to rise as well as fall. This transforms the world into a veritable examination hall, and man into an eternal examinee whose fate it is to come to this place of testing, agony and ecstasy again and again until he graduates to a level of no return. If we consider man as an eternal examinee, the people who have succeeded in the examination are the teachers, and the scriptures of all religions are sources of tips and explanations for success.

Man decides his own destiny through the choices he makes in life. Most of our choices are based on what will give us the most happiness. One form of happiness is one that begins in suffering but which is beneficial as it leads to greater awareness. The other form of happiness, caused by contact of senses with material objects, appears delightful in the beginning, but turns out to be poisonous later. Those who prefer the former happiness are the ones who ascend the evolutionary ladder. Welcoming one's present ordeal for future happiness requires vision. That vision enables man to see the ultimate that lies beyond the immediate, and the permanent that lies beyond the transient. This is the vision inherent in human consciousness, which has a double function.

In all other creatures, the function of consciousness is to determine the best course of action for survival. But in the case of man, power of choice is not restricted to survival issues alone. Human choice is influenced by a number of sense-gratifying factors. Man is the only creature capable of knowing what is right and yet choosing to do wrong for pleasure. For that momentary happiness, he does not consider it necessary to listen to and be guided by the sane whisperings of his awareness. They do not necessarily prevent him from doing what he is determined to do, they just help him moderate his infatuation for immediate pleasure.

Instinctive urge and transcendental potential reside together in human awareness. When man, fascinated by immediate pleasure, ignores his transcendental potential, he befriends the instinctive urge and fails to assert his humanness. This makes him feel restless. The instinctive urge is neither good nor evil; it is a natural necessity. This urge, which man shares with other creatures, needs moderation and not forceful repression or removal. A balance is required between the two, for together, they prepare man, the eternal examinee, for evolution into higher realms of consciousness.

Just as the negation of transcendental potential makes man restless and incomplete, negation of the instinctive urge makes him feel rootless and disconnec-ted. This is because both functions of human awareness are equally important. One is required for the maintenance of worldly affairs; the other helps man realise his transcendental destiny.