Sometime after we get conceived and when we are born, we have started our journey as a soul with our consciousness ensheathed within the causal, subtle and gross bodies. We are also born with our consciousness (spirit) in an innermost great causal sheath consisting of the ego (I-ness) and worldly consciousness (the memory bank of mind).
Science will have to grapple with Consciousness and try to come to terms with it. The common contention of Science that Consciousness emerges from the brain will be increasingly difficult to explain. How could the soft squishy content of the cranial box create Consciousness is something of a challenge to solve. The brain is a complex organ with trillions of nerve connections formed by nearly 100 billion neurons. The trillions of functional interconnections can at best explain the physical activities of the body and behaviour.
Well, well, what are we now hearing? “The universe itself is conscious”? This is all about a new scientific concept that is taking shape and is called “panpsychism”.
Material scientists allude stubbornly to the false idea of ‘primacy of matter’. So, they remain confounded and baffled by Consciousness. Questions such as ‘Why we have it? & How we have it?’ have remained unanswered.
Dr. Bruce Greyson is a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Science at the University of Virginia. He is considered one of the fathers of near-death studies. At a conference held by the United Nations, Dr. Greyson described documented cases of clinically dead individuals with no brain activity, actually observing from above everything that was happening on the medical table in an out of body experience. He spoke about many such individuals who could clearly describe everything that should have been impossible to describe.
What is the origin of Consciousness? A question that modern-day science seeks to answer about Consciousness. Material scientists generally tend to consider Consciousness as a product of the brain. On the contrary, spiritual scientists believe the brain as a receiver of Consciousness. If it is not an offshoot of the brain, then, indeed, physical bodies are not required for its continued existence, and so, awareness can exist outside human bodies.