In this profound exploration of Sai Baba on Consciousness Beyond Science, a simple question leads to a journey beyond neurons and scientific theories. As a restless seeker sits in the silence of Dwarakmai, Sai Baba gently unfolds the mysteries of awareness, not as a product of the brain, but as a reflection of a boundless, eternal reality. Through metaphors, ancient wisdom, and spiritual insight, Baba reveals that consciousness is not confined to what science can measure, but is the very essence of existence itself.
Sai Baba Talks about Consciousness Beyond Science
The traveller sat in the quiet darkness of the Dwarakmai, watching the last flickers of the oil lamp sway with the gentle breeze. The air smelled of burnt incense and aged stone, carrying whispers of countless prayers offered within these sacred walls.
Yet, despite the stillness around him, his mind was restless.
He had heard scholars speak of the brain as a machine, a collection of neurons firing in patterns, creating thoughts, emotions, and awareness. But something within him resisted that explanation. He was not just a machine. He felt. He experienced. He was aware.
But what was this awareness? Could science truly explain it?
As if sensing his turmoil, Baba, wearing His simple kafni, stepped forward, His presence as steady as the walls of the masjid. He sat beside the traveller, silent yet knowing.
“Baba,” the traveller asked, “what is consciousness? And can science ever fully explain it?”
Baba smiled and reached for the oil lamp, gently cupping His hand around the flame.
“Tell me, child,” He said, “where does the light come from?”
Can Consciousness Be Measured?
The traveller looked at the lamp.
“It comes from the flame, Baba.”
Baba nodded.
“And where does the flame come from?”
“From the oil, Baba.”
Baba leaned back.
“Ah, but if the lamp breaks, does that mean light itself ceases to exist? Or was the light never confined to the lamp, only revealed through it?”
The traveller’s mind stirred.
“The light was always there, Baba… The lamp only revealed it.”
Baba smiled.
“So too is consciousness, child. You believe it arises from the brain, but does it? Or is the brain merely the lamp, revealing what was always present?”
The Illusion of the Self
Baba took a small earthen pot filled with water and placed it between them.
“Child, tell me, what is inside this pot?”
“Water, Baba.”
Without a word, Baba tilted the pot slightly, allowing a few drops to spill onto the ground.
“Now, is the water inside the pot any different from the water outside?”
The traveller frowned.
“No, Baba. It is the same.”
Baba nodded.
“So too with consciousness. You believe your mind is separate, your thoughts are ‘yours.’ But is it really? Or is your awareness merely a small drop of a vast, infinite ocean?”
The traveller felt his understanding shift.
“Then… my consciousness is not ‘mine’ at all?”
Baba’s eyes twinkled.
“It never was, child.”
The Limits of Science and the Mystery of the Observer
Baba gestured to the moonlit sky outside.
“Scientists study the brain, mapping its signals, measuring its activity. But tell Me, child, if a man studies the flame of this lamp, does he understand the meaning of its light?”
The traveller hesitated.
“No, Baba. He can describe the flame, but not the warmth it gives.”
Baba nodded.
“Science explains the movements of the brain, but does that mean it explains the experience of being? If the brain is only reacting to electrical signals, why does it feel like something to be you? Why do you dream, love, or feel longing?”
The traveller felt the weight of the question settle in his chest.
Vedantic & Sufi Wisdom: The Ocean and the Wave
Baba said, while weaving a handmade bamboo basket with careful hands,
“Vedanta says that what you call ‘your consciousness’ is like a wave rising from the ocean. It appears separate for a time, but where did it come from? And where does it go?”
The traveller whispered, “It comes from the ocean and returns to it.”
“Yes!” Baba smiled. “The Upanishads say that consciousness does not belong to you, it is the very fabric of existence. The brain does not create it, just as a pot does not create water. It merely holds it for a time.”
The traveller felt his identity dissolves, as if his thoughts were slipping away like grains of sand.
“And what do the Sufis say, Baba?”
Baba’s voice softened.
“The great Sufi poet Al-Hallaj once declared, ‘Ana al-Haqq’, ‘I am the Truth.’ Many mistook his words as arrogance, but he did not mean that he, as a man, was the Truth. He had dissolved the illusion of self and realized that all existence is but a reflection of the Divine.
“So, child, do you believe yourself to be separate from the vast reality, or is this separation only a thought, like a basket believing itself different from the bamboo it is woven from?”
A Logical Example: The Dream Within the Dream
Baba leaned forward, his voice gentle.
“Child, have you ever been lost in a dream?”
“Yes, Baba.”
“And in that dream, did you know it was a dream?”
The traveller shook his head.
“No, Baba. It felt real.”
“But when you woke up, what did you realize?”
“That it was only a dream, Baba.”
Baba’s eyes glowed with quiet understanding.
“Now tell Me, child, what if this waking life is also a dream? And what if consciousness is the only thing that remains when you awaken?”
The traveller’s breath caught in his throat.
The Answer
Science can explain the brain’s functions, but it cannot fully explain why we experience consciousness. Like the flame of the lamp, individual awareness seems separate, but it is only a reflection of a greater light. Vedanta teaches that consciousness is the fundamental reality, while Sufi wisdom speaks of dissolving the illusion of the self. If consciousness is the ocean, then we are but waves rising for a moment, only to merge back into the vast, infinite existence.
A Final Thought
Does the wave own the ocean, or is it merely a passing form?
Does a dreamer create the dream, or does the dream arise from something deeper?
Perhaps the real question is not “What is consciousness?” but “Who is the one asking?”
Source: Sai Tatva E-Magazine Authored by Murali P K
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Posts in this Series
1️⃣ Sai Baba Answers About Human Suffering
2️⃣ Why Is God Worshipped in Different Forms?
3️⃣ Existence and Reality – Sai Baba Answers
4️⃣ Why Does the Universe Seem Fine-Tuned for Life?
5️⃣ Is There Life Beyond Earth? Sai Baba Answers
6️⃣ Sai Baba on The Unseen Laws of the Universe
