| Yoga
and Parapsychology: Linking Indian Philosophy of Consciousness
with Western Science
Serena
Roney-Dougal
Psi Research Centre, Glastonbury
Introduction
The data
from parapsychological research is slowly becoming more accepted
by the scientific community. The main sticking point is still
a good theory into which psi (psychic phenomena) fits. This
is essentially the same sticking point for what has been called
the “hard problem” in consciousness research –
how can the non-physical mind stuff interact with the physical
brain?
For the
past three years I have been teaching parapsychology at a
university in an ashram, Bihar Yoga Bharati (BYB), in India.
The students immediately brought to my notice that there is
a huge difference between Indian concepts of consciousness,
mind, soul and spirit and Western concepts of the same words.
I found that my Western concepts were incredibly muddled and
so, to help gain greater understanding and clarity about the
way we understand these terms in the West, I have been learning
about the Indian concepts. In order to get a clear view of
the picture one has to stand back – my clarity about
the Western perspective is increasing owing to seeing it from
a viewpoint that is 5,000 miles distant!
Further,
I am exploring it as it seems to offer a philosophy that permits
psi to take its rightful place in the universe and does this
with testable hypotheses, with which I have started to do
experiments. I am still a complete beginner with regard to
the Indian philosophies, but feel that my simple understanding
of these complex concepts just might be helpful to others
in the West who may be interested in learning about this viewpoint.
1.
The Vedic Concept of Consciousness
One of
the questions asked by the conference organisers was: “What
is the purpose of consciousness?” There are as many
different answers to this as there are philosophies. I think
I prefer the Taoist: “It is,” which also happens
to be the yogic. According to Prof. Harishankar Singh, a philosophy
lecturer at BYB, this is a non-question or rather is the equivalent
of “What is the purpose of the big bang?” or “What
is the purpose of god?” because the yogic answer is
that consciousness is God. “By God (Ishwara) we mean
. . . a superior spiritual consciousness.” (Satyananda,
2000). This Consciousness is changeless.
Prof. Singh then continued with an interesting remark that
the purpose of consciousness is to provide us with our ethics,
our morality for life, our knowledge of good and evil, our
highest purpose. Thus consciousness is both the ground of
all being and the highest spiritual aspiration, as in the
Great Nest of Being (Wilber, 2001).
Another
question asked by the conference organisers was: “What
is the function of consciousness?” Again there are as
many answers as there are philosophies. The Vedic answer is
that the qualities, or functions, of consciousness are knowledge,
will and activity, of which thinking is one activity. Consciousness
itself is not a quality, it is reality in all its different
forms.
There
are five different levels of consciousness, called Soul,
universal Atman, as consciousness manifests in the
universe at different evolved states, i.e. soul is a gross
form of consciousness.
The soul of matter is the unconscious state of pure consciousness;
the soul of plants is the subconscious state of pure consciousness;
the soul of animals is the conscious state of pure consciousness;
the soul of humans is the self-conscious state of pure consciousness;
and then there is the universal cosmic Consciousness .
Thus there
is consciousness, with a capital C, which is the whole universe,
and this manifests in us as our soul.
In the
Vedic framework there is a clear distinction between mind
and consciousness. “The mind cannot be the source of
consciousness because it too can be perceived as an object.
The mind does not illuminate itself.” (Satyananda,2000,
p.19) Yogis conceived of mind as an organ which processes
the senses and is the means by which one creates thought.
“Consciousness when measured, limited, in space and
time, then form and qualities appear - then it becomes chitta
(mind).” Satyananda defines yoga as a method “by
which consciousness is disconnected from the entanglement
with mind and the manifested world.” (Satyananda,2000.
p.18).
Another word for the big Consciousness, Purusha, “is
the awareness which is devoid of the contents of the mind
. . . usually our consciousness functions through the senses,
mind and buddhi. . . Purusha is the manifestation of consciousness
in the course of evolution.” (Satyananda,2000, p.66
- 67, p.85.)
According
to Niranjanananda (2002, pp.22-27.): “Awareness is different
to consciousness. . . Awareness only happens when buddhi .
. . begins to function. The word buddhi is translated as intellect,
but actually buddhi is derived from the root bodh, which means
“to be aware of”, to know, “to have experience
of”. Awareness is an attribute or expression of buddhi.
. . intellect is the energy which perceives, receives, analyses,
compares, stores and later on brings the information to the
surface. . . Broadening the awareness means expanding the
receptivity and the analytical structure of buddhi.. . . Intellect
is a faculty of the manifest mind, whereas buddhi is a
quality of consciousness.”
What I
really like about these yogic concepts is that mind, awareness
and consciousness are clearly separate faculties. Mind is
the tool by which we become aware of the senses and is the
creator of thoughts. And every meditator knows the difference
between the thinking process and awareness, the witness which
watches the mind. Consciousness is still not a totally clear
concept because it is so multifaceted, but separating mind
and awareness out as two distinct processes, and having a
top-down approach to the Universe with consciousness present
at all levels makes good sense to me. I am, however, unsure
of the definition of the use of words such as sub- and un-conscious
in the Vedic usage, particularly with regard to their concept
of Atman, i.e., exactly what is meant by matter being the
unconscious aspect of Consciousness? Further discussion with
Vedic philosophers is required here!
Parapsychology
and the Vedas
Theoretically
this philosophy gives a solid underpinning for an understanding
of psi phenomena. Psi is the direct transfer of information
without the medium of the senses or physical body, more connected
with awareness (buddhi) rather than thought (chitta, mind).
In fact psi research suggests that thoughts get in the way
of psi awareness. With the Vedic philosophy, that consciousness
underpins all reality, I am beginning to understand that the
active psychic processes, such as psychokinesis or psychic
healing, are the motor organs of the Self-consciousness (Atman).
The receptive psychic processes such as telepathy, clairvoyance
and precognition are the sensory organs of Atman. In western
terminology the eyes and hands of the soul. Thus psi can be
understood as the active and receptive aspects of the soul
level of our being. Interestingly, the dictionary definition
of the word ‘psyche’ has ‘soul’ as
one of its meanings. At the psychic level we experience consciousness,
at the very least awareness, rather than mind, potential omniscience
and omnipotence considered by some as attributes of the divine,
and called the siddhis in yogic philosophy.
In parapsychology
recent theorising (e.g. Radin, 1997, Jahn & Dunne, 1987,
Harris Walker, 1977) has related the functioning of psi to
quantum reality, a theory I call the holographic universe
and discuss in both my books (Roney-Dougal, 1991/2002, 2003).
The Vedic philosophy of consciousness is totally in line with
this conception of consciousness being totally integrated
with matter, as seen in such quantum paradoxes as Schrödinger’s
Cat and non-locality (quantum entanglement). Quantum entanglement
(also known Bell’s theorem, or the EPR paradox) says
that information exists and passes between connected quantum
particles instantaneously, i.e. outside of time and space,
as does psi. Schrödinger’s Cat paradox gives rise
to the observer effect, which says that consciousness is central
for material reality to take the particular form it does,
as we get in psychokinesis, e.g., psychic healing occurring
in accordance with the wishes of the healer. Both of these
quantum principles, which have been experimentally verified,
are in accord with parapsychological data. As Satyananda (2000,
p.19) puts it: matter is the “gross form and manifestation
of mind. . . the material world that we see around us is really
an expression of the more subtle mental aspects of existence.”
I could copy this quote several times over with sayings from
various quantum physicists, as Wilber does in his book “Quantum
Questions” (Wilber, 1984).(Yet again there is a confusion
of terms. I think that the words “mind” and “mental”
in the quote should really be consciousness.)
2.
The Shaivite Tantric Concept.
Having
looked at a theory regarding Consciousness within the universe,
we will now look at a philosophy which concerns consciousness
as it manifests at different levels connected with the human
mind. For me, there is some confusion here over the Tantric
use of the word consciousness, because they seem to be using
it differently from the Vedic.
Tantric
philosophy recognises 4 levels of consciousness within the
human, each subdivided into 4 making a total of 16, and states
that our purpose is to become aware at each of these, so that
we realise the ultimate state (supra-consciousness) which
is one with the original Consciousness.
Swami
Satyananda Saraswati (2000) has written a commentary on Patanjali’s
Yoga sutras called “Four Chapters on Freedom,”
in which he describes the four primary states of consciousness
as follows:
“ 1. Conscious mind: sthula (gross dimension); jagrit
(waking state) surface thought and perception of the outside
world.
2. Subconscious mind, sukshma (subtle dimension); swapna (dream
state); individual memory; samskaras (mental tendencies).
3. Unconscious mind, karana (causal dimension); sushupna [also
known as nidra] (deep sleep state); cosmic collective samskara
and memory.
These realms contain the instinctive, intellectual, psychic
and intuitive aspects.” (ibid.,p.19)
And 4: Turiya which is where consciousness goes beyond mind.
Turiya means “simultaneous awareness of all three states”
which takes us closer to the state of enlightenment (Niranjanananda,
2002, p.25). These can be pictured as follows in figure 1.
Figure
1: The 4 Major Tantric States of Consciousness
| |
JAGRAT |
SWAPNA |
NIDRA
|
TURIYA |
| Dimension
|
Gross |
subtle |
causal |
transcendent |
| State
of consciousness |
Waking;
conscious |
dream;
subconscious |
deep
sleep; unconscious |
Cosmic
consciousness; collective unconscious |
<--------manifestation------------------------
---------evolution---------------------------> |
(adapted from Yogakanti, 1999)
Lakshman
Jee (1988) describes these states as follows:
Jagrat is “when the individual travels
in objectivity, which comprises the world of elements, names,
forms, words, and sounds and becomes the object and ignores
its subjective consciousness. Here one loses consciousness
of one’s subjectivity and becomes one with the objective
world.” My understanding of this is that this is our
normal state of consciousness. Most of us are totally unaware
most of the time. We are totally caught up with living: reading
a book, chatting with friends, doing the washing up, etc.
Most of us don’t watch ourselves, don’t watch
what we are saying, feeling, being, doing – as Lakshman
Jee says: we “become one with the objective world.”
Swapna is “when one travels in the
cognitive (subjective) world and becomes one with that and
loses consciousness of one’s subjectivity. Or one travels
in the impressions (samskaras) of the objective world and
loses the awareness of one’s subjective consciousness.
One takes hold of these impressions and becomes one with the
world of impressions. Yogins find that swapna is a nearer
way when entering into samadhi. It is much easier to concentrate
your awareness in swapna than it is in jagrat” (Lakshman
Jee, 1988). This is our dreaming state of consciousness, which
includes day dreaming, “lost in thought” as we
say.
Sushupti, or nidra, is the causal state or
dimension, the all-knowing. In a tamasic state [our normal
waking state] , the knowledge is hidden or not revealed, thus
the common understanding of nidra is of sleep, an unconscious
state. With increased awareness one progresses through the
samadhi states during this rest period. Thus it is said that
the night of the layman is the day of the yogi. Here nidra
is not only sleep but rather the absence of senses and mind.
The Mandukyopanishad describes it as where there is no desire
for anything, nor does one see any dream, therefore there
is no differentiation but a mass of consciousness (Yogakanti,
1999).
Turiya is the state of total equilibrium
between individual manifest consciousness and cosmic consciousness.
It is not an interactive state though full of wisdom there
is absence of dualistic knowledge. There is total disassociation
from the seeds of gross, subtle or causal dimensions.(Yogakanti,
1999) Or: “When you enter in subjective consciousness
with full awareness, which subjective awareness is breakless
awareness and become fully illumined in one’s own Self,
this state is called the fourth state.”(Lakshman Jee,
1988)
For a
description of all 16 states see the Appendix:
Table 1.
My understanding
of these states is that enlightenment, or samadhi, is becoming
aware in states of consciousness in which we are normally
unaware, the dream state and the deep sleep state. Once again
awareness is the key concept.
Tantra
and Parapsychology
According
to Patanjali’s sutras, as we develop our awareness in
these different levels of consciousness so we become aware
at a psychic level. In the 1970s a theoretical framework for
parapsychology, known as the psi-conducive model, was developed
from Patanjali’s yoga sutras (Braud, 1978; Honorton,
1981). This led to an ongoing programme of states of consciousness
research which has borne rich fruit. I am now using this model
as a theoretical basis for research at an ashram in India,
working with swamis, sannyasins and students who have done
up to 30 years meditation. The findings are still very preliminary
but are suggestive that meditation does enhance psi awareness.
In parapsychology
the concept of the subliminal mind has been explored in quite
some depth. Myers (1903/1915) developed the concept of the
subliminal mind in the late 1800s. For a review of the research
in parapsychology and its relationship to research in subliminal
perception see Roney-Dougal (1981) and Schmeidler (1986).
Essentially it appears that psi manifests in consciousness
in a similar manner to subliminal impressions, using similar
psychological mechanisms such as hypnosis, dreams, visualisation,
relaxation, meditation and hypnagogic states such as the Ganzfeld
and yoga nidra.
For me,
the central message here is that increasing awareness of those
aspects of our consciousness of which we are normally unconscious,
dream and sleep states, are in fact those states of consciousness
which are related both to psi functioning and the samadhi
states of meditation. This tallies with the Jungian concept
of the collective unconscious as that aspect of consciousness
outside of space and time which is the domain of the psychic.
3. The Energy Aspect of Consciousness
In the
West we normally think of energy, such as a light or electricity,
as a non-conscious force that interacts with matter. In the
Vedic philosophy, energy is conscious, e.g., the consciousness
of light is illumination, enlightenment.
An aspect
of this, which I have researched at the theoretical level
for many years now, is their concept of the nadis, which are
energy channels in the human body. There are 72,000 nadis
of which the three primary nadis, sushumna, ida and pingala
run up the centre, and on either side of, the spinal column.
Where these energy channels intersect, the chakras are located.
The chakra
I have explored in some depth is ajna chakra (Roney-Dougal,
1991/2002), which Satyananda (1972) states has its physical
location at the pineal gland. He describes ajna chakra as
both the psychic centre and the command chakra. The pineal
gland makes pinoline (6MeOTHBC). Strassman (1990) suggests
that pinoline interacts with serotonin (5HT) disrupting its
breakdown so that it becomes unstable and, amongst other tryptamines,
makes MeODMT, which is a potent hallucinogen. Callaway (1988)
hypothesises that this is the neurochemical trigger for dreaming,
which has been found to be a psi-conducive state of consciousness
(Ullman, Krippner & Vaughan, 1973). The chemical combination
of pinoline and DMT is virtually identical with the chemical
constituents of ayahuasca, which has been reported as having
psi-conducive properties (Harner, 1973/78). Ayahuasca is made
from Banisteriopsis caapi, known as the sacred vine whose
active constituents are harmala alkaloids such as harmaline,
and psychotria viridis which contains DMT. 10-Methoxy-harmaline
is virtually identical in chemical structure to pinoline.
This neurochemical
hypothesis is probably now out-of-date, as I have not done
any work on this for nearly a decade, and is very speculative.
I have been told that the latest research suggests it is far
more complex than the brief outline I have just given, but
the basic idea, that the pineal gland is literally physically
involved in creating a state of consciousness which is psi-conducive,
tallies with the yogic concept of the pineal being the physical
location of ajna chakra, the third eye and psychic centre.
The pineal
gland is only active at night. Thus, if the above suggestion
is correct, we make each night in our brains an endogenous
equivalent of a potent shamanic tea, which makes sense of
lots of folk lore, such as midnight being the witching hour,
4 am being the time when the veils are thinnest, which most
spiritual traditions consider the most efficacious time to
do ones spiritual practice, most ghosts are reported at night,
etc. This is a clear example of changes in material level
(brain neurochemistry) being linked with changes at the mental
level (altered state of consciousness, either psychedelic
or dream), and affecting the psychic level of our being.
With regard
to ajna chakra as the command centre, melatonin made by the
pineal has been found to have a feedback relationship with
the endocrine organs, being the off-switch for hormone production.
This suggests a possible psychophysiology for the whole of
the chakra system (Roney-Dougal, 1999) thus grounding consciousness
via energy with the physical, the chakra being nexus points
where physical hormones are produced, these producing emotional
effects, which affect the mind, and are connected with psychic
state of being and our spiritual state.
Conclusion
The Yogic
conception of consciousness is a top-down approach similar
in some ways with the Neoplatonic philosophy found in the
Western Mystery tradition, and also having links with traditional
Western animist philosophy. As a theoretical foundation for
understanding psychic phenomena it has great potential and
has already led to fruitful approaches to parapsychological
research.
References
- Braud,
W.G. (1978). Psi-conducive conditions: Explorations and
interpretations. In B.Shapin & L. Coly (eds.), Psi
and States of Awareness, Parapsychology Foundation,
N.Y., pp.1 – 41.
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J.C. (1988). “A proposed mechanism for the visions
of dream sleep,” Medical Hypotheses, 26,
119-124.
- Harner,
M.J. (ed.) (1973/78). Hallucinogens and Shamanism,
Oxford Univ. Press, Britain.
- Harris
Walker, E. (1977). “Comparison of Some Theoretical
Predictions of Schmidt’s Mathematical Theory and Walker’s
Quantum Mechanical Theory of Psi,” The Journal
of Research in Psi Phenomena, Vol. 2, (1), 54—70.
- Honorton,
C. (1981). Psi, Internal Attention states and the Yoga Sutras
of Patanjali, In B. Shapin & L. Coly (eds.), Concepts
and Theories of Parapsychology, Parapsychology Foundation,
NY, pp.55 - 68.
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R.G. & Dunne, B. (1987). Margins of Reality: The
Role of Consciousness in the Physical World; Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich.
- Lakshman
Jee, Sw. (1988). Kashmir Shaivism: The Secret Supreme,
Sri Satguru Publications,.pp. 71-85.
- Myers,
F.W.H. (1903/15). Human Personality and its Survival
of Bodily Death, Longman, NY.
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Saraswati, Sw. (1993/2002). Yoga Darshan: Vision of
the Yoga Upanishads, Yoga Publications Trust, Munger,
India.
- Radin,
D. (1997). The Conscious Universe, HarperEdge,
USA.
- Roney-Dougal,
S.M. (1981) "The Interface between Psi and Subliminal
Perception," Parapsychology Review, 12, 4,
12 - 18.
- Roney-Dougal,
S.M. (1991/2002). Where Science and Magic Meet,
Vega, London
- Roney-Dougal,
S.M. (1999) “A Possible Psychophysiology of the Yogic
Chakra System,” J. of Indian Psychology,
17(2), 18 - 40.
- Roney-Dougal,
S.M. (2003). The Faery Faith, Green Magic, Britain.
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Saraswati, Sw (1972). Ajna Chakra: The Pineal Gland,
Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, India.
- Satyananda
Saraswati, Sw. (1976/2000). Four Chapters on Freedom:,
Yoga Pubs. Trust, Munger, India.
- Schmeidler,
G. (1986). Subliminal Perception and ESP: Order in diversity?
J. Amer. Soc. Psych. Res., 80, 214-264.
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R.J. (1990) "The Pineal Gland: Current Evidence for
its Role in Consciousness." In Lyttle, T. (ed.), Psychedelic
Monographs and Essays. Vol. 5. PM&E Pub., Boynton
Beach, Florida.
- Ullman,
M., Krippner, S. & Vaughan, A. (1973). Dream Telepathy,
Macmillan, NY.
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Saraswati, Sw. (1999). The Advayatarakopanishad,
Unpub. MA Dissertation thesis in Yoga Philosophy, Bhagalpur
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Appendix: Table 1, The Tantric
16 Levels of Consciousness
jagrat
jagrat
totally alert externalisation
“In
this state you are given fully to the world of objectivity
and you completely lose consciousness of your subjectivity.”
0
0
0
0
|
jagrat
swapna
daydreaming or lost in thought; subject to mental distraction
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
|
jagrat
nidra
spaced out
“When
in the state of wakefulness one both externally and
internally loses consciousness of the objective world
and also loses consciousness of the internal world of
impressions"
o
|
jagrat
turiya
alert meditative state.
“You
move and travel in the objective world, and at the same
time reside in Self - Consciousness. You do not lose
hold of your internal subjective consciousness.”
|
swapna
jagrat
wakefulness in the state of dreaming
0
0
0
0
0 |
swapna
swapna
dreaming in the state of dreaming
0
0
0
0
0 |
swapna
nidra
Whilst dreaming you experience the occasional touch of
consciousness
0
0
0
|
swapna
turiya
You move from the dreaming state to samadhi and then back
to the dreaming state and again to samadhi and so forth. |
|
nidra
jagrat
wakefulness in the state of deep sleep
“In
this state you lose all impressions and thoughts and
remain in absolute void.”
0
0
0
0
0
0
0 |
nidra
swapna
dreaming in the state of deep sleep.
“In
this state you are somewhat conscious that you are travelling
in subjectivity.”
0
0
0
0
0
0 |
nidra
nidra
deep sleep in the state of deep sleep.
“In
this state while you are travelling in the subjective
consciousness, the impression that this is the world
of subjective consciousness remains in the background
throughout.” |
nidra
turya
the fourth state in the state of deep sleep
“You
are aware of that subjective consciousness in continuation
in the background and at the same time you experience
the bliss.”.
0
0
0
|
turya
jagrat
The mind has taken rise in endlessness, complete thoughtlessness.
“Here
the consciousness of turya is in a subconscious state.” |
turya
swapna
This is the state of unlimited Being.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0 |
turya
nidra
In this state, although you are unlimited, yet you find
existing here all of the limitations of the universe.
0
0
0 |
turyatita
That state which is the absolute fullness of Self. It
is filled with all consciousness and bliss.
0
0
0
0 |
This article
was presented at the “Exploring Consciousness”
conference at The Forum, Bath, Britain, in June 2004, and
is due to be published by the conference organisers..
|
