Integral Advaita of Swami Vivekananda
In some of my previous posts addressing differences between dualism and non-dualism and the idea of Maya , I had been addressing what I believe, to be the core dilemma that has characterised Indian thought over millennia. One of the core characteristics of Indian philosophy based on the Vedas and Upanishads is that, unlike Western philosophy that focuses on objects and the universe external to the inquirer, the Upanishads start by focusing on the inquirer itself . This leads to some deep insights and theories about concepts like consciousness, awareness, and self. A primary contention of Indian schools of thought is the simpliciter nature of consciousness. That is, it argues that the core of what forms our consciousness, exists by itself-- and is not a consequence of material interactions. Hence, our consciousness does not "emerge" from our brain cells, but rather, our brain cells "tune in" to consciousness that already exists in the universe. In this sense,