What is conscience – and what is the subconscious?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Okay, let’s move on.
Okay, what is the subconscious and what is conscience? As I said, conscience is basically, in Sanskrit it’s called as viveka buddhi. Viveka buddhi is that which tells us what is right and what is wrong. So, in a pure stage or in a cultured stage, the conscience usually is the voice of the super soul.
Conscience basically tells us what is right and what is wrong. But as I said, the conscience can also be culturally conditioned. And that’s why depending on different cultural conditionings, the conscience may not always say that which is right and that is wrong.
So, conscience cannot be an absolute barometer for deciding what is right and what is wrong. But conscience can be a fair barometer. And especially if we are brought up in a pious culture, if we are devoted, then the conscience is often the voice of the super soul, but not always.
Basically, we could say that the conscience is like our inner guard. So, the whole subtle body itself is, as the word says, subtle. So, that means that within the intelligence, we can say that in modern psychology there are seven kinds of intelligences.
So, we can’t really locate, pinpoint, this is the location of this intelligence, this is the location of this intelligence. We can basically analyze in terms of functionality. Okay, this person has high linguistic intelligence.
This person has high mathematical intelligence, like that. So, it’s in terms of functionality. Similarly, we can’t pinpoint the location for conscience in the subtle body.
But we understand the conscience in terms of functionality. So, the functionality is that it tells us what is right and what is wrong. Now, the subconscious, I have not seen any direct Sanskrit reference to the concept, to the word subconscious.
There is chetan, there is achetan and there is avachetan. So, achetan is unconscious, avachetan is subconscious. The word is there for that, but the concept itself, it’s not directly mentioned.
But it’s not incompatible with our philosophy. The idea of subconscious means that our mind is a reservoir of impressions. And there are many many things more in our mind than what are there in our consciousness.
It’s just like if I have a computer. In my computer, a particular book is being seen on the monitor. But along with that book, I may have 5000 other books over there.
It’s just that they are not open right now. They are there in the computer, but they are not there right now. So, like that, there are certain thoughts, certain desires, they are there in our consciousness.
So, we are conscious of them. That’s like the open book. The book that is open on the computer.
And there are many other things that are there, which are not open right now. They are closed. So, they are like in the subconscious mind.
But this is not exactly the right example. Because when we talk about subconscious, that is not only that it is not active, but often its presence also I am not aware. So, just like if I have a computer and in that, say, I purchase a second-hand computer.
And it has some hidden folders. I don’t even know those hidden folders are there. I search the directory and I find out these folders, these files, these files, these files are there.
But then, suppose I have some program, some software which unhides all the folders. Then I find, hey, all these books are also there over here. I didn’t know anything.
So, basically, the subconscious is like that hidden folder. It is something which even we are not aware of. But sometimes, it just pops up.
What is this? How is this happening? So, the subconscious can work negatively. It can also work positively. When we say that when we practice bhakti in this life, it’s never lost.
And that we carry it over to the next life. So, what is it that we carry over? That is the subconscious attraction towards Krishna. It is not that if somebody has practiced bhakti in this life, when they are born in the next life, as a baby when they are born, instead of crying, they will be chanting Bhagavad Gita shlokas.
Even if a person is a very advanced devotee, then they acquire a new body and that is going to function according to the body itself. But, in that new lifetime, what happens is, the child may himself or herself not understand, but the child feels attracted towards Krishna. पूर्वाभ्यासेन तेनाईवर् रियते यवश्योपिसः जिज्ञासर योगस्य शब्द ब्रह्माति वरते By purvabhyasa, by previous practice, riyate yavasyopisa is helplessly attracted.
So, that is like the impressions get stored in the subconscious. And those impressions push us towards Krishna in the future life. And that’s how in the subconscious, there can be impressions which can take us towards sense gratification or wrong things.
There are impressions which can also take us towards Krishna. Does it answer your question? Yes, ma’am.