What is the Vedic perspective on panpsychism?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna. Question. What is the Vedic perspective on panpsychism? Answer.
Panpsychism is the idea that there is psyche. Psyche here refers not just to mind, but to consciousness, which is in the Western thought system said to come from the mind. Psyche can also refer sometimes to the self, the way it is used in the Western terminology.
Now, so it refers to consciousness. Pan means all. So, panpsychism means that consciousness is present everywhere.
So, panpsychism is nowadays being propagated by some scientists, some physicists, who are finding that they are not able to resolve the mystery of consciousness. That where does consciousness come from is one of the biggest unsolved questions in science. And our brain is often thought of as the locus of consciousness, but the brain is just neural circuitry, and neither the components nor the products of that neural circuitry, there is any logical, empirical or rational way of explaining how that produces consciousness.
So, because as of now, mainstream science is materialistic, so it does not accept the concept of a non-material soul. And because of which they are not able to understand that consciousness does not come from the brain, it comes from an entity distinct from the brain, this entity distinct from matter itself, that is a non-material soul. But not being able to accept that, understand that, some scientists are trying to explain the presence of consciousness within the life, within the universe by saying that consciousness is an innate feature of all of existence.
So, everything, even stones according to them has consciousness, and like that everything has consciousness, and they said there are degrees of consciousness, and in humans the consciousness is manifested more. So, now at one level, this idea of consciousness being in degrees at different levels, that is true. But the panpsychism from the Vedic perspective blunders because it does not, it fails to recognize the source of consciousness.
So, that there are ideas like panpsychism coming slowly in science, although they are not yet become mainstream, that they are coming, this indicates that more and more the thinkers are now increasingly recognizing the undeniable reality of consciousness as a fundamental feature of existence. Now, once consciousness is accepted as a fundamental feature of existence, not as something that is reducible to matter, as pop psychology tries to do, or as neurobiology tries to do. So, instead of not reducing consciousness to something which is a product of matter, but trying to, but accepting it as a reality, that is a good step forward, as an irreducible reality.
But rather than considering consciousness as a reality that is universally distributed throughout the universe, which ultimately leads to the idea that consciousness in its foundation is amorphous, impersonal presence permeating the consciousness, that is an incomplete understanding. So, certainly Brahman, from the Brahman, the all-pervading spiritual presence, underlies everything. But Brahman does not manifest as consciousness to us in this world.
When we see consciousness in this world, that is the consciousness coming from the souls, the atmas, and those are individual, discrete, irreducible particles of spirit. We are all parts of God. So, panpsychism is, from the Vedic perspective, incorrect, because it does not recognize the source of consciousness properly, although it accepts the reality of consciousness.
So, acknowledging the irreducible reality of consciousness is a step forward. But going further and recognizing the individuality of consciousness as recognizing the individual sources of consciousness and ultimately the supreme source of consciousness, those are steps forward in the evolution of human thought that will take place as consciousness is further explored and understood. And for those who want to explore and understand consciousness thus, the Vedic scriptures stand ready to give a comprehensive understanding.
Thank you. Great.