The word �consciousness�, derived from Latin, literally means �knowledge of things together�. This concept, it has been rightly said, is commonly invoked but imperfectly understood and contradictorily defined. In recent times, apart from philosophers and psychologists, who have been traditional investigators of consciousness, it has also received the attention of researchers in neuroscience, information theory, and cybernetics. This book contains the papers delivered on the occasion of the fourth International Seminar on Consciousness held in January 2008 at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture.
The important thing is how much less you think of the body, of yourself as matter -- as dead, dull, insentient matter; how much more you think of yourself as shining immortal being. The more you think of yourself as spirit, the more eager you will be to be absolutely free from matter, body and senses. This is the intense desire to be free.
-Swami Vivekananda
Empty
