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Niralamba Upanishad is one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism, classified under the Samanya (general) Upanishads. The term "Niralamba" means "without support," and this text explores the idea of ultimate reality or Brahman, which is self-sustained and independent of any other support or foundation.
Key Themes and Concepts in Niralamba Upanishad:
Advaita Vedanta Philosophy:
- The Upanishad emphasizes non-dualism, teaching that the ultimate reality, Brahman, is the only truth. All other phenomena are transient and illusory (Maya).
- The soul (Atman) and Brahman are one and the same.
Renunciation and Liberation:
- True liberation (Moksha) is achieved through the realization of Brahman as the sole existence, leading to detachment from worldly illusions and desires.
- The text underscores the importance of inner detachment (vairagya) as a path to self-realization.
Niralamba Brahman:
- Brahman is described as "Niralamba," meaning self-sufficient, without dependency on any external support. This reflects its eternal, changeless, and formless nature.
Path to Knowledge (Jnana Yoga):
- The Upanishad places emphasis on self-inquiry and meditation to transcend ignorance (Avidya) and realize the oneness of Atman and Brahman.
Structure and Language:
The Niralamba Upanishad is relatively concise compared to major Upanishads like the Chandogya or Brihadaranyaka Upanishads. It uses Sanskrit and poetic metaphors to convey its profound philosophical ideas.
Relevance:
The teachings of the Niralamba Upanishad resonate with Advaita Vedanta scholars and spiritual seekers interested in non-dualistic philosophy. It serves as a guide for those seeking to understand the nature of reality and the self.
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P FOLEY
The answer to this question doesn’t exist.
The reason why the answer doesn’t exist is the same as the reason why a fish could not answer the question: what is water?
Water is the reality a fish exists within. A fish does not know any reality other than water, it can’t stand outside of water, look at water as an object and describe it’s qualities and functions.
For a fish water is life. It is simply what is. Just like consciousness is for all that exists: it is the reality, it is life, it is everything. It s the most fundamental nature of all there is. As such everything that exists is consciousness. All functions of everything are functions of consciousness. All qualities of everything are qualities of consciousness.
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DC
spent much time on this question and have come to a conclusion, Consciousnous is a “field” much like magnetism and gravity. This “field” is most likely a multidimensional phenomenon so that while we walk in this material world this “consciousness field” permeates mulitple dimensions. Thus we can communicate with other dimensions that have beings existing in different forms. The angels? Demons, God? Where does a black hole reach when it has transcended the 3 dimensional forces and collapses?
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GC
It's becoming clear that with all the brain and consciousness theories out there, the proof will be in the pudding. By this I mean, can any particular theory be used to create a human adult level conscious machine. My bet is on the late Gerald Edelman's Extended Theory of Neuronal Group Selection. The lead group in robotics based on this theory is the Neurorobotics Lab at UC at Irvine. Dr. Edelman distinguished between primary consciousness, which came first in evolution, and that humans share with other conscious animals, and higher order consciousness, which came to only humans with the acquisition of language. A machine with only primary consciousness will probably have to come first.
What I find special about the TNGS is the Darwin series of automata created at the Neurosciences Institute by Dr. Edelman and his colleagues in the 1990's and 2000's. These machines perform in the real world, not in a restricted simulated world, and display convincing physical behavior indicative of higher psychological functions necessary for consciousness, such as perceptual categorization, memory, and learning. They are based on realistic models of the parts of the biological brain that the theory claims subserve these functions. The extended TNGS allows for the emergence of consciousness based only on further evolutionary development of the brain areas responsible for these functions, in a parsimonious way. No other research I've encountered is anywhere near as convincing.
I post because on almost every video and article about the brain and consciousness that I encounter, the attitude seems to be that we still know next to nothing about how the brain and consciousness work; that there's lots of data but no unifying theory. I believe the extended TNGS is that theory. My motivation is to keep that theory in front of the public. And obviously, I consider it the route to a truly conscious machine, primary and higher-order.
My advice to people who want to create a conscious machine is to seriously ground themselves in the extended TNGS and the Darwin automata first, and proceed from there, by applying to Jeff Krichmar's lab at UC Irvine, possibly. Dr. Edelman's roadmap to a conscious machine is at Edelman's Steps Toward a Conscious Artifact, and here is a video of Jeff Krichmar talking about some of the Darwin automata, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Uh9phc1Ow
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JS
Consciousness is Bose Einstein condensate of memory. It is emergent property of microtubules.
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Consciousness can be interpreted in different ways . Awareness is also some Consciousness which every species have in their Mind. It has to be there in order to survive in this world. In Indian Vedic philosophy highest standard of CONSCIOUSNESS is called CHAITANYA it has no English equivalent. It means highest realisation of TRUTH - THE ACTUAL REALITY . Only those persons who have reached that level can understand this metaphysical subject , a feeling which others may not understand . When a person due to some reason become senseless , we say the person has become unconscious. That is a lower level consciousness . All great yogis reach some level of CHAITANYA , Sri Ramkrishna, teacher of Swami Vivekananda is one example who is well known . BABAJI teacher of Paramhansa Yogananda
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