The Three Aspects of Consciousness

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Consciousness has three distinct aspects (although the second two are both imaginary). The FIRST ASPECT is its absolute source. This is what we consider REAL. Nothing can be said about this. You cannot explain it because it rests AS IS without anything to compare itself to. It is pure existence lost in its own knowledge as the pure self (formless). We cannot call it an aspect since it is incomprehensible and unimaginable. We can only give it approximations like ‘Infinity’ though ‘Infinity’ is just a mere concept. It doesn’t know itself AS itself, YET remains AS itself. It is pure freedom because it is free from any conceptual knowing, even knowing that it is the pure self. Consciousness here is considered Nirguna Brahman. 

The SECOND ASPECT is witness consciousness (Turiya). This is when consciousness has knowledge AS the self and at the same time, solely witnesses its own imagination without being entangled inside of it. It is unbroken knowledge of itself while experiencing non-separation AS ITSELF. When absolute consciousness (FIRST ASPECT), forgets itself as itself (which is its very nature), it automatically becomes a ‘Silent Witness’ (SECOND ASPECT) and at the same time, gets entangled in its own projection it witnesses (now perceiving itself to be something other than itself). When it gets entangled in its own projection, it becomes an individual experiencer: Ego (THE THIRD ASPECT).  This is the experience you currently hold right now. We now find ourselves in an endless whirlwind of broken dreams (reincarnation).

The words of Vedanta explains this very truth and the many ways to exit the association one has with this continuous dream. In order for this to occur, we have to reverse the way attention functions. Right now, the FIRST ASPECT (absolute source, i.e. what you really are) has its attention in its own deluded projection it imagines. If we reverse it, it can come to a point where this attention exits the body-mind (the projection) and rests instead as it’s witnessing functioning (SECOND ASPECT). This second aspect (turiya) is the bridge between the Jiva and Nirguna. This is the key to liberation, since attention must venture that way to reach Nirguna.

This witnessing function is not entangled in its own projection (i.e. Ego). It instead rests as itself (consciousness) but is able to witness the movement of a non-separate appearance it imagines. However, when it’s entangled INSIDE its own projection (there is no witnessing the movement of an appearance) but rather it is an experience of being inside the appearance as a solid body-mind entity that witnesses a world full of objects that appear to be separate from itself. 

As a result, the attention it has on its own projection is *firm*.  It finds itself unable to leave its own projection. This is because of vasanas that tie consciousness to its own projection. In Advaita Vedanta, vasanas are described as latent tendencies that exists as a state of potentiality that yearn to be expressed as an expression.  This manifestation comes in the form of actions that are made by the mind. This just means that attention is firm in its own projection. Why? Either: 1) It believes itself to be real and continues to remain glued to its own projection without knowing the truth behind it OR  2) It knows the truth of its true self (with faith and hard conviction) and now tries to perform spiritual practices to free itself from it.  This is what the knowledge of Advaita Vedanta is used for.  

When we perform spiritual practice (self-inquiry), our practice is to reverse attention away from the false projection of the body-mind that’s being imagined, and remain as itself without being inside of it. When inquiry is performed correctly and remains in unbroken concentration of keeping attention away from its own dream, it can catch glimpses or rest intermittently as a self-experience without intimately entertaining the projection it imagines. This is samadhi. But why does attention need to remain unbroken? Because consciousness’s VERY nature is unbroken attention! It doesn’t have its attention on anything other than its pure self. It remains transfixed on its point of origin void of any delusion.  So in order for that to remain a stable truth, there is a continuous need to keep the self-experience unbroken (samadhi) until the potential to drift away is removed.

But samadhi will not be stable right away. It needs to be practiced because the vasanas will force one's attention away from its true self and identified again with its false projection. The attention becomes broken because of attachment it has on its false self. To go back and rest again as its true self, samadhi must be sought. When it remains as its true self, it can still witness its own appearance it imagines BUT without being immersed INSIDE OF IT. Again, this witnessing aspect of itself is turiya (SECOND ASPECT). Abiding as turiya is supreme truth because you know your true self instinctively YET at the same time you observe the movement of the false body mind operate on its own accord. This is how you know yourself as THE SELF. It witnesses its own dream operate without erroneously believing it is the one who is inside doing the operation (because you are no longer inside it!). This knowing is not understood in a broken-fashion through linear thoughts (conceptually or intellectually), but is a complete knowing all-at-once. We call this knowing: Jnana (i.e. knowledge of the self). It is a knowing that remains unbroken so it cannot be understood conceptually but just as an experiential truth.  This inner experiential truth is knowing your true self WHILE you witness the non-separate appearance of duality. When you remain as this truth, you are NOT inside a false projection. You only witness your own dream operate on its own within the singular screen of awareness you become.

When abiding as turiya, you are resting as the absolute source (FIRST ASPECT), though you still hold a reflection to witness. You don’t automatically become nirguna, i.e. void of any imagination to witness, because this SECOND ASPECT (turiya) needs to be held continuously through practice in order to remain there permanent without the potentiality of vasanas that pulls attention back INSIDE its own projection. For now, it simply WITNESSES it without being INSIDE IT. It is important to note that it only witnesses this projection ‘formally’, meaning it only observes a singular body-mind appearance which it got disentangled from (your previous body-mind apparatus). 

To become INFINITY or witness its infinite parts all at once, it will lose its witnessing function because this witnessing function can only operate if it has something that underlies it to compare itself with. Meaning, it can only witness one projection (individual mind). To witness infinity all at once, it cannot witness anything at all. And to remain as a witnessing function it must NOT be entangled in its projection BUT only remain a witness of it. Since effort is only something that can be made by a body-mind (doer), then there is nothing that can control where attention goes while it remains as a permanent witness without the potentiality to revert back to body-mind. We call this ownerless controller Grace. When the jivanmukti (enlightened with form) rests here, the enlightened soul is under the control of grace which is an automatic function of consciousness (just like the automatic function it has to dream).  

Therefore it will remain as a witnessing function indefinitely.  As it remains a witness indefinitely, it eventually becomes lost in its own self as it loses its witnessing function underlying all three bodies (physical, subtle, causal).  Here, it no longer even knows its true self because INFINITY cannot know itself. You can only know yourself if you have some appearance to compare yourself with (i.e. mind). 

The final outcome is pure liberation. Videhmukti = Turiyatita = Nirguna Brahman = Absolute non-dual source. You come full circle, back to your true source. From this perspective, nothing ever happened. There was no projection, nor the witnessing of it. There was only your true self and nothing else can be said. This is the final truth.

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