Rajesh spoke about consciousness at a talk in New York this week. Here is a summary of the talk:
Science approaches the universe from an external, objective perspective. Through observation and experimentation, it investigates the mechanisms of reality, systematically testing and refining hypotheses to verify their accuracy. This method excels at uncovering the physical and measurable. Still, it does not address the profoundly subjective elements of existence—what it feels like to be you, love, or experience joy or sorrow. These facets of reality cannot be quantified but are directly lived or inferred.
Measurements offer only an external view of consciousness.
Consciousness, the essence of subjective experience, exemplifies this limitation. While science can study brain activity using tools like EEGs, fMRIs, and other technologies, these measurements offer only an external view of consciousness. They can correlate specific neural patterns with meditation, decision-making, or emotional states. Still, they fall short of capturing the first-person experience—what it is like to think, feel, or be.
For instance, a meditator’s brain activity can be recorded via EEG, showing predictable changes in wave frequency or patterns during deep meditation. Yet, this third-person data cannot convey the meditator’s inner experience: the stillness, the profound self-awareness, or the awe of being deeply connected to the universe. Similarly, while science can identify neural correlates of consciousness, it cannot fully explain the “hard problem“—why and how subjective experiences arise from physical processes.
Experience consciousness subjectively
Through FISU meditation, however, one can transcend the limitations of scientific measurement to experience consciousness directly. This practice allows individuals to explore the nature of their awareness, moving beyond conceptual understanding to a lived, direct encounter with the essence of being. By cultivating inner stillness and heightened self-awareness, practitioners can access states of profound clarity and connection, experiencing consciousness not as an abstract idea but as a vivid, personal reality. In this way, FISU meditation offers a path to bridge the gap between objective inquiry and the direct exploration of the subjective.
