N.MAHARAJ:” Consciousness is everywhere, latent or otherwise. First, there is Consciousness, then came everything, the sky, the earth, and all. “
Visitor: This Consciousness, it is not the same as the ‘ I Am’, the Self Consciousness, is it?
M:” Whenever we think of Consciousness we think of the body, but that is an error. The original state was there before the waking and sleep states.”
V: The ‘ I Am’ dissolves after death, so it is not the same.
M:” Are you speaking now of the individual personality or the Universal Consciousness?”
V: The Universal Self.
M:” The Consciousness that prevails is the Universal Consciousness. The world is born out of that, and not from the point of view of the individual personality”
V: What is the relationship between Universal Consciousness and the ‘I Amness’?
M:” The spark of the incense stick and the whole of it- that is the relationship. That Consciousness which prevails before you are aware of the two states is the Universal Consciousness. You will not learn this through your thoughts, but when you meditate, that Consciousness of Being will merge into Universal Consciousness, and only in that way will you understand it. The Universal Consciousness has always been, its power is always present. Its power of creation has given rise to this world, it has produced this Prakriti and Purusa, and its soul is the Universal Consciousness.
It is spontaneous, manifest, dynamic Spirit. It has no aspect. It is all-pervading. I am talking about the Vedic Principle, Vedic raw material, out of which this flow has started. That Universal life force pervades everything, but it has no personality or individuality.”