Consciousness is the Self
"Consciousness is the self." — Shiva Sutras 1.1
Our state of consciousness is all we have to experience this world. You may believe in this or that after we leave this realm heaven, reincarnation, nothingness. It doesn’t matter. Even atheists have faith that nothing else exists. All of it is speculation, and ultimately, it doesn’t matter much in this moment.
What we can agree on is this: we are living some form of conscious experience. Our state of being joy, sadness, anger, every emotion depends on it. So does the quality of our lives, and the lives of those around us.
"The mind is mantra." — Shiva Sutras 2.1
Our consciousness is some sort of product of our mind. The source? Not truly understood. But we do know this: how we feel affects how we experience life.
We can think of mantras as some esoteric concept something that might help us, or might not. But here’s the reality: the thoughts we repeat in our minds all day? Those become our mantras. Sure, you can chant Om all day, but if you follow it with gossip, negativity, or violence, what’s the point?
"The mind is the self." — Shiva Sutras 3.1
That mantra you’ve been repeating all day? That thought you can’t shake? It becomes your state of consciousness. It becomes you.
We’ve all heard, "You are what you eat." The same applies here: the thoughts that consume you become you. And it doesn’t just affect you it ripples into your communities. Negativity and positivity both spread like wildfire. I’m far from perfect. I’ve been consumed by both, unconsciously, my entire life.
This is a simple lesson, shared with me by great yogis and proven by my own life.
A Final Thought
Let’s end with the words of Yogaswara Sri Krishna:
"For one who controls the mind, it becomes the greatest friend. For one who has failed to do so, it becomes the greatest foe." — Bhagavad Gita 6.6
