Consciousness (Scientific and Vedantic Perspectives)

Consciousness or being conscious is part of our everyday life, every minute. We know we have consciousness but we do not know about it -What is it? From where does it arise or is it itself a fundamental aspect of reality? Consciousness is a mystery for all of us even after decades of advancement in natural sciences and medical field. The author, Dr. T. D. Singh, is one of the renowned personalities, a pioneer and visionary who gave a new start to this field of consciousness and was instrumental in bringing consciousness under scientific investigation. He launched the 'First International Conference on the Study of Consciousness within Science' in 1990 at San Francisco, California. From neuroscientists to quantum physicists to psychologists including two Nobel Laureates, he brought together the most eminent minds on a common table for a serious dialogue. Dr. Singh, who underwent rigorous practice both as a firm scientist and as a profound Vedantist, has brought out some of the most precious and deeper aspects of this mystery of consciousness in this volume.

Dr. T. D. Singh (His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami) has a unique background. He is a scientist with a Ph.D. in Physical Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine, USA, as well as a spiritualist in the Bhakti-Vedanta tradition of India. He has authored and edited a number of books on science and religion, including his famous dialogue with Prof. Roger Penrose: Science, Spirituality and the Nature of Reality. He is the Founder Director of the Bhaktivedanta Institute and has been one of the pioneers in advancing the dialogue between science and religion over the past three decades.

Since the last few decades, consciousness has emerged as an important field of study in scientific and philosophical disciplines. There is a growing interest to investigate consciousness among quantum physicists, neuro-physiologists, cognitive philosophers and spiritualists. As Prof. Christof Koch, who collaborated with late Francis Crick attempting to discover `neurobiological basis' of consciousness, expressed: "Consciousness is one of the major unsolved problems in science today."

Biologists try to explain consciousness using neuronal activity. Quantum physicists try to explain the collapse of

the wave function through some interaction of the mind or consciousness. However, these theories are inadequate to explain consciousness.

In this book, the author presents a glimpse of various scientific attempts and their limitations to comprehend consciousness. We will then present the ancient Vedantic insights about consciousness.

**Contents and Sample Pages**