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Consciousness has always remained a mystery; saints, thinkers, philosophers and psychologists of both the East and the West have wondered what it is, what it does or why it evolved. Religious and spiritual leaders have been inspiring millions of people to undertake their individual search, meditate and transform. Many individuals seek a systematic and formulated knowledge of life and in that quest want to understand the role of consciousness. This remarkable and fascinating book explores the entire spectrum of classical and modern philosophical notions and debates the role of scientific research in understanding consciousness.
There has always been a vast disparity in the thinking and approach of the eastern thinkers and those from the West on the human mind. Of late, the gap has started shrinking because the westerners understand Indians better than merely stereotyping them as people from the land of snake-charmers. Also, Indians have begun to understand the importance of a scientific path adopted by them. To be of any use, the philosophical and theoretical study of mind and consciousness must be supported with the practical study of man from a scientific perspective. The fact that the author had grown up in the western tradition and so is able to think and write like a westerner does help him in developing a better understanding of the two cultures and projecting appropriate points of a meeting ground. The author has intelligently devoted the first chapter of the introduction as a review chapter of the book, in which a brief overview of all the chapters has been provided. The reader can go through the brief of a chapter before dwelling deep into the details provided in a particular chapter. The author engages readers through his understanding of meditation, explanation of neuroscience and the comparison of both. He challenges many a hypothesis, provides an in-depth analysis and then gives his opinion, even if it is different from the established practices. This is the sign of a mature and tough experimental psychologist. In the last chapter, the author poses four hard problems about consciousness and provides his thoughts, opinions and answers. People like him who show respect to the science of Indian psychology are rare. The book, with its extensive "notes and discussion," is a unique repository of knowledge on one of the most sought after yet the most elusive subjects. Both, the present and future generations of thinkers in this field will find here a mine of authentic information, knowledge and wisdom. Though the author calls it an "elementary" book, it is not a book which can be read by any reader as one needs basic understanding of human nature, the zeal to know and of course a lot of patience to dig deep into this vast ocean of mysterious knowledge. He raises a lot of pertinent issues related to the mind and consciousness in all the wisdom-packed 15 chapters. After reading the last page, a reader desires to explore more. Perhaps, this is the best compliment one can give to such a book. Research scholars and students of philosophy, psychology and human behaviour will find the book extremely useful.
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Books and the research
work of Professor Das, a Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology
and former director of the Developmental Disabilities Centre at the
University of Alberta, Edmonton, have gained international attention
and have been translated to several languages across the world. He
chronicles the history of models of human nature developed by
philosophers and psychologists, both in the East as well as in the
West, and relates them with his research for developing more inclusive
models.