The Whole Picture: Consciousness, Cosmos, and the Ultimate

The course arrives at its destination. Five lessons on consciousness, free will, the nature of the universe, and the question of whether there is a final answer at all.

Lessons in this chapter

• Is Consciousness Produced by the Brain, or Is the Brain Inside Consciousness? — Schrodinger declared consciousness is not plural. The Mandukya said it first.
• Do You Have Free Will, or Is Everything Determined? — Schopenhauer called the Upanishads 'the consolation of my life.' Then he wrote about will.
• Is the Universe Conscious? — Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma. All this is Brahman. Modern panpsychism rediscovers an ancient truth.
• Can Science and Spirituality Answer the Same Questions? — Heisenberg, Bohr, and Schrodinger all engaged with Vedanta while formulating quantum mechanics.
• Is There a Final Answer, or Is the Question Itself the Point? — Yajnavalkya fell silent. Socrates said he knew nothing. Wittgenstein pointed to the unsayable.

Back to The Big Questions: Upanishads and the Philosophers Who Followed