What Is Consciousness? The Factor Creating the Law of Limitation
Vipin Gupta
Independently Published (2021)
ISBN 9798504483153
(two reviews)
Review by Megan Weiss for Reader Views (05/2021)
Vipin Gupta’s “What Is Consciousness? The Factor Creating the Law of Limitation” is a unique, introspective analysis of the nature of the human mind and our ability to perceive the world around us, make decisions and engage in critical thinking, and, overall, an investigation into what truly makes us ‘aware.’ In essence, how do humans use their conscious minds and thoughts to fill the “void” that is our futures, while all the while unknowingly limiting ourselves and prospects in the process.
One thing I especially enjoyed about Gupta’s “What is Consciousness?” was how he envisioned multiple different types of consciousness. Throughout the book, he brushes upon para-consciousness, absolute consciousness, cultural consciousness, scientific consciousness, metaphysical consciousness, immanent consciousness, and many more realms of the human psyche. I thought this was a good way to illustrate how we treat or think of different aspects of life in different ways. Just like humans like to subject other humans to labels and categories, the thought processes of human consciousness seem prone to doing this, as well. As a former anthropology and history student, it reminds me of the different ‘lenses’ we would use to study topics.
“What is Consciousness” is definitely not a light, quick read. It is very technical and contains a lot of advanced terminology and concepts. It is ambiguous and direct at the same time. I would find myself reading along, getting sucked into Gupta’s almost fantastical, story-teller like tone, while at the same time having to constantly think about the words I was taking in, because I wanted to make sure that I was getting the main message of the book, and understanding the words correctly.
The advanced, technical nature of the book is most likely due to the fact that I have not read many books on the subject that are up to this caliber of research and detail. It is clear that “What is Consciousness?” includes material that was heavily researched and analyzed prior to the author putting pen to paper. Therefore, the slightly tedious air of the book actually seems fitting. Over the course of my educational career, I have found that those works that I have found to be more challenging are the ones I enjoyed focusing on the most and learned the most from.
“What Is Consciousness?” is a great read for anyone who wants to learn a little bit more about the capabilities of the human mind, and how there is so much we do not know about what it can do. Partly due to unconscious limitations placed upon ourselves by our own thoughts and ideas and partly due to the fact that science simply hasn’t advanced quite that far yet, Gupta’s book is part of a growing field of research that is focusing harder on human thought, consciousness, and how these things have the potential to be the driving forces of our lives if we give them the chance.
Review by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (05/2021)
“What is Consciousness: The Factor Creating the Law of Limitation,” is the fifth book in the Discovering the Vastly Integrated Processes Inside Nature series. This series presents an astounding amount of information on complex topics that help condition us as sentient beings. Readers, especially those with an interest in science, cultural wisdom and metaphysics will quickly find themselves immersed in this engrossing series. “What is Consciousness,” leads us into an in depth, thought provoking discussion on the various aspects of consciousness. The discourse points to the benefit of the readers focusing their energy on channeling their consciousness into being their individual self, rather than exchanging their consciousness with either animate or inanimate entities. This work explores the different aspects that go into creating our consciousness. There are some fascinating discussions that involve comparing how animate and inanimate entities can influence our consciousness. When we are alive, we are animate entities, and after death we become inanimate ones, yet either way, we still have roles and still seek to fulfill them.
Once again, I am astounded by the amount of information Gupta has presented in this book in the series. I enjoyed being able to receive information about consciousness that comes from multiple sources, including ancient wisdom, which was gathered long before we tapped into the knowledge derived from modern science. I still find it fascinating and refreshing to be able to read about different topics that might touch scientific theories such as those derived from quantum mechanics, such as the Boson particle, or those derived from ancient eastern religions. In the end, they all touch on various aspects of the processes within nature. As with the rest of the series, some of the information presented here is extremely complex and beyond my comprehension skills, but I enjoyed selecting topics that resonated with me and I really learned from them. In the case of consciousness, I realized that I do need to focus my energy on what I allow to come into my consciousness because this has a direct impact on my reality. I will be working on setting stronger boundaries around what I will accept. I also found it interesting to read about the idea that our consciousness doesn’t end when we die. It changes, but it doesn’t end.
I feel that “What is Consciousness,” would make a fascinating selection for some type of reader’s group, such as a college STEM club or for an organization like IONS (Institute of Noetic Sciences). I would love to sit in on one of these discussions because it would be fascinating to hear the impact that this book has had on others, especially if they are coming in from a strong background in science.
While this study is about consciousness, it also mentions para consciousness. I found this to be intriguing because this comes from outside our self. This will be covered in much greater depth in the sixth book of the series, “What is Para consciousness?” I look forward to reading it.
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