The chakra system as a bio-socio-psycho-spiritual model of consciousness: Anahata as heart-centered consciousness

Abstract

Today, to most scientific materialists the seat of consciousness is the brain. According to the dominant strand of this reductionist monist view, consciousness - and naturally the mind of which it is a part - is an epiphenomenon of the brain. This is a metaphysical assumption and as far as I know, there has not been any proof as of yet to support such a claim (aka the hard problem of consciousness). According to scientism, the mind is an illusion, albeit, a useful one from an evolutionary standpoint. This illusion - which strangely enough is not too different from the Hindu notion of maya - has helped us not only survive for thousands of years but also adapt more quickly to our environment. Even though our holographic-like representations of physical reality or the noumenal world are not accurate they are close enough to the-thing-itself that we have succeeded to control and abuse the planet and its resources while dominating other species along the way, to say the least. Why is this the case? Are we too much in our heads? Are we too caught up in our emotions? Clearly, there is an imbalance within and without us for which we are primarily responsible; the results of this global imbalance are such things as threats to biodiversity, war, poverty, and health issues to name but a few. We are using the wrong lenses metaphysically speaking and that is partially why we have been distorting reality, be it monism or dualism. The contributions of science ever since the Scientific Revolution are immense and grateful to them we are, especially in terms of their technological application. However, the dark side is that industrialization has made us more dehumanized and social media has made us more disconnected in the real world. The argument here is not whether technology is good or bad, but rather the question is how can we create eco-friendly technologies (from our cars to our cities) that are harmonious with nature in the ultimate or nondual sense. So what is missing? Perhaps the will is. Maybe we have been blinded by our selfishness to the extent that we cannot see beyond our desires. The paradigm shift hinted at here is one that is reminiscent of the Buddhist concept of the Middle Way, the goal being global coherence through individual transformation, which cannot happen unless there is balance in the first place and the key is balancing the heart.