O DEATH, YOU ARE LIKE SHYAM(KRISHNA) TO ME(মরণ রে তুঁহু মম শ্যাম সমান)-2

Apart from above explanation to reach to conclusion of declaring a death, there are enumerable instances of suspended animation on record when the heart beat and respiration was stopped for considerable long time after which the revival of life took place. Even cases are on record that man buried in a hermetically sealed box for number of days assuming him as dead and found alive when taken out. Sometimes it appears very difficult to decide proper and ultimate sign of death. Scientific decision is that decomposition and putrefaction are the only sign of death. Before that the person’s death may be misunderstood as the state of trance, ecstasy or catalepsy, resemble sign of a dead man.

Neuroscientists always try to establish that consciousness, intelligence, mental actions everything originates in human brain. They say that different parts of the brain are responsible for producing feeling or consciousness of different kinds. The sensory organs interact with the external world , send the stimulating messages to the brain through spinal cord and brain stem to specific areas of the brain resulting in metamorphosis of the physical forces into the states of consciousness. But how metamorphosis is converted to consciousness or intelligence or mental activities is still not properly explained.

In fact, the human consciousness has remained as a riddle. Even after rigorous studies over centuries , it has remained difficult to reach to a consensus about the meaning of consciousness and origin of consciousness. The Philosopher Leibniz, in seventeen century, quoted that if one could blow brain up to the size of a mill and walk inside , he would not be able to find consciousness. With a humorous tone, Psychiatrist Tononi commented that consciousness is nothing but something which abandons us every night when we fall into dreamless sleep and returns the next morning when we wake up.

In most simple way the consciousness can be defined as the collection of information from external world and develop a knowledge bank on the basis of constant interaction with surroundings by use of the sensory organs involving space, time and relative status of other beings and upgrading the previously acquired experiences already in the system. But is this knowledge is the so called consciousness? No. Consciousness has a greater meaning. It is the wisdom of human being. Then, what is difference between knowledge and wisdom?

Wisdom or knowing something comes from within, whereas knowledge comes from outside. Knowledge cannot make us wise. Suppose you want to cook something. You have all the ingredients for cooking. If you do not know cooking, there is no use of the constituents. Now you mix these components at appropriate proportions to make the food. Food will ensure your wellbeing. So the constituents is the knowledge and the cooked food is wisdom and wisdom comes from knowing.

Suppose a man does not know swimming but he is a theoretical expert in all the techniques of swimming and keep all information about it. Now if you push him into the water, it will be dangerous for him because he does not know how to swim. Knowing about swimming and knowing swimming are two completely different things. This man can give a long lecture on swimming but cannot swim. On the other hand, your friend who knows swimming he can show you swimming by jumping into the water. If you ask him to explain swimming, he can say that, “I can jump into water and can show you how to swim. I cannot explain in words.” Truth is to be known, it cannot be taken as granted. Truth cannot be learnt, it cannot be communicated , nor indoctrinated.

When we see a system from scientific angle, we collect some data about it and then try to build up a model which approximates the actual system and then go on refining the model to reach actual representation of the system. In universe also we see the different species have developed their own consciousness about the universe and accordingly the structure of their brains, which are thought to be factory of the consciousness, have got continuous reformations through the process of evolution. Thereby the level of consciousness depending on the primitiveness of species has been caused by their brain structure. The classification of such level of consciousness starts from 0, I, II, III etc.

Level 0 being the consciousness level of the stationary or slightly mobile species with nascent sensory power, Reptiles being mobile and having a central nervous system are of level I consciousness. The inputs for their acquirement of consciousness are too many to form a very complex feedback loops to their system. The eye collects the information about light and shadow, shape, movement, colour and the hearing and tasting sensory organs further add inputs to the brain system. The location variables and temperature make the feedback loop more complex. Still the reptilian brain, having a consciousness level I is simpler than corresponding structure of brain of higher consciousness levels.

The animals requiring consciousness not only for acquiring information of space but also emotion for forming allies, identifying enemies need more developed brain. Thus for them, the structure of brain includes limbic system-hippocampus for memories, amygdala for emotions and thalamus for sensory information. Necessarily, the feed back loop complexity increases exponentially.

The human brain in the process of evolution of brain structure has been the most sophisticated and much more complicated to attain the consciousness level III.