In sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the living, conscious and spiritual universe was replaced by the cosmos which functions as a machine. Nature became a mechanism that could be manipulated, exploited and destroyed. This deterministic and mechanistic interpretation of the world which is called the Cartesian-Newtonian paradigm describes a cosmos and all living beings as a clockwork in which matter is fundamental and consciousness is reduced to an epiphenomenon of matter. This mechanistic view of Man and nature has brought us to the grave situation we find ourselves in today.
The consciousness is the basis for all that lives, it permeates the whole of existence. It is the source of life. Katha Upanishad says: “The smaller than the smallest, the bigger than the biggest – the Self (consciousness), is hidden in the heart of every creature.” We haven’t come to the realisation that we’re all interconnected, that we’re one, which is why we continue to be up in arms with one another.
/ From the book “Blooming of Consciousness”