In Devi Bhagavatam and some other scriptures of Hinduism, it is explicitly mentioned that (almost) every thing in the universe has a related god/goddesses. Here, every thing includes living things, non living things, habits, thoughts, sounds etc., whatever all exists in the universe.
Is it mentioned anywhere explicitly that everything in the universe has its own consciousness?
In Srimadbhagavatam (11/2/41), the God Himself says:
खं वायुमग्निं सलिलं महीं च ज्योतिंषी सत्त्वानि दिशो द्रुमादीन्।
सरित्समुद्राश्च हरेः शरीरं यत्किञ्च भूतं प्रणमेदनन्यः॥
Meaning: The earth, the water, the wind, the sky, the moon, the sun, the planets, the stars, the trees, the seas, the hills, the rivers,-- everything is a body of Sri Hari. So you should prostrate ALL.
If Sri Hari resides in all how can anything be unconscious? He is consciousness Himself and Hari and Hari's body are not different.
Sri Sri Chandi also says :
चितिरुपेण या कृत्स्नंमेतद्व्याप्य स्थिता जगत् (5/78)
Meaning: The Supreme Goddess is staying EVERYWHERE as consciousness.
So all consciousness is ultimately His/Her. So long as ignorance persists, we differentiate between own consciousness and The Consciousness.
So goes the saying:
har kankar me sankar
Meaning: God resides in every pebble.
Is everything in the universe conscious according to Hinduism?
No, not everything is conscious.
According to Viśiṣṭādvaita propounded by Sri Rāmānujāchārya, the Vedas declare that there exist 3 independent tattvas (entities), which are chit (Jivatmas), achit (matter), and Ishvara (Brahman). Ishvara, or Brahman, exists as the Antaryami (inner-self/inner-ruler) of chit and achit.
The first line of Ramanujacharya's work known as the Vedārthasangraha , or "summary of the meaning of the Vedas," says:
I offer adoration to Vishnu, the all-pervading Supreme Being, who is the overlord of all sentient and non-sentient entities
By "sentient" it is meant chit, and by "non-sentient" it is meant achit.
Here is a more direct explanation:
The Being [Brahman or Sat] itself, the material and efficient cause of the world, thought, ‘Let me be many, let me multiply (Chan. 6:2:3)’........ Thus, the section of the Upanishad under consideration develops in details the thought that the entire universe of sentient and non-sentient entities has Being as its material cause, its efficient cause, its ground, its controller and its Lord to which it is instrumental in value.
However, one can say that since Brahman, who is dwelling as the Antaryami of achit, is sentient, then achit is also sentient. But achit by itself is not sentient.
Rig veda says the Pure consciousness is only ONE, though sages may call it in different names.
इन्द्रं मित्रं वरुणमग्निमाहुरथो दिव्यः स सुपर्णो गरुत्मान |
एकं सद विप्रा बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः || Rig Veda (1.164.46)
They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutmān. To what is One, sages give many a title they call it Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan.
Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.1 says, All this is Brahman.
सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म तज्जलानिति शान्त उपासीत ।
अथ खलु क्रतुमयः पुरुषो यथाक्रतुरस्मिँल्लोके पुरुषो भवति तथेतः प्रेत्य भवति स क्रतुं कुर्वीत ॥ ३.१४.१ ॥
sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma tajjalāniti śānta upāsīta | atha khalu kratumayaḥ puruṣo yathākraturasmim̐lloke puruṣo bhavati tathetaḥ pretya bhavati sa kratuṃ kurvīta || 3.14.1 ||
All this is Brahman. Everything comes from Brahman, everything goes back to Brahman, and everything is sustained by Brahman. One should therefore quietly meditate on Brahman. Each person has a mind of his own. What a person wills in his present life, he becomes when he leaves this world. One should bear this in mind and meditate accordingly.
So everything contains CONSCIOUSNESS.
Yes, everything is conscious and projection of infinite formless Brahman. Sanskrit Brahman (an n-stem, nominative bráhmā) from a root bṛh- "to swell, expand, grow, enlarge". The modern science has also observed that the universe is expanding constantly after the Big Bang
sarvam khalvidam brahman tajjalān iti shānta upāsita
All this (collectively) is Brahman, indeed: what evolves from That, what dissolves in That, what breathes or functions in That, should be closely and calmly studied"
This was also experienced and explained by Swami Vivekanand and Ramana Maharshi
As a member of the Brahmo Samaj, Narendra accepted its doctrine of monotheism and the Personal God. He also believed in the natural depravity of man. Such doctrines of non-dualistic Vedanta as the divinity of the soul and the oneness of existence he regarded as blasphemy; the view that man is one with God appeared to him pure nonsense. When the master warned him against thus limiting God's infinitude and asked him to pray to God to reveal to him His true nature, Narendra smiled. One day he was making fun of Sri Ramakrishna's non-dualism before a friend and said, 'What can be more absurd than to say that this jug is God, this cup is God, and that we too are God?' Both roared with laughter.
Just then the Master appeared. Coming to learn the cause of their fun, he gently touched Naren and plunged into deep samadhi. The touch produced a magic effect, and Narendra entered a new realm of consciousness. He saw the whole universe permeated by the Divine Spirit and returned home in a daze. While eating his meal, he felt the presence of Brahman in everything — in the food, and in himself too. While walking in the street, he saw the carriages, the horses, the crowd, and himself as if made of the same substance. After a few days the intensity of the vision lessened to some extent, but still he could see the world only as a dream. While strolling in a public park of Calcutta, he struck his head against the iron railing, several times, to see if they were real or a mere illusion of the mind. Thus he got a glimpse of non-dualism, the fullest realization of which was to come only later, at the Cossipore garden.
D.: How can there be life in stone? It is unconscious.
M.: The whole universe is full of life. You say the stone is unconscious. It is your self-consciousness which now speaks of unconsciousness. When a person wants to see if there is an article in a dark room he takes a lamp to look for it. The light is useful for detecting the presence and the absence of the thing. Consciousness is necessary for discovering if a thing is conscious or not. If a man remains in a dark room one need not take a lamp to find him. If called, he answers. He does not require a lamp to announce his presence. Consciousness is thus self-shining. Now you say you were unconscious in sleep and self-conscious in the wakeful state. Which is the Reality? The Reality must be continuous and eternal. Neither the unconsciousness nor the self-consciousness of the present is the Reality. But you admit your existence all through. The pure Being is the reality. The others are mere associations. The pure Being cannot be otherwise than consciousness. Otherwise you cannot say that you exist. Therefore consciousness is the reality. When that consciousness is associated with upadhis you speak of self-consciousness, unconsciousness, sub-consciousness, super-consciousness, human-consciousness, dog-consciousness, tree-consciousness and so on. The unaltering common factor in all of them is consciousness. Therefore the stone is as much unconscious as you are in sleep. Is that totally devoid of consciousness ?
