Sarkar’s Infinite Supreme Consciousness

Spiritual guru and philosopher Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar’s monistic philosophy of infinite Supreme Consciousness is summarized in his 1962 book Ananda Sutram (“Bliss Sutras”). The book includes translations of its 85 Sanskrit sutras and brief explanatory purports that elaborate the spiritual and social philosophy of Ananda Marga (“Path of Bliss”), which is a rational synthesis of Vedic intuitional knowledge and Yogic intuitional practices (Sarkar, 1962).

Supreme Consciousness and Cosmic Creation

According to physicist-psychologist Richard Gauthier, an expert in Sarkar's thought, Sarkar’s philosophy of Infinite Consciousness, absolute reality, consists of uncaused, infinite, non-qualified Supreme Consciousness (Nirguna Brahman). This is composed of a Supreme Cognitive Principle—Shiva or Purusha—and an unexpressed Supreme Operative Principle or creative power—Shakti, Prakriti, or Maya. Prakriti is the creative power of Purusha. They are never separate, just like two sides of a piece of paper. Prakriti is the combination of three attributional forces—sattvaguna (sentient force), rajoguna (mutative force), and tamoguna (static force) (Gauthier, 2022).

A portion of the infinite Non-Qualified Supreme Consciousness becomes infinite Qualified Supreme Consciousness (Saguna Brahman) when, in a portion of Purusha and with the approval of Purusha, the three forces of Prakriti become unbalanced and activated. As Gauthier explains it, Prakriti then qualifies this portion of Purusha by giving Purusha many sentient, mutative, and static attributes. The Qualified Supreme Consciousness evolves an infinite Cosmic Mind, or Macrocosm, whose controlling nucleus is infinite Cosmic Consciousness. The Cosmic Mind consists of seven levels, or lokas (Sattvaloka, Taparloka, Janarloka, Maharloka, Svarloka, Bhuvarloka, Bhurloka) of decreasing degrees of subtlety.

Within Bhurloka are evolved five fundamental levels of physical matter—ethereal factor (space), aerial factor, luminous factor, liquid factor, and solid factor—leading to a stage of maximum crudification of solid matter. The five fundamental factors emit inferential waves (tanmatras) which at a later stage can be apprehended by the sensory organs of living beings (Gauthier, 2022).

This completes the first, or extroversive (Saincara) phase—from Non-Qualified Supreme Consciousness to the crudest matter—of the two phases of a Cosmic Cycle of creation.

Evolution of Minds and Human Dharma

Then, Gauthier continues, begins the introversive (Pratisaincara) phase of the Cosmic Cycle—the phase of evolution of individual minds or microcosms. Individual minds can evolve from matter because matter is Qualified Supreme Consciousness. Primitive minds evolve that are associated with living physical bodies, starting with single-celled organisms having rudimental awareness. Metazoic minds evolve through plants and animals. Individual minds pass through many successive physical embodiments through reincarnation, leading to human beings with highly developed minds and bodies.

Developing minds gradually evolve five levels (koshas) of subtlety—crude mind (kamamaya kosha), subtle mind (manomaya kosha) and three levels of causal mind (atimanasa kosha, vijinanamaya kosha and hiranyamaya kosha). Each individual mind has an associated individual self, soul or unit consciousness (jiivatma) that is neither material nor mental, but is a unique reflection of the Cosmic Consciousness from each individual mind. Each self travels with its mind after death to a new physical embodiment, if needed. They give individual minds, more or less clearly, the conscious knowledge of their own existence (Gauthier, 2022).

According to Gauthier’s understanding of Sarkar, human beings are distinguished from other living beings by their essential human characteristic (human or manava dharma)—their thirst for limitless happiness. Their dharma leads human beings to the path of intuitional practices, whose final attainment—merger into the Non-Qualified Supreme Consciousness—brings the permanent fulfillment of human beings’ desire for unlimited happiness and peace (Gauthier, 2022).

Intuitional practices cannot be successful without the intuitional practitioner (sadhaka) following a balanced life of “subjective approach with objective adjustment.” This means performing regular intuitional practices while living a moral life in society by following the ten universal moral principles of Yama and Niyama—ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, aparigraha, shaoca, santosha, tapah, svadhyaya, and Ishvara pranidhana. (See P. R. Sarkar’s A Guide to Human Conduct [2004].)

According to Sarkar, who Gauthier says “seems to know,” despite describing himself as a “VIP”—very insignificant person—the Supreme Consciousness or Parama Purusha (Supreme Love Personified), has only two limitations: He cannot hate anyone or anything in His creation, and He cannot create a second Supreme Consciousness. Everything in the universe will ultimately evolve to become a human being and, through intuitional practices, will merge into the Non-Qualified Supreme Consciousness, its original source (Gauthier, 2022).

Sarkar’s monistic theory of infinite Non-Qualified Supreme Consciousness with its Cosmic Cycle of Creation (Brahmachakra) through Qualified Supreme Consciousness with its relative cause-and-effect universe of time, space, and persons, Gauthier concludes, provides rational and actionable answers to human beings’ perennial questions: “Who am I?”, “Where do I come from?”, “Where am I going?”, and “What is my purpose in life?” (Gauthier, 2022).

Qualia and the Hard Problem

Gauthier claims that Sarkar solved David Chalmers's “Hard Problem” by proposing in his 1962 treatise on consciousness, Ananda Sutram, that there are key sites in sensory nerve cells, called “appropriative points,” which are brain-mind portals for qualia (Gauthier, 2026). Here, incoming sensory inferential waves, called tanmatras, emitted by physical objects, transfer pre-existing qualia through sensory organs like the eye to sensory nerve cells with appropriative points linked to the mind. These qualia then create simulative forms in the mind’s “mental plate,” which are seen or felt by the “I do” portion of the mind. Therefore, qualia are not created by the brain’s physical processes but are pre-existing in the matter of the physical universe, which is derived from the infinite Supreme Consciousness by qualifying part of itself using its infinite creative power.

Gauthier wonders whether Sarkar’s appropriative points could be located and experimentally tested by delivering focused local anesthetics to sensory nerve sites that are receiving tanmatras within the brain and then by observing the change in a subject’s experience of the qualia brought to the subject’s mind by those tanmatras.