Conscience and Consciousness

                                   

   "The Card of Conscience" - from the Transformational Tarot by Osho

      The picture depicts Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Judas

 

    

      I was very intrigued when I first saw this card.  And then my mind began to play tricks on me, and I could not seem to find a good definition of "conscience". So, I looked the word up on the web.  The Free Online Dictionary gives the following definition.

Conscience      a. The awareness of a moral or ethical aspect to one's conduct together with the urge to prefer right over wrong: Let your conscience be your guide.  b. A source of moral or ethical judgment or pronouncement: a document that serves as the nation's conscience.  c. Conformity to one's own sense of right conduct: a person of unflagging conscience. 2. The part of the superego in psychoanalysis that judges the ethical nature of one's actions and thoughts and then transmits such determinations to the ego for consideration.  3. Obsolete Consciousness.  (www.thefreedictionary.com/conscience).

  What puzzled me the most was that Consciousness was now obsolete!  So before going any further, I looked up a definition for "consciousness" on the web.  Good old Merriam-Webster dictionary came through with the following:

Main Entry:  con·scious·ness     Pronunciation:  \-nəs\

Function:  noun   Date: 1629;    1 a: the quality or state of being aware especially of something within oneself b: the state or fact of being conscious of an external object, state, or fact c: awareness; especially : concern for some social or political cause2: the state of being characterized by sensation, emotion, volition, and thought : mind3: the totality of conscious states of an individual4: the normal state of conscious life <regained consciousness>5: the upper level of mental life of which the person is aware as contrasted with unconscious processes. (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consciousness)

Well the good news is that the word is not obsolete.  I particularly liked the phrasing of - "state of being aware especially of something within oneself". That definition fits with what I know.  I was now ready to go on to the interpretation of the card.

Osho then goes on to give the definition of the card, which is also very intriguing. Here is what he says. "Society goes on telling you, "This is right, and that is wrong"--that is conscience. It becomes ingrained, implanted in you. You go on repeating it. That is worthless; that is not the real thing. The real thing is your own consciousness. It carries no ready-made answers about what is wrong and what is right, no. But immediately, in what-ever situation arises, it gives you light --you know immediately what to do."

What struck me even more than the message on the card is the message in the Free Dictionary.  My interpretation of the meaning of the definition of conscience is that we, the general public, should let our decisions be ruled by the conscience that is handed to us - the source of moral or ethical judgment or pronouncement - which obliquely seems to be either political or religious, coming from government or from clergy.  This certainly explains the phrasing Osho uses later in his explanation of the card where he says, "Conscience is borrowed, given by the society; consciousness is your attainment."

While researching all of this information, what I almost forgot was the question itself.  My question was about whether I should do something that everyone was urging me to do, yet did not feel quite right to me.  I did get the right card to answer my question.  The message is clear - follow your heart, not your friends, and all will be clear!

Namaste,

Judy

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