The deepest and purest meaning of consciousness is this: the absolute consciousness. There is the Sanskrit word "chit". You will come across that word in the study of the Upanishads, in the Vedas, in the Gita, and in many such books. You will find not only ancient sages, but the sages of modern times have been using the term "Sat-chit-ananda", meaning the Divine Spirit. Sat-chit-ananda--what is its meaning? It means absolute existence, absolute consciousness, absolute bliss. These three are not the qualities of the Divine Spirit, but they are the essence--one with it. So chit is the word of pure consciousness. In the understanding of pure consciousness, we have to eliminate the duality of existence, the duality of subject and object. It stands alone; it is that of which the subject and object are lower manifestations, or expressions. It is that which makes everything possible, which gives life and soul to the subject and object, as it were. So that is pure consciousness, the basic, the fundamental, the principle back of everything that is indicated by pure consciousness. There is a beautiful Sanskrit verse which expresses this idea. "Na Tatra Suryo bhati na chandra tarakam Nema Vidyuto bhanti Kutoyam agni Tameva bhantam anubhati sarvam Tasya bhasha Sarvamidam bibhati" (Kathopanishad, Chap. V. 15). In describing the pure, the basic, fundamental principle of life and creation--the pure light, the self-effulgent, self-caused Divine Intelligence--Vedic sages sang in this way: "There the sun does not shine, nor the moon, nor the lightning, what to speak of the mortal fire. That shining, everything shines; by its light everything is illumined",--by its essence everything becomes full of consciousness. There is another Sanskrit word which expresses the same idea, Kaivalyam, the state of being alone; that which is self-caused; that which is not dependent on anything; that which is freedom itself; which is above everything. Do you see? There all differentiation vanishes--differentiation of subject and object, I and thou. All these ideas are merged, as it were, in that absolute consciousness. So the pure consciousness is that. However, when we apply the term consciousness in our daily lives, in its varied relation to various channels of existence, in our varied experiences, in different states and conditions, we have to understand it from a dualistic standpoint, and we also have to study other phases of consciousness, such as inner consciousness and outer consciousness, soul-consciousness and body consciousness. All these terms we bring in to explain the different details, or the different stages of development, or the different stages of experience through which we have to pass.