Consciousness is prior to all that exist as the universe and it itself is uncaused.+

Q: ~ Life is prior to consciousness. Without life, there cannot be consciousness. Consciousness can be graded into degrees. Life is absolute. Please comment.

Santthosh Kumaar: ~ As per my conviction: ~ 

From the dualistic perspective, dualist thinkers think that Life is prior to consciousness.

 But deeper self-search reveals the fact that life itself is the consciousness. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman.  The consciousness is prior to all that exist as the universe and it itself is uncaused.  Thus, the universe is nothing but consciousness because the universe is single clay. That single clay is the consciousness.

The Soul is the Self.   The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.  Consciousness is Self-evident. It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny consciousness because it is the very essence of the one who denies it. Consciousness is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. 

Until one thinks of his body as the body, the ego as the ego the universe as the universe he remains in ignorance because he is still in ignorance and he is unaware of the fact that they too are consciousness.

The seeker has to grow from the inside out. None can teach him, none can make him spiritual. There is no other Guru but his own Soul.”

 The consciousness is not an object, but it is the subject. Within the dualistic illusion, it is the subject and object together.  It is not another. It is all-full, infinite, changeless, Self-existent, Self-delight, Self-knowledge, or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. It is the essence. It is the essence of the knower. It is the formless substance and the Witness of the dualistic illusion (universe). 

Even Bhagavad Gita says: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27).

When Bhagavad Gita says, God is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material then nothing has to be accepted as God other than consciousness. 

Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

Even Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (consciousness) is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

Do not accept any other God other than the Soul. The Soul is God in truth,  Nothing is real but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Nothing matters but realize  God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is real and eternal and all else is an illusion.

Brahman is merely a word to indicate the ultimate truth or God in truth.  The ultimate truth itself is God in truth. 

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad declares: "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from him does not know the truth. For the Gods, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)

That is why Sage Sankara  VC-  v6~ Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity with the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together.

  

Thus, it is necessary to realize the ‘Self’ is not you but the Self is the Soul to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.  In reality,  the form, time, and space are one in essence. That essence is consciousness. Without consciousness the worlds in which we exist cease to exist.  Thus, consciousness is the only real thing in the illusory universe. 

Remember:~ 

When you realize the words, thoughts, and the world in which you exist are created out of single stuff and that single stuff is consciousness, then you will realize the truth which is beyond the form, time, and space. 

When everything is created out of consciousness then there is no second thing that exists, other than consciousness. It takes time to grasp the Advaitic truth. All the obstacles have to be overcome one by one. 

Realize with full and a firm conviction that: ~ 

You are not you but consciousness; your body is not the body but consciousness, the world in which you exist is not the world but consciousness. 

Everything is known, seen, believed, and experienced by you is nothing but consciousness then what else remains, which is not the consciousness. There is nothing else to realize other than to realize that consciousness alone is, everything else is merely an illusion created out of consciousness. 

By realizing everything is consciousness is the Advaitic wisdom dawns. Perfect understanding and assimilation of ‘what is what’ lead to Advaitic awareness. 

Without the world, in which you exist God alone exists. When God disappears the world, in which you exist appears. The world, in which you exist disappears God appears. Thus, realize the God to be the Soul. 

The Soul is the innermost Self. Thus, the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. 

If you stick to the ultimate truth then the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the consciousness. If you realize this truth you will live in this world but not of this world. Thus, consciousness alone is real and eternal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar