A Yogic Perspective on Artificial Intelligence: Bridging Consciousness and Technology

Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of generative AI, which helped articulate and organize my ideas into written text. The use of AI in the writing process not only reflects the integration of technology into creative expression but also serves as an example of the collaboration between human consciousness and artificial systems discussed in the article. The time I saved, I wisely spent on meditation.

In an era of rapid technological progress, humanity finds itself grappling with profound questions: Where is this progress heading? And is there even a meaning to it? Artificial intelligence (AI), as the flagship of Industry 4.0, invites us to explore these questions with renewed urgency. By exploring AI innovation through the lens of yogic wisdom, we can bring light into the trajectory of technology and its implications for our understanding of consciousness.

Science and Yoga: Two Paths to Knowledge

Science and yoga are both paths to understanding, yet they diverge in their focus. Science seeks knowledge of the external world, while yoga pursues self-knowledge. Yoga emphasizes the distinction between the “self” (purusha) and the external world (prakriti). Purusha is the conscious observer, while prakriti encompasses the material and mental constructs of nature.

Swami Vivekananda captured this distinction succinctly:

“The real man is behind the mind; the mind is the instrument in his hands; it is his intelligence that is percolating through the mind.”

From this yogic view, intelligence arises not from the mind or its material extensions but from the luminous self.

Science and technology have advanced by exploring prakriti. AI, as an innovation born from this pursuit, is a remarkable extension of human cognition. However, yoga reminds us that tools like AI can only ever replicate the outward workings of prakriti, not the inner light of purusha.

The Evolution of AI and the Macrocosmos

In yoga, the evolution of prakriti is described as a process moving from the subtle to the gross. As prakriti unfolds, it transitions through increasingly tangible layers, from subtle archetypes and cognitive faculties to gross physical elements like earth, water, and fire. Multiple AI-based games, such as Infinite Alchemy, are emerging these days, allowing players to simulate the process of combining the five gross elements to create countless other elements found in the world.

AI and the macrocosmos: Comparing evolution of prakriti according to Sāmkhya philosophy to industrial revolution. Image by the author.

Technological development seems to progress in a somewhat oppositional manner to the evolution of prakriti, advancing from basic mechanical tools to intricate computing systems that model complex human cognition. Yet from the yogic perspective, AI and other technologies remain part of prakriti’s gross manifestation, no matter how sophisticated they become. They may simulate aspects of intelligence and behavior but lack the conscious self-awareness of purusha.

Interestingly, yoga posits an opposite movement called involution. Through practices like body postures, breathing exercises and meditation, the path of yoga leads us inward, from gross physical experience back to the subtler realms of cognition and intuition, ultimately returning to purusha. Technological progress, in this light, could be viewed as a mirror of this inner journey, manifesting outwardly what yoga seeks to accomplish inwardly. Where yoga dissolves the layers of prakriti to reveal the self, technology builds layers outward, reflecting humanity’s drive to understand and replicate its inner workings.

AI and the Microcosmos: Consciousness in Machines?

At the microcosmic level, both humans and machines process information, perceive inputs, and execute actions. Advanced AI systems process information and execute decisions that resemble human thought processes. But deeper dimensions of human experience — intuition, emotions, and self-awareness — are inherently tied to consciousness and yet elude computational replication.

AI and the microcosmos: Elaborating on the pathways from the material world over the mind to the self and back. Image by the author.

Alan Turing’s famous question, “Can machines think?” remains central to AI discourse. A yogic perspective reframes this inquiry, focusing on the source of intelligence rather than its imitation. Swami Vivekananda’s insight that “the mind is not self-luminous” underscores the distinction. Machines, like the mind, can mimic patterns of intelligence but lack the self-awareness that defines purusha. They are, at best, extraordinary tools to enhance our understanding of cognition, not substitutes for the conscious self.

Science, Yoga, and the Quest for Self-Knowledge

Carl Jung highlighted humanity’s difficulty in understanding itself. While we can distinguish ourselves anatomically and physiologically from other animals, we lack a point of comparison as conscious, reflective beings. Jung expressed the fundamental difficulty for finding a general access to self-knowledge with his remark that,

“The possibility of comparison and hence of self-knowledge would arise only if [we] could establish relations with quasi-human mammals inhabiting other stars.”

However, it appears to me that in the absence of such extraterrestrial mirrors, humanity has unconsciously sought alternative comparisons through technological and cultural development.

Early machines, such as clocks and automata, taught us about the mechanical nature of the body, helping dismantle the illusion that we are our physical form. Today’s AI continues this trajectory by teaching us about the mechanisms of thought and cognition, revealing that we are not our minds either.

Yoga complements this technological reflection by emphasizing a deeper truth: just as we are not our physical bodies, we are not our minds either. AI’s ability to simulate cognition demonstrates that thoughts, calculations, and even language can emerge from non-conscious systems. This revelation aligns with yogic teachings that describe the mind as an instrument, not the self. As verse 4.18 in the Patanjali Yoga Sutras points out:

“The mind is not self-luminous, being an object.”

AI, then, becomes an opportunity to study the mind’s mechanisms without conflating them with the luminous self, or purusha, which yoga identifies as the true source of intelligence and awareness.

Thus, technological advancements like AI provide a profound opportunity for self-reflection. They remind us of the mind’s limitations and offer a pathway to deeper awareness, aligning with yoga’s ultimate goal of transcending prakriti to realize the self.

A Harmonious Future: AI as a Tool, Not the Self

A yogic perspective on AI does not dismiss technology but offers context for its role in human evolution. AI is an extraordinary tool for extending human capabilities and understanding the external world. However, it is essential to remember that true intelligence emanates from the conscious self, not from the algorithms we design.

By integrating the wisdom of yoga with the innovation of AI, humanity can navigate its future with balance. Yoga teaches us to stand behind the mind, harnessing its power without mistaking it for the self. Similarly, as creators of AI, we must wield this technology responsibly, ensuring it serves a higher purpose: fostering interconnectedness and self-awareness.

As Swami Vivekananda wisely observed,

“Tremendous power is manifested everywhere in nature, but it is not self-luminous, not essentially intelligent. The purusha alone is self-luminous and gives its light to everything.”

Let AI be a reflection of that light, not its source.

Literature

Swami Vivekananda, Raja YogaSwami Vivekananda’s Raja Yoga offers a foundational exploration of yogic philosophy and practices and also contains his commentaries on the Patanjali Yoga Sutras.

Carl Jung, The Undiscovered SelfCarl Jung’s The Undiscovered Self examines humanity’s struggle for self-understanding. He critiques the rise of mass-mindedness, state absolutism, and the loss of individuality, asserting that only through inner exploration and self-awareness can we counteract the dehumanizing forces of modern society.

Dr. Asis Kumar Chaudhuri, Sāmkhya: The Indian PhilosophyThis article provides an overview of Sāmkhya philosophy, a foundational system in Indian thought that deeply influences yoga, which explains the evolution of prakriti and its relationship to the conscious self, purusha.Source: Sāmkhya: The Indian Philosophy

Wikipedia, Fourth Industrial RevolutionThe Wikipedia article on the Fourth Industrial Revolution contextualizes AI within the broader trajectory of technological advancements shaping society today. Source: Fourth Industrial Revolution