Higher (Cosmic) consciousness -- Enlightenment

Higher consciousness

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

   

Higher consciousness "is the part of the human being that is capable of transcending animal instincts",^[1] and the "point of contact with God".^[1]

Concept

Origins

According to Bunge, Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) made a distinction between lower and higher (self)consciousness.^[1][2] The lower consciousness is the animal part of mankind, and includes basic sensations such as hunger, thirst, pain and pleasure, as well as basic drives and pleasures.^[1]
Higher consciousness "is the part of the human being that is capable of transcending animal instincts",^[1] and the "point of contact with God".^[1] It is the essence of being human.^[1] When this consciousness is present, people are not alienated from God by their instincts.^[1] The relation between the lower and the higher consciousness is akin to Paul's "struggle of the spirit to overcome the flesh",^[1] or the distinction between the natural and the spiritual side of human beings.^[2]

Characteristics

Higher consciousness is also described as a developed state of consciousness in which attention is improved, refined and enhanced, and aspects of the mind (such as thought, and perception) are transcended.^{[citation needed]} It is considered thus to be a higher level of consciousness relative to ordinary consciousness, in the sense that a greater awareness of reality is achieved.^{[citation needed]}

The concept of higher consciousness rests on the belief that the average, ordinary human being is only partially conscious due to the character of the untrained mind and the influence of 'lower' impulses and preoccupations. As a result, most humans are considered to be asleep (to reality) even as they go about their daily business.^{[citation needed]} Gurdjieff called this ordinary condition of humanity "waking sleep," an idea gleaned in part from ancient spiritual teachings such as those of the Buddha.^{[citation needed]}

In a secular context, higher consciousness is usually associated with exceptional control over one's mind and will, intellectual and moral enlightenment, and profound personal growth.^[3] In a spiritual context, it may also be associated with transcendence, spiritual enlightenment, and union with the divine.^{[citation needed]}

Development

In each person lie potentialities that remain inchoate as a result of the individual being caught up in mechanical, neurotic modes of behaviour where energy for personal spiritual development is not used effectively nor efficiently, but squandered in unskillful ways. As a result of the phenomenon of projection, the cause of such a person's suffering is often seen to lie in outer circumstances or other individuals. One prerequisite for the development of consciousness is the understanding that suffering and alienation are one's own responsibility and dependent on the mind's acquiescence (through ignorance, for example).

Training

Traditionally, both in the Eastern and the Abrahamic spiritual traditions, a person who sought mind-body transformation came under the tutelage of a Master (Rabbi, Sheikh, Guru, Acarya, etc.) who would oversee their progress. In the past, as in some circumstances today, this education would often involve, periods of retreat in communities (ashrams, monasteries, meditation centers, etc.) whose sole purpose is the cultivation of awakening.^{[citation needed]} Nonetheless, such states can also be developed by any serious practitioner who undergoes skillful and whole-souled training.^{[citation needed]}

Related concepts

Higher consciousness is also called "Super consciousness" (Yoga),^{[citation needed]} "objective consciousness" (Gurdjieff),^{[citation needed]} "Buddhic consciousness" (Theosophy),^{[citation needed]} "Cosmic consciousness" (Bucke),^{[citation needed]} "God-consciousness" (Islam, Hinduism),^{[citation needed]} "Christ consciousness" (Christian Mysticism)^{[citation needed]} and Super-Human,^{[citation needed]} as expressions used in various spiritual and intellectual traditions to denote the consciousness of a human being who has reached a higher level of development.

Enlightenment (spiritual)

Enlightenment refers to the "full comprehension of a situation".^{[web 1]} It is commonly used to denote the Age of Enlightenment,^{[note 1]} but is also used in Western cultures in a religious context. It translates several Buddhist terms and concepts, most notably bodhi,^{[note 2]} kensho and satori. Related terms from Asian religions are moksha (liberation) in Hinduism, Kevala Jnana in Jainism and ushta in Zoroastrianism.

In Christianity, the word "enlightenment" is rarely used, except to refer to the Age of Enlightenment and its influence on Christianity. Equivalent terms may be illumination, revelation, metanoia and conversion.

Asian cultures and religions

Buddhism

The English term "enlightenment" has commonly been used to translate several Sanskrit, Pali,^{[web 2]} Chinese and Japanese terms and concepts, especially bodhi, prajna, kensho, satori and buddhahood.
Bodhi is a Theravada term. It literally means "awakening" and "understanding". Someone who is awakened has gained insight into the workings of the mind which keeps us imprisoned in craving, suffering and rebirth,^{[web 1]} and has also gained insight into the way that leads to nirvana, the liberation of oneself from this imprisonment.

Prajna is a Mahayana term. It refers to insight into our true nature, which according to Madhyamaka is empty of a personal essence in the stream of experience. But it also refers to the Tathāgata-garbha or Buddha-nature, the essential basic-consciousness beyond the stream of experience.
In Zen, kensho means "seeing into one's true nature".^[2] Satori is often used interchangeably with kensho, but refers to the experience of kensho.^[2]

Buddhahood is the attainment of full awakening and becoming a Buddha. According to the Tibetan Thubten Yeshe,^{[web 3]} enlightenment

[means] full awakening; buddhahood. The ultimate goal of Buddhist practice, attained when all limitations have been removed from the mind and one's positive potential has been completely and perfectly realized. It is a state characterized by infinite compassion, wisdom and skill.^{[web 4]}

Hinduism

In Indian religions moksha (Sanskrit: मोक्ष mokṣa; liberation) or mukti (Sanskrit: मुक्ति; release —both from the root muc "to let loose, let go") is the final extrication of the soul or consciousness (purusha) from samsara and the bringing to an end of all the suffering involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death and rebirth (reincarnation).

Advaita Vedanta

Advaita Vedanta (IAST Advaita Vedānta; Sanskrit: अद्वैत वेदान्त [əd̪ʋait̪ə ʋeːd̪ɑːnt̪ə]) is a philosophical concept where followers seek liberation/release by recognizing identity of the Self (Atman) and the Whole (Brahman) through long preparation and training, usually under the guidance of a guru, that involves efforts such as knowledge of scriptures, renunciation of worldy activities, and inducement of direct identity experiences. Originating in India before 788 AD, Advaita Vedanta is widely considered the most influential^[3] and most dominant^{[web 5][4]} sub-school of the Vedānta (literally, end or the goal of the Vedas, Sanskrit) school of Hindu philosophy.^[5] Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Viśishṭādvaita and Dvaita; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda.

Advaita (literally, non-duality) is a system of thought where "Advaita" refers to the identity of the Self (Atman) and the Whole (Brahman).^{[note 3]} Recognition of this identity leads to liberation.
Attaining this liberation takes a long preparation and training under the guidance of a guru.
The key source texts for all schools of Vedānta are the Prasthanatrayi—the canonical texts consisting of the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras. The first person to explicitly consolidate the principles of Advaita Vedanta was Shankara Bhagavadpada,^[6] while the first historical proponent was Gaudapada, the guru of Shankara's guru Govinda Bhagavatpada.

Philosophical system

Shankara systematized the works of preceding philosophers.^[7] His system of Vedanta introduced the method of scholarly exegesis on the accepted metaphysics of the Upanishads. This style was adopted by all the later Vedanta schools.^{[citation needed]}

Shankara's synthesis of Advaita Vedanta is summarized in this quote from the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, one of his Prakaraṇa graṃthas (philosophical treatises):^{[note 4]}

In half a couplet I state, what has been stated by crores of texts;
that is Brahman alone is real, the world is mithyā (not independently existent),
and the individual self is nondifferent from Brahman.^{[8][note 5]}

Neo-Vedanta

In the 19th century Vivekananda played a major role in the revival of Hinduism,^[9] and the spread of Advaita Vedanta to the West via the Ramakrishna Mission. His interpretation of Advaita Vedanta has been called "Neo-Vedanta".^[10]

In a talk on "The absolute and manifestation" given in at London in 1896 Swami Vivekananda said,

I may make bold to say that the only religion which agrees with, and even goes a little further than modern researchers, both on physical and moral lines is the Advaita, and that is why it appeals to modern scientists so much. They find that the old dualistic theories are not enough for them, do not satisfy their necessities. A man must have not only faith, but intellectual faith too".^{[web 6]}

Vivekananda emphasized samadhi as a means to attain liberation.^[11] Yet this emphasis is not to be found in the Upanishads nor in Shankara.^[12] For Shankara, meditation and Nirvikalpa Samadhi are means to gain knowledge of the already existing unity of Brahman and Atman,^[11] not the highest goal itself:

[Y]oga is a meditative exercise of withdrawal from the particular and identification with the universal, leading to contemplation of oneself as the most universal, namely, Consciousness. This approach is different from the classical yoga of complete thought suppression.^[11]

Vivekenanda's modernisation has been criticized:^[10][13]

Without calling into question the right of any philosopher to interpret Advaita according to his own understanding of it, [...] the process of Westernization has obscured the core of this school of thought. The basic correlation of renunciation and Bliss has been lost sight of in the attempts to underscore the cognitive structure and the realistic structure which according to Samkaracarya should both belong to, and indeed constitute the realm of māyā.^[10]

Neo-Advaita

Neo-Advaita is a new religious movement based on a modern, Western interpretation of Advaita Vedanta, especially the teachings of Ramana Maharshi.^[14] Neo-Advaita is being criticized^{[15][note 6][17][note 7][note 8]} for discarding the traditional prerequisites of knowledge of the scriptures^[18] and "renunciation as necessary preparation for the path of jnana-yoga".^[18][19] Notable neo-advaita teachers are H. W. L. Poonja,^[20][14] his students Gangaji^[21] Andrew Cohen,^{[note 9]} and Eckhart Tolle.^[14]

Yoga

The prime means to reach moksha is through the practice of yoga (Sanskrit, Pāli: योग, /ˈjəʊɡə/, yoga) is a commonly known generic term for physical, mental, and spiritual disciplines which originated in ancient India.^[23][24] Specifically, yoga is one of the six āstika ("orthodox") schools of Hindu philosophy. It is based on the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. Various traditions of yoga are found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.^{[25][26][note 10]}

Pre–philosophical speculations and diverse ascetic practices of first millennium BCE were systematized into a formal philosophy in early centuries CE by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.^[28] By the turn of the first millennium, Hatha yoga emerged as a prominent tradition of yoga distinct from the Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. While the Yoga Sutras focus on discipline of the mind, Hatha yoga concentrates on health and purity of the body.^[29]

Hindu monks, beginning with Swami Vivekananda, brought yoga to the West in the late 19th century. In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a physical system of health exercises across the Western world. Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma and heart patients. In a national survey, long-term yoga practitioners in the United States reported musculo–skeletal and mental health improvements.^[30]

Jnana yoga

Classical Advaita Vedanta follows empahsises the path of jnana yoga, a progression of study and training to attain moksha. It consitsts of four stages:^{[31][web 12]}

• Samanyasa or Sampattis,^[32] the "fourfold discipline" (sādhana-catustaya), cultivating the following four qualities:^{[31][web 13]}
  • Nityānitya vastu viveka (नित्यानित्य वस्तु विवेकम्) — The ability (viveka) to correctly discriminate between the eternal (nitya) substance (Brahman) and the substance that is transitory existence (anitya).
  • Ihāmutrārtha phala bhoga virāga (इहाऽमुत्रार्थ फल भोगविरागम्) — The renunciation (virāga) of enjoyments of objects (artha phala bhoga) in this world (iha) and the other worlds (amutra) like heaven etc.
  • Śamādi ṣatka sampatti (शमादि षट्क सम्पत्ति) — the sixfold qualities,
    • Śama (control of the antahkaraṇa).^{[web 14]}
    • Dama (the control of external sense organs).
    • Uparati (the cessation of these external organs so restrained, from the pursuit of objects other than that, or it may mean the abandonment of the prescribed works according to scriptural injunctions).^{[note 11]}
    • Titikṣa (the tolerating of tāpatraya).
    • Śraddha (the faith in Guru and Vedas).
    • Samādhāna (the concentrating of the mind on God and Guru).
  • Mumukṣutva (मुमुक्षुत्वम्) — The firm conviction that the nature of the world is misery and the intense longing for moksha (release from the cycle of births and deaths).
• Sravana, listening to the teachings of the sages on the Upanishads and Advaita Vedanta, and studying the Vedantic texts, such as the Brahma Sutras. In this stage the student learns about the reality of Brahman and the identity of atman;
• Manana, the stage of reflection on the teachings;
• Dhyana, the stage of meditation on the truth "that art Thou".

Bhakti yoga

The paths of bhakti yoga and karma yoga are subsidiary.

In bhakti yoga, practice centers on the worship God in any way and in any form, like Krishna or Ayyappa. Adi Shankara himself was a proponent of devotional worship or Bhakti. But Adi Shankara taught that while Vedic sacrifices, puja and devotional worship can lead one in the direction of jnana (true knowledge), they cannot lead one directly to moksha. At best, they can serve as means to obtain moksha via shukla gati.^{[citation needed]}

Karma yoga

Karma yoga is the way of doing our duties, in disregard of personal gains or losses. According to Sri Swami Sivananda,

Karma Yoga is consecration of all actions and their fruits unto the Lord. Karma Yoga is performance of actions dwelling in union with the Divine, removing attachment and remaining balanced ever in success and failure.
Karma Yoga is selfless service unto humanity. Karma Yoga is the Yoga of action which purifies the heart and prepares the Antahkarana (the heart and the mind) for the reception of Divine Light or attainment if Knowledge of the Self. The important point is that you will have to serve humanity without any attachment or egoism.^{[web 15]}

Jainism

Jainism (/ˈdʒeɪnɪzəm/; Sanskrit: जैनधर्म Jainadharma, Tamil: சமணம் Samaṇam, Bengali: জৈনধর্ম Jainadharma, Telugu: జైనమతం Jainamataṁ, Malayalam: ജൈനമതം Jainmat, Kannada: ಜೈನ ಧರ್ಮ Jaina dharma), is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul toward divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state of supreme being is called a jina ("conqueror" or "victor"). The ultimate status of these perfect souls is called siddha. Ancient texts also refer to Jainism as shramana dharma (self-reliant) or the "path of the nirganthas" (those without attachments or aversions).

In Jainism highest form of pure knowledge a soul can attain is called Kevala Jnana ( Sanskrit : केवलज्ञान )or Kevala Ṇāṇa (Prakrit : केवल णाण). which means “absolute or perfect” and Jñāna, which means "knowledge". Kevala is the state of isolation of the jīva from the ajīva attained through ascetic practices which burn off one's karmic residues, releasing one from bondage to the cycle of death and rebirth. Kevala Jñāna thus means infinite knowledge of self and non-self, attained by a soul after annihilation of the all ghātiyā karmas. The soul which has reached this stage achieves moksa or liberation at the end of its life span.

Mahavira, 24th thirthankara of Jainism, is said to have practised rigorous austerities for 12 years before he attained enlightenment,

During the thirteenth year, in the second month of summer, in the fourth fortnight, the light (fortnight) of Vaisakha, on its tenth day, when the shadow had turned towards the east and the first wake was over, on the day called Suvrata, in the Muhurta called Vigaya, outside of the town Grimbhikagrama on the bank of the river Rjupalika, not far from an old temple, in the field of the householder Samaga, under a Sal tree, when the moon was in conjunction with the asterism Uttara Phalguni, (the Venerable One) in a squatting position with joined heels, exposing himself to the heat of the sun, after fasting two and a half days without drinking water, being engaged in deep meditation, reached the highest knowledge and intuition, called Kevala, which is infinite, supreme, unobstructed, unimpeded, complete, and full.^{[citation needed]}

Kevala Jñāna is one of the five major events in the life of a Tirthankara and is known as Jñāna Kalyanaka and supposedly celebrated by all gods. Mahavira’s Kaivalya was said to have been celebrated by the demi-gods, who constructed the Samosarana or a grand preaching assembly for him.

Western understanding

In the Western world the concept of enlightenment in a religious context acquired a romantic meaning. It has become synonymous with self-realization and the true self, which is being regarded as a substantial essence which is covered over by social conditioning.^{[note 12]}

As 'Aufklärung'

The use of the Western word enlightenment is based on the supposed resemblance of bodhi with Aufklärung, the independent use of reason to gain insight into the true nature of our world. As a matter of fact there are more resemblances with Romanticism than with the Enlightenment: the emphasis on feeling, on intuitive insight, on a true essence beyond the world of appearances.^[33]

Awakening: Historical period of renewed interest in religion

The equivalent term "awakening" has also been used in a Christian context, namely the Great Awakenings, several periods of religious revival in American religious history. Historians and theologians identify three or four waves of increased religious enthusiasm occurring between the early 18th century and the late 19th century. Each of these "Great Awakenings" was characterized by widespread revivals led by evangelical Protestant ministers, a sharp increase of interest in religion, a profound sense of conviction and redemption on the part of those affected, an increase in evangelical church membership, and the formation of new religious movements and denominations.

Illumination

Another equivalent term is Illumination, which was also used by Paul Demieville in his work The Mirror of the Mind, in which he made a distinction between "illumination subie" and "illumination graduelle".^{[34][web 16]} Illuminationism is a doctrine according to which the process of human thought needs to be aided by divine grace. It is the oldest and most influential alternative to naturalism in the theory of mind and epistemology.^[35] It was an important feature of ancient Greek philosophy, Neoplatonism, medieval philosophy, and in particular, the Illuminationist school of Islamic philosophy.

Augustine was an important proponent of Illuminationism, stating that everything we know is taught to us by God as He casts His light over the world,^{[web 17]} saying that "The mind needs to be enlightened by light from outside itself, so that it can participate in truth, because it is not itself the nature of truth. You will light my lamp, Lord ^[36] and "You hear nothing true from me which you have not first told me.^[37] Augustine's version of illuminationism is not that God gives us certain information, but rather gives us insight into the truth of the information we received for ourselves.

Romanticism and transcendentalism

This romantic idea of enlightenment as insight into a timeless, transcendent reality has been popularized especially by D.T. Suzuki.^{[web 18][web 19]} Further popularization was due to the writings of Heinrich Dumoulin.^{[38][39][web 20]} Dumoulin viewed metaphysics as the expression of a transcendent truth, which according to him was expressed by Mahayana Buddhism, but not by the pragmatic analysis of the oldest Buddhism, which emphasizes anatta.^[40] This romantic vision is also recognizable in the works of Ken Wilber.^[41]

In the oldest Buddhism this essentialism is not recognizable.^{[42][web 21]} According to critics it doesn't really contribute to a real insight into Buddhism:^{[web 22]}

...most of them labour under the old cliché that the goal of Buddhist psychological analysis is to reveal the hidden mysteries in the human mind and thereby facilitate the development of a transcendental state of consciousness beyond the reach of linguistic expression.^[43]

Experience

A common reference in Western culture is the notion of "enlightenment experience". This notion can be traced back to William James, who used the term "religious experience" in his book, The Varieties of Religious Experience.^[44] Wayne Proudfoot traces the roots of the notion of "religious experience" further back to the German theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834), who argued that religion is based on a feeling of the infinite. The notion of "religious experience" was used by Schleiermacher to defend religion against the growing scientific and secular citique.^[45]

It was popularised by the Transcendentalists, and exported to Asia via missionaries.^[46] Transcendentalism developed as a reaction against 18th Century rationalism, John Locke's philosophy of Sensualism, and the predestinationism of New England Calvinism. It is fundamentally a variety of diverse sources such as Hindu texts like the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita,^[47] various religions, and German idealism.^[48]

It was adopted by many scholars of religion, of which William James was the most influential.^{[49][note 13]}

The notion of "experience" has been criticised.^[54][55][56] Robert Sharf points out that "experience" is a typical Western term, which has found its way into Asian religiosity via western influences.^{[54][note 14]}
The notion of "experience" introduces a false notion of duality between "experiencer" and "experienced", whereas the essence of kensho is the realisation of the "non-duality" of observer and observed.^[58][59] "Pure experience" does not exist; all experience is mediated by intellectual and cognitive activity.^[60][61] The specific teachings and practices of a specific tradition may even determine what "experience" someone has, which means that this "experience" is not the proof of the teaching, but a result of the teaching.^[62] A pure consciousness without concepts, reached by "cleaning the doors of perception",^{[note 15]} would be an overwhelming chaos of sensory input without coherence.^[63]

Nevertheless, the notion of religious experience has gained widespread use in the study of religion,^[64] and is extensively researched.^[64]

Western culture

Christianity

The word "enlightenment" is not generally used in Christian contexts for religious understanding or insight. More commonly used terms in the Christian tradition are religious conversion and revelation.
Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871–1952), one of the founders of Dispensationalism, uses the word "illuminism". Christians who are "illuminated" are of two groups, those who have experienced true illuminism (biblical) and those who experienced false illuminism (not from the Holy Spirit).^[65]
Christian interest in eastern spirituality has grown throughout the 20th century. Notable Christians, such as Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle and AMA Samy, have participated in Buddhist training and even become Buddhist teachers themselves. In a few places Eastern contemplative techniques have been integrated in Christian practices, such as centering prayer.^{[web 24]} But this integration has also raised questions about the borders between these traditions.^{[web 25]}

Western esotericism and mysticism

Western and Mediterranean culture has a rich tradition of esotericism.^[66] The Perennial philosophy, basic to the New Age understanding of the world, regards those traditions as akin to Eastern religions which aim at awakening and developing wisdom. All mystical traditions are supposed to share a "common core",^[67] a hypothesis which is central to New Age, but contested by a diversity of scientists like Katz and Proudfoot.^[67]

Judaism knows the mystical tradition of Kabbalah. Islam includes the mystical tradition of Sufism. In the Fourth Way teaching, enlightenment is the highest state of Man (humanity).^[68]

Nondualism

A popular western understanding sees "enlightenment" as "nondual consciousness", "a primordial, natural awareness without subject or object".^{[web 26]} It is used interchangeably with Neo-Advaita.^{[web 27]}

This nondual consciousness is seen as a common stratum to different religions. Several definitions or meanings are combined in this approach, which makes it possible to recognize various traditions as having the same essence.^[69] According to Renard, many forms of religion are based on an experiential or intuitive understanding of "the Real"^[70]

This idea of nonduality as "the central essence"^[71] is part of a modern mutual exchange and synthesis of ideas between western spiritual and esoteric traditions and Asian religious revival and reform movements.^{[note 16]} Western predecessors are, among others, New Age,^[72] Wilber's synthesis of western psychology and Asian spirituality, the idea of a Perennial Philosophy, and Theosophy. Eastern influences are the Hindu reform movements such as Aurobindo's Integral Yoga and Vivekananda's Neo-Vedanta, the Vipassana movement, and Buddhist modernism. A truly syncretistic influence is Osho^[73] and the Rajneesh movement, a hybrid of eastern and western ideas and teachings, and a mainly western group of followers.^[74]

Cognitive aspects

Religious experience as cognitive construct

"Religious experiences" have "evidential value",^[75] since they confirm the specific worldview of the experiencer:^[76][54][13]

These experiences are cognitive in that, allegedly at least, the subject of the experience receives a reliable and accurate view of what, religiously considered, are the most important features of things. This, so far as their religious tradition is concerned, is what is most important about them. This is what makes them "salvific" or powerful to save.^[77]

Yet, just like the very notion of "religious experience" is shaped by a specific discourse and habitus, the "uniformity of interpretation"^[78] may be due to the influence of religious traditions which shape the interpretation of such "experiences".^{[78][54][79][76]}

Various religious experiences

Yandell discerns various "religious experiences" and their corresponding doctrinal settings, which differ in structure and phenomenological content, and in the "evidential value" they present.^[80] Yandell discerns five sorts:^[81]

1. Numinous experiences - Monotheism (Jewish, Christian, Vedantic)^[82]
2. Nirvanic experiences - Buddhism,^[83] "according to which one sees that the self is but a bundle of fleeting states"^[84]
3. Kevala experiences^[85] - Jainism,^[75] "according to which one sees the self as an undestructible subject of experience"^[75]
4. Moksha experiences^[86] - Hinduism,^[75] Brahman "either as a cosmic person, or, quite differently, as qualityless"^[75]
5. Nature mystical experience^[85]

Cognitive science

Various philosophers and cognitive scientists state that there is no "true self" or a "little person" (homunculus) in the brain that "watches the show," and that consciousness is an emergent property that arise from the various modules of the brain in ways that are yet far from understood.^[87][88][89] According to Susan Greenfield, the "self" may be seen as a composite,^[90] whereas Douglas R. Hofstadter describes the sense of "I" as a result of cognitive process.^[91]

This is in line with the Buddhist teachings, which state that

[...] what we call 'I' or 'being,' is only a combination of physical and mental aggregates which are working together interdependently in a flux of momentary change within the law of cause and effect, and that there is nothing, permanent, everlasting, unchanging, and eternal in the whole of existence.^[92]

To this end, Parfit called Buddha the "first bundle theorist".^[93]

The idea that the mind is the result of the activities of neurons in the brain was most notably popularized by Francis Crick, the co-discoverer of DNA, in his book The Astonishing Hypothesis.^{[94][note 17]} The basic idea can be traced back to at least Étienne Bonnot de Condillac. According to Crick, the idea was not a novel one:

[...] an exceptionally clear statement of it can be found in a well known paper by Horace Barlow.^[94]

Entheogens

Several users of entheogens throughout the ages have claimed spiritual enlightenment with the use of these substances, their use and prevalence through history is well recorded, although subjected to harsh social taboos.

In modern times we have seen a rise in this belief, for example Ayahuasca tourism, which is believed to be due to the rise of the information age. Older beliefs about these substances have been subject to scientific research, although halted in the 1970s, it has resumed again in the 1990s. 

Nirvana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Translations of Nirvana
English:	salvation, extinguishing, liberation
Pali:	Nibbāna
Sanskrit:	निर्वाण (Nirvāṇa)
Bengali:	নির্বাণ nirbanô
Burmese:	နိဗ္ဗာန် (IPA: [neɪʔbàɴ])
Chinese:	涅槃 (pinyin: nièpán)
Japanese:	涅槃 (rōmaji: nehan)
Khmer:	និព្វាន
Korean:	열반 (RR: yeolban)
Mon:	နဳဗာန် ([nìppàn])
Mongolian:	γasalang-aca nögcigsen
Shan:	ၼိၵ်ႈပၢၼ်ႇ ([nik3paan2])
Sinhala:	නිවන (Nivana)
Tibetan:	མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།(mya ngan las 'das pa)
Thai:	นิพพาน (nibbana)
Vietnamese:	Niết bàn
Glossary of Buddhism

Nirvāṇa (Sanskrit: निर्वाण; Pali: निब्बान nibbāna ; Prakrit: णिव्वाण) literally means "blown out", as in a candle.^[1] It is most commonly associated with Buddhism.^{[web 1][2]} In Indian religions, the attainment of nirvana is moksha,^{[note 1]} liberation from the repeating cycle of birth, life and death (reincarnation).^{[3][4][note 2]}

In the Buddhist context nirvana refers to the imperturbable stillness of mind after the fires of desire, aversion, and delusion have been finally extinguished.^[1] In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the divine ground of existence Brahman (Supreme Being) and the experience of blissful egolessness.^[5]

Etymology

Phonetics

Nirvāṇa is a composed of three phones ni and va and na:

• ni (nir, nis, nih): out, away from, without, a term that is used to negate
• va: blowing as in blowing of the wind and also as smelling^[6]
• na: nor, never, do not, did not, should not^[7]

Vana is forest in/of the forest/forests; composed of flowers and other items of the forest.,^[7] but vana has both phones van and va. Van has both an auspicious and ominous aspect:

• van: like, love; wish, desire; gain, procure; conquer, win; possess; prepare;^[8]
• van:tree; forest; thicket, cluster, group; quantity; wood^[8]
• va: blow (of wind); emit (an odor), be wafted or diffused^[8]
• va: weave^[8]

Abhidharma

The abhidharma-mahāvibhāsa-sāstra, a sarvastivādin commentary, 3rd century BCE and later, describes^[9] the possible etymological interpretations of the word nirvana. ^{[note 3][note 4]}

Vana	+Nir	Nature of nirvana[10]
The path of rebirth	Leaving off	Being away from the path of rebirth permanently avoiding all paths of transmigration.
Forest	Without	To be in a state which has got rid of, for ever, of the dense forest of the three fires of lust, malice and delusion
Weaving	Being free	Freedom from the knot of the vexations of karmas and in which the texture of both birth and death is not to be woven
Stench or stink	Without	Being without and free from all stench of karmas

Each of the five aggregates is called a skandha, which means "tree trunk." All five skandha serve to inform the study of experience, or else missing their causal relations leads away from the path to nirvana. Skandha also means "heap" or "pile" or "mass," which is the nature of their interdependence, like an endless knot's path, or a forest.

Origins

Nirvāṇa is a term used in Hinduism,^[11][12] Jainism,^[13] Buddhism,^[12][14] and Sikhism.^[15] It leads to moksha, liberation from samsara, or release from a state of suffering, after an often lengthy period of bhāvanā^{[note 5]} or sādhanā.

The idea of moksha is connected to the Vedic culture, which had notion of amrtam, "immortality",^[19][20] and also a notion of a timeless, an "unborn", "the still point of the turning world of time".^[19] It was also its timeless structure, the whole underlying "the spokes of the invariable but incessant wheel of time".^{[19][note 6]} The hope for life after death started with notions of going to the worlds of the Fathers or Ancestors and/or the world of the Gods or Heaven.^{[19][note 7]} The continuation of life after death came to be seen as dependent on sacrificial action, karma,^[21] These ideas further developed into the notion of insight into the real nature of the timeless Brahman and the paramatman.^[22] This basic scheme underlies Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, where "the ultimate aim is the timeless state of moksa, or, as the Buddhists first seem to have called it, nirvana."^[23]

Although the term occurs in the literatures of a number of ancient Indian traditions, the concept is most commonly associated with Buddhism.^{[web 1]} It was later adopted in the Bhagavad Gita of the Mahabharata.^[2]

Jainism

Kalpasutra folio on Mahavira Nirvana. Note the crescent shaped Siddhashila, a place where all siddhas reside after nirvana.

The terms moksa and nirvana are often used interchangeably in the Jain texts.^[24][25] In Jainism, moksha (liberation) follows nirvāṇa. Nirvana means final release from the karmic bondage. An arhat becomes a siddha ("one who is accomplished") after nirvāṇa.^{[citation needed]} When an enlightened human, such as an arihant or a Tirthankara, extinguishes his remaining aghatiya karmas and thus ends his worldly existence, it is called nirvāṇa. Jains celebrate Diwali as the day of nirvāṇa of Mahavira.^{[note 8]} Uttaradhyana Sutra provides an account of Gautama explaining the meaning of nirvāṇa to Kesi, a disciple of Parshva.^[27]

There is a safe place in view of all, but difficult of approach, where there is no old age nor death, no pain nor disease. It is what is called nirvāṇa, or freedom from pain, or perfection, which is in view of all; it is the safe, happy, and quiet place which the great sages reach. That is the eternal place, in view of all, but difficult of approach. Those sages who reach it are free from sorrows, they have put an end to the stream of existence. (81-4)

Buddhism

In the Buddhist tradition, nirvana is described as the extinguishing of the fires that cause suffering. These fires are typically identified as the fires of attachment (raga), aversion (dvesha) and ignorance (moha or avidya). When the fires are extinguished, suffering (dukkha) comes to an end. The cessation of suffering is described as complete peace.
Bhikkhu Bodhi states:^[28]

The state of perfect peace that comes when craving is eliminated is Nibbāna (nirvāṇa), the unconditioned state experienced while alive with the extinguishing of the flames of greed, aversion, and delusion.

Hinduism

According to Zaehner and "many commentators",^[2] nirvana is a Buddhist term rather than a Hindu term.^[2] The term nirvana was not used in Hinduism prior to its use in the Bhagavad Gita,^[2] though according to van Buitenen the use of the term was not confined to Buddhism at the time the Bhagavad Gita was written.^[2] According to Johnson the use of the term nirvana is borrowed from the Buddhists to link the Buddhist state of liberation with Brahman, the supreme or absolute principle of the Upanishads and the Vedic tradition.^[2]

Moksha

In Hinduism, moksha is the liberation from the cycle of birth and death and one's worldly conception of self. According to Hindson & Caner, when a person achieves moksha, they have reached nirvana;^[29] while according to Flood, "The attainment of nirvana is thus moksa."^[3]

Moksha is derived from the root mu(n)c (Sanskrit: मुच्), which means free, let go, release, liberate.^[30][31] In Vedas and early Upanishads, the word mucyate (Sanskrit: मुच्यते)^[30] appears, which means to be set free or release - such as of a horse from its harness.

According to Aurobindo, the last bondage is the passion for liberation itself, which must be renounced before the soul can be perfectly free, and the last knowledge is the realisation that there is none bound, none desirous of freedom, but the soul is for ever and perfectly free, that bondage is an illusion and the liberation from bondage is an illusion too.^[32]

Brahmanirvana in the Bhagavad Gita

Brahma nirvana (nirvana in Brahman) is the state of release or liberation; the union with the divine ground of existence (Brahman) and the experience of blissful ego-lessness.^[5] The term brahmanirvana is used 5 times in the Bhagavad Gita:^{[citation needed]}

• verse 2.72: sthitvāsyāmantakāle'pi brahmanirvāṇamṛcchati
• 5.24 (and following 2 verses): sa yogī brahmanirvāṇaṃ brahmabhūto'dhigacchati
• 6.15: śāntiṃ nirvāṇaparamāṃ matsaṃsthāmadhigacchati

According to Helena Blavatsky, in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna explains that Brahma nirvana can be attained by one who is capable of cognizing the essence of Brahman; by getting rid of vices, becoming free from duality, free from the worldly attractions and anger, dedicated to spiritual pursuits, having subdued thoughts and cognized Atman, and dedicating oneself to the good of all.^[33][34]

According to Mahatma Gandhi, the Hindu and Buddhist understanding of nirvana are different:

The nirvana of the Buddhists is shunyata, emptiness, but the nirvana of the Gita means peace and that is why it is described as brahma-nirvana [oneness with Brahman].^[35]

According to Gavin Flood,

...in the Bhagavad-gītā it seems to be contrasted deliberately with the Buddhist understanding, because it is described as the attainment of Brahman ('He who forsakes all objects of desire and goes about without cravings, desires or self-centredness attains serene peace.... Staying in this state, even in his last hour, he attains brahmanirvāṇa', 2. 71 f.), and the yogin is described not (as in Buddhism) as a candle blown out, but as 'a candle flame away from a draught which does not flicker' (6, 19) The attainment of nirvana is thus mokṣa.^[3]

Brahma Kumaris

In Brahma Kumaris philosophy, nirvana is reaching the meta world called paramdham (supreme abode) or shantidham (abode of peace) and is the highest of the three worlds. It is the original home of the soul and Supreme Soul, Shiva.^{[citation needed]}

Kardashev scale

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The Kardashev scale is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement, based on the amount of energy a civilization is able to utilize. The scale has three designated categories called Type I, II, and III. A Type I civilization uses all available resources impinging on its home planet, Type II harnesses all the energy of its star, and Type III of its galaxy. The scale is only hypothetical, but it puts energy consumption in a cosmic perspective. It was first proposed in 1964 by the Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev. Various extensions of the scale have been proposed since, from a wider range of power levels (types 0, IV and V) to the use of metrics other than pure power.

Definition

In 1964, Kardashev defined three levels of civilizations, based on the order of magnitude of power available to them:

Type I

"Technological level close to the level presently attained on earth, with energy consumption at ≈4×10¹⁹ erg/sec^[1] (4 × 10¹² watts.) Guillermo A. Lemarchand stated this as "A level near contemporary terrestrial civilization with an energy capability equivalent to the solar insolation on Earth, between 10¹⁶ and 10¹⁷ watts."^[2]

Type II

"A civilization capable of harnessing the energy radiated by its own star (for example, the stage of successful construction of a Dyson sphere), with energy consumption at ≈4×10³³ erg/sec.^[1] Lemarchand stated this as "A civilization capable of utilizing and channeling the entire radiation output of its star. The energy utilization would then be comparable to the luminosity of our Sun, about 4×10³³ erg/sec (4×10²⁶ watts)."^[2]

Type III

"A civilization in possession of energy on the scale of its own galaxy, with energy consumption at ≈4×10⁴⁴ erg/sec."^[1] Lemarchand stated this as "A civilization with access to the power comparable to the luminosity of the entire Milky Way galaxy, about 4×10⁴⁴ erg/sec (4×10³⁷ watts)."^[2]

Current status of human civilization

Michio Kaku suggested that humans may attain Type I status in 100–200 years, Type II status in a few thousand years, and Type III status in 100,000 to a million years.^[3]

Carl Sagan suggested defining intermediate values (not considered in Kardashev's original scale) by interpolating and extrapolating the values given above for types I (10¹⁶ W), II (10²⁶ W) and III (10³⁶ W), which would produce the formula

,

where value K is a civilization's Kardashev rating and P is the power it uses, in watts. Using this extrapolation, a "Type 0" civilization, not defined by Kardashev, would control about 1 MW of power, and humanity's civilization type as of 1973 was about 0.7 (apparently using 10 terawatt (TW) as the value for 1970s humanity).^[4]

In 2008, total world energy consumption was 474 exajoules (474×10¹⁸ J=132,000 TWh), equivalent to an average power consumption of 15 TW (or 0.717 on Sagan's Kardashev scale).^[5]

Energy development

Type I civilization methods

• Large-scale application of fusion power. According to mass-energy equivalence, Type I implies the conversion of about 2 kg of matter to energy per second. An equivalent energy release could theoretically be achieved by fusing approximately 280 kg of hydrogen into helium per second,^[6] a rate roughly equivalent to 8.9×10⁹ kg/year. A cubic km of water contains about 10¹¹ kg of hydrogen, and the Earth's oceans contain about 1.3×10⁹ cubic km of water, meaning that this rate of consumption could be sustained over geological time scales.
• Antimatter in large quantities would have a mechanism to produce power on a scale several magnitudes above our current level of technology. In antimatter-matter collisions, the entire rest mass of the particles is converted to kinetic energy. Their energy density (energy released per mass) is about four orders of magnitude greater than that from using nuclear fission, and about two orders of magnitude greater than the best possible yield from fusion.^[7] The reaction of 1 kg of anti-matter with 1 kg of matter would produce 1.8×10¹⁷ J (180 petajoules) of energy.^[8] Although antimatter is sometimes proposed as a source of energy, this is currently infeasible. Artificially producing antimatter according to current understanding of the laws of physics involves first converting energy into mass, so there is no net gain. Artificially created antimatter is only usable as a medium of energy storage but not as an energy source, unless future technological developments (contrary to the conservation of the baryon number, such as a CP Violation in favour of antimatter) allow the conversion of ordinary matter into anti-matter. There are a number of naturally occurring sources of antimatter ^[9][10][11] we may theoretically be able to cultivate and harvest in the future.
• Renewable energy through converting sunlight into electricity by either solar cells and concentrating solar power or indirectly through wind and hydroelectric power. Currently, there is no known way for human civilization to successfully use the equivalent of the Earth's total absorbed solar energy without completely coating the surface with man-made structures, which is presently not feasible. However, if a civilization constructed very large space-based solar power satellites, Type I power levels might be achievable.

Figure of a Dyson swarm surrounding a star

Type II civilization methods

• Type II civilizations might use the same techniques employed by a Type I civilization, but applied to a large number of planets in a large number of solar systems.
• A Dyson sphere or Dyson swarm and similar constructs are hypothetical megastructures originally described by Freeman Dyson as a system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to enclose a star completely and capture most or all of its energy output.^[12]
• Perhaps a more exotic means to generate usable energy would be to feed a stellar mass into a black hole, and collect photons emitted by the accretion disc.^[13][14] Less exotic would be simply to capture photons already escaping from the accretion disc, reducing a black hole's angular momentum; known as the Penrose process.
• Star lifting is a process where an advanced civilization could remove a substantial portion of a star's matter in a controlled manner for other uses.
• Antimatter is likely to be produced as an industrial byproduct of a number of megascale engineering processes (such as the aforementioned star lifting) and therefore could be recycled.^{[citation needed]}
• In multiple-star systems of a sufficiently large number of stars, absorbing a small but significant fraction of the output of each individual star.

Type III civilization methods

• Type III civilizations might use the same techniques employed by a Type II civilization, but applied to all possible stars of one or more galaxies individually.^[15]
• They may also be able to tap into the energy released from the supermassive black holes which are believed to exist at the center of most galaxies.
• White holes, if they exist, theoretically could provide large amounts of energy from collecting the matter propelling outwards.
• Capturing the energy of gamma-ray bursts is another theoretically possible power source for a highly advanced civilization.
• The emissions from quasars can be readily compared to those of small active galaxies and could provide a massive power source if collectable.

Civilization implications

There are many historical examples of human civilization undergoing large-scale transitions, such as the Industrial Revolution. The transition between Kardashev scale levels could potentially represent similarly dramatic periods of social upheaval, since they entail surpassing the hard limits of the resources available in a civilization's existing territory. A common speculation^[16] suggests that the transition from Type 0 to Type I might carry a strong risk of self-destruction since, in some scenarios, there would no longer be room for further expansion on the civilization's home planet, as in a Malthusian catastrophe. Excessive use of energy without adequate disposal of heat, for example, could plausibly make the planet of a civilization approaching Type I unsuitable to the biology of the dominant life-forms and their food sources. If Earth is an example, then sea temperatures in excess of 35 C would jeopardize marine life and make the cooling of mammals to temperatures suitable for their metabolism difficult if not impossible. Of course, these theoretical speculations may not become problems in reality thanks to evolution or the application of future engineering and technology. Also, by the time a civilization reaches Type I it may have colonized other planets or created O'Neill-type colonies, so that waste heat could be distributed throughout the solar system.

Extensions to the original scale

Many extensions and modifications to the Kardashev scale have been proposed. The most straightforward extend the scale to even more hypothetical Type IV beings who can control or use the entire universe or Type V who control collections of universes.

The energy output of the visible universe is within a few orders of magnitude of 10⁴⁵ W. Such a civilization approaches or surpasses the limits of speculation based on current scientific understanding, and may not be possible. Frank J. Tipler's Omega point would presumably occupy this level, as would the Biocosm hypothesis. Zoltan Galantai has argued that such a civilization could not be detected, as its activities would be indistinguishable from the workings of nature (there being nothing to compare them to).^[17]

In his book Parallel Worlds, Michio Kaku has discussed a Type IV civilization that could harness "extragalactic" energy sources such as dark energy.^[18]

Other proposed changes to the scale use different metrics such as 'mastery' of systems, amount of information used, or progress in control of the very small as opposed to the very large. Metrics other than pure power usage have also been proposed. One is 'mastery' of a planet, system or galaxy rather than considering energy alone.^[19]

Alternatively, Carl Sagan suggested adding another dimension in addition to pure energy usage: the information available to the civilization. He assigned the letter A to represent 10⁶ unique bits of information (less than any recorded human culture) and each successive letter to represent an order of magnitude increase, so that a level Z civilization would have 10³¹ bits. In this classification, 1973 Earth is a 0.7 H civilization, with access to 10¹³ bits of information. Sagan believed that no civilization has yet reached level Z, conjecturing that so much unique information would exceed that of all the intelligent species in a galactic supercluster and observing that the universe is not old enough to exchange information effectively over larger distances. The information and energy axes are not strictly interdependent, so that even a level Z civilization would not need to be Kardashev Type Ⅲ.^[4]

John D. Barrow, going by the fact that humans have found it more cost-effective to extend any abilities to manipulate their environment over increasingly smaller dimensions rather than increasingly larger ones, reverses the classification downward from Type Ⅰ-minus to Type Omega-minus:

Type Ⅰ-minus is capable of manipulating objects over the scale of themselves: building structures, mining, joining and breaking solids; Type Ⅱ-minus is capable of manipulating genes and altering the development of living things, transplanting or replacing parts of themselves, reading and engineering their genetic code; Type Ⅲ-minus is capable of manipulating molecules and molecular bonds, creating new materials; Type Ⅳ-minus is capable of manipulating individual atoms, creating nanotechnologies on the atomic scale and creating complex forms of artificial life; Type Ⅴ-minus is capable of manipulating the atomic nucleus and engineering the nucleons that compose it;
Type ⅤI-minus is capable of manipulating the most elementary particles of matter (quarks and leptons) to create organized complexity among populations of elementary particles; culminating in. Type Omega-minus is capable of manipulating the basic structure of space and time.^[20] According to this scale, human civilization is between III- and IV-minus.

Robert Zubrin adapts the Kardashev scale to refer to how widespread a civilization is in space, rather than to its energy use. In his definition, a Type I civilization has spread across its planet, a Type II has extensive colonies in its respective stellar system, and a Type III has colonized its galaxy.^[21]

Examples in science fiction

Type 0

A Type 0 civilization extracts its energy, information, raw-materials from crude organic-based sources (i.e. food/wood/fossil fuel/books/oral tradition); pressures via natural disaster, selection, and societal collapse creates extreme (99.9%) risk of extinction; it's capable of orbital spaceflight; in fiction, societies that fail to improve social, environmental and medical understanding concurrently with other advancements, frequently accelerated their own extinction:^[22][23]

• Cyberpunk genre (and post-cyberpunk) is frequently centered on the transitional inter-periods between Type-0 and Type-I status. While frequently focused on how the concepts of "Transhumanism" and "Singularity" will eventually overcome the problems that have, up until now, been endemic to human nature, Cyberpunk subverts this to describe the Dystopian side should a civilization "self-destruct" in the process of achieving Type-I status. In such fiction, most current world problems are local in warfare, local in culture, and usually mono-cultural; further aggravated by various groups trying to retain a Type-0 monoculture through religious fanaticism and proponents of entrenched scientific theories about to be superseded, in opposition to others trying to move forward to a Type-I global civilization through technological advances and institutional change.^[24][25][26]

Type I

A Type I civilization extracts its energy, information, and raw-materials from fusion power, hydrogen, and other "high-density" renewable-resources; is capable of interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary communication, megascale engineering, and colonization, medical and technological singularity, planetary engineering, world government, trade and defense, and stellar system-scale influence; but are still vulnerable to extinction:

• Mundane science fiction is frequently characterized by its setting on a "Type I Earth", or within the "Sol"-solar system, and a lack of interstellar travel or contact with aliens.

• In Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, which takes place in the 22nd century, mostly in Walt Disney World. Disney World is run by rival adhocracies, each dedicated to providing the best experience to the park's visitors and competing for the Whuffie the guests offer. Synthesized memory, suspended animation, life extension, rejuvenation and genetic enhancement technologies have made death obsolete, material goods are no longer scarce, and everyone is granted basic human rights that in our present age are mostly considered luxuries.^[27]

• In Gears of War, the humans of Sera have obtained type I status. By 16 A.E. they were capable of controlling the weather, using the Adaptive Atmospheric Manipulator which would create artificial hurricanes.

Type II

A Type II civilization extracts fusion energy, information, and raw-materials from multiple solar systems; it is capable of evolutionary intervention, interstellar travel, interstellar communication, stellar engineering, terraforming, and star cluster-scale influence; the resulting proliferation and diversification would theoretically negate the probability of extinction:

• In the Ringworld series by Larry Niven, a ring a million miles wide is built and spun (for gravity) around a star roughly one astronomical unit away. The ring can be viewed as a functional version of a Dyson sphere with the interior surface area of 3 million Earth-sized planets. Because it is only a partial Dyson sphere, it can be viewed as an intermediary between Type I and Type II. Both Dyson spheres and the Ringworld suffer from gravitational instability, however—a major focus of the Ringworld series is coping with this instability in the face of partial collapse of the Ringworld civilization.
• Stephen Baxter's "Morlock" of The Time Ships occupy a spherical shell around the sun the diameter of earth's orbit, spinning for gravity along one band. The shell's inner surface along this band is inhabited by cultures in many lower stages of development, while the K II Morlock civilization uses the entire structure for power and computation.^{[citation needed]}
• In John Scalzi's Old Man's War universe, the Consu have harnessed the entire output of their home system's star (and are implied to have done it more than once), given intelligence to an entire species (the Obin) and give away technology that creates new fields of mathematics in order to just describe it.
• In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", the Enterprise discovers an abandoned Dyson sphere.^[28]
• In the Halo universe, the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the hostile alien society known as the Covenant have barely begun to attain Type II status. The UNSC is shown to be able to induce a star to go supernova, limited amounts of terraforming and has a territory consisting of more than 800 planetary systems. The Covenant are able to perform exceedingly accurate slipspace navigation, near-instantaneous interstellar communication and man-portable application of energy manipulation.^[29]
• In the Mass Effect Universe, according to Michio Kaku,^[30] Humanity has advanced to a Type II civilization, having uplifted earth species, colonized several planets, and competing with other Type II civilizations (such as the Asari, Salarians, and Turians).^[31]
• In StarTrek Universe according to Michio Kaku, most civilizations are Type II.

Type III

A Type III civilization extracts fusion energy, information, and raw-materials from all possible star-clusters; it's capable of intergalactic travel via wormholes,^[32] intergalactic communication, galactic engineering and galaxy-scale influence:

• Michio Kaku, in a lecture, said that the Star Wars fictional universe is considered as Type III despite lacking intergalactic travel or communication.^[32]
• In Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon. The stellar energy output of the whole galaxy is used by the Galactic Community of Worlds.^[33]
• While not much is known about them, the Ancient Humanoids from Star Trek have manipulated the course of biological evolution across the entire galaxy billions of years ago. As a result, the vast majority of species in the Milky Way is humanoid, and possess a secret code embedded in their DNA.^[34]
• The Scrin from Command & Conquer are on this level having an interstellar empire & creating wormholes to travel
• The Asgard from Stargate have achieved beaming technology, intergalactic hyperdrives, and plasma beam weapons, and are one of the most advanced races in the Stargate universe.

The races from Andromeda are a type III having intergalactic Slipspace Drives as well making space stations the size of a solar system.

Type IV

A Type Ⅳ civilization extracts energy, information, and raw materials from all possible galaxies; it is effectively immortal and omnipotent with universal-scale influence, possessing the ability of theoretical time travel and instantaneous matter-energy transformation and teleportation (their apparent abilities may include moving entire asteroid belts and stars, creating alternate timelines, and affecting universal states of nature such as the gravitational constant); in fiction, these civilizations may be perceived as omnipresent/omnipotent gods:

• The First Ones from Babylon 5- The First Ones are the ancient alien races of the galaxy, the first organisms to achieve sentience and the first to become spacefaring. By the time of the Babylon 5 series, many of them have transformed beings of energy who inhabit mechanical or biological suits. The first of the First Ones such as Lorien may be considered a Type V civilization who has transformed into god-like status.
• The Combine from the Half-Life video game series are a Type III or Type IV multi-dimensional empire capable of traversing between Universes.
• Certain factions of Humanity in Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga and Void Saga would be Type IV: death has been all but removed, and transportation via wormholes and teleportation has been achieved. Some factions have technology to move planets with a hyperdrive.
• The backstory of The Dancers at the End of Time series by Michael Moorcock describes a civilization which consumed all the energy in all the stars in the universe, save Earth's own star, in order to fuel an existence in which the inheritors of Earth lived as near omnipotent gods.^[35]
• In a rare mention of the scale within a work of fiction, the Doctor Who novel The Gallifrey Chronicles, a Time Lord named Marnal asserts that "the Time Lords were the Type-4 civilization. We had no equals. We controlled the fundamental forces of the entire universe. Nothing could communicate with us on our level." It also could be argued that the Daleks—also from Doctor Who—were a Type Ⅳ civilization at the time of the Last Great Time War, as they had the same universe-altering capabilities of the Time Lords.^[36] Throughout the entirety of the TV series' history, Timelords have been shown to manipulate the very fabric of the universe, such as the TARDIS being powered by a dying star caught in the event horizon of a black hole (the tenth doctor had mentioned that timelords invented gravity in the satan pit.) As suggested in Genesis of the Daleks, Time Lords also are capable of manipulating the evolution of life itself, including themselves when they gave themselves their ability to cheat death.
• Michio Kaku, in a lecture, said that in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the god-like Q Continuum could be considered above Type Ⅳ, drawing their energy from outside the universe.
• The Players of The New Cosmogony, a fictional Nobel Prize oration in A Perfect Vacuum by Stanisław Lem, are altering the laws of physics for their own purposes.^[37]
• In Lexx, a character named Mantrid uses exponential growth to make copies upon copies of his constructor arms called "Mantrid drones", eventually using all the matter in the light universe, which ends up destroying the universe when too much matter accumulates in one place, "unbalancing" it.
• In The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov, a sentient species from another universe reaches Type Ⅰ in conjunction with humanity, by developing a technique of exchanging electrons and protons across universes. To combat the flux of energy, humans reach Type Ⅳ by developing a technique of harvesting the energy from yet another universe, which exists in a pre-big-bang state, or a "Cosmic Egg" state.
• In the Bionicle universe, the Great Beings attained this type. While they have not been shown travelling through space, they have shown to be capable of constructing a 40 million foot high sentient robot that is capable of moving planets, and capable of creating fully sentient and synthetic cyborg civilizations. They have the ability to genetically engineer creatures to give them the ability to control select elements, i.e. earth, fire, water, etc., and they have also . Amongst their notable achievements are objects capable of manipulating fundamental forces of the universe, such as the Mask of Life and the Mask of Creation. They also possess the ability to travel between dimensions and even universes.
• The immortal "Guardians of the Universe", creators of the Green Lantern Corps (DC Comics), have manipulated events on an intergalactic scale for three billion years.
• The Xeelee from Stephen Baxter's Xeelee Sequence are present throughout the universe, have instantaneous communication and constructed an artifact 10 million light years across, using the material of many galaxies. They possess time travel capabilities which they used to construct closed timelike curves in which they modified their own evolution, becoming the most advanced baryonic civilization.
• The "Ancients" from the multiple Stargate series. The building of wormhole travel devices, time travel devices as well as the potential to bridge parallel universes for the purpose of travel and energy production classify these as a class IV civilization. The Stargate Atlantis series is based on technology hundreds of thousands of years beyond that of space travel on a universal scale, as shown in the Stargate Universe series, potentially classifying them as class V, but with no proof.
• The Forerunners from the Halo series are also to be classified as a Type IV civilization. They had the power to move planets at will, and create ringworlds (Halo Rings) whose purpose was to destroy all organic life in the galaxy in the event of contamination of the Flood. They also had the capabilities to create "Shield Worlds" (essentially Micro - Dyson Spheres) which contained a time locked reality, which is much larger on the inside. They created ships that could travel across the galaxy in a matter of seconds, and had a galaxy-wide information network that could be accessed at any time from anywhere in said galaxy. They had the ability to manipulate gravitational force, create synthetic intelligence, fabricate extremely dense and artificial materials, perform highly accurate slipspace navigation, the ability to create life, and the ability to create worlds powered by man-made stars.^[29] It could've been argued that the Forerunners are only a Type III civilization because they are mostly confined to their own galaxy, but it was revealed in Halo: Silentium that the Forerunner species existed outside this galaxy in the Large Magellenic Cloud. Their power sources are said to draw energy from entire alternate universes.
• Though this can be disputed, humanity in Tron can be considered to be borderline type IV. The Grid is a man-made construct, and is also an alternate dimension within a computer where humans (known as users) have absolute control, including the ability to add new programs into the world. In a sense, the programs are a new form of intelligent life, who worship the users as gods.

Type V, and beyond

Such hypothetical civilizations have either transcended their universe of origin or arose within a multiverse or other higher-order membrane of existence, and are capable of universe-scale manipulation of individual discrete universes from an external frame of reference. In fiction, their "god-like" artifacts or endowed abilities (such as monolith) find their way into the hands of relatively juvenile "Type 0" civilizations (such as humanity):

• The 2011 "God and the Universe" episode of the American History Channel television series The Universe explored the possibility of sufficiently advanced civilizations custom-building new universes.^[38]
• The organization known as the Infinite Consortium from Magic: the Gathering stretches between the planes of existence throughout the multiverse.^{[citation needed]}
• The Downstreamers from Manifold: Time, after completely controlling their universe, used time travel to induce the creation of a multiverse.^{[citation needed]}
• In the webcomic Homestuck, the unknown creators of the game "Sburb", as the game is capable of altering reality, opening wormholes, endowing players with godlike capabilities (e.g. control of time or space, creating objects out of nothing, transforming into wind, etc.), and creating or destroying entire universes, along with all of their individual timelines.
• Various cosmic entities from Marvel comics continuity possess powers at the IV or V level.
• The Sublimed from the Culture series seem to have capabilities at the type IV or V level.

Connections with sociology and anthropology

Kardashev's theory can be viewed as the expansion of some social theories, especially from social evolutionism. It is close to the theory of Leslie White, author of The Evolution of Culture: The Development of Civilization to the Fall of Rome (1959). White attempted to create a theory explaining the entire history of humanity. The most important factor in his theory is technology: Social systems are determined by technological systems, wrote White in his book, echoing the earlier theory of Lewis Henry Morgan. As a measure of society advancement, he proposed the measure of energy consumption of a given society (thus his theory is known as the energy theory of cultural evolution). He differentiates between five stages of human development. In the first stage, people use energy of their own muscles. In the second stage, they use energy of domesticated animals. In the third stage, they use the energy of plants (which White refers to as agricultural revolution). In the fourth stage, they learn to use the energy of natural resources—such as coal, oil, and gas. Finally, in the fifth stage, they harness nuclear energy. White introduced a formula P=E×T, where P measures the advancement of the culture, E is a measure of energy consumed, and T is the measure of efficiency of technical factors utilizing the energy.^{[citation needed]}

Criticism

It has been argued that, because we cannot understand advanced civilizations, we cannot predict their behavior. Thus the Kardashev scale may not be relevant or useful for classifying extraterrestrial civilizations. This central argument is found in the book Evolving the Alien: The Science of Extraterrestrial Life.^[39]