Acharya Prashant explains that the question of how a material body becomes conscious is a great mystery with no definitive answer, much like the question of how it becomes unconscious at death. He references Ramana Maharshi, who spoke of a 'knot of the inert and the conscious' (Jad-Chetan Granthi), which is the point where the material body meets pure consciousness. According to Ramana Maharshi, this knot is the root cause of all human suffering, and the goal is to sever it. However, Acharya Prashant clarifies that this is a symbolic way of pointing towards something about which nothing concrete can be said. He emphasizes that it is not necessary to know the origin of consciousness. The more pertinent and topical question is how this consciousness acquires suffering and how it can be liberated from it. He describes consciousness as a mystery, a kind of 'sandwich' between freedom and the material. Our consciousness is part transcendental and part physical, and it suffers precisely because of this 'in-betweenness.' It is neither fully transcendental nor fully material, and this state is the source of suffering. To overcome this suffering, one must resolve this duality. Consciousness has a material component, as evidenced by how brain activity affects it. Yet, it also shows characteristics that are not material and seems to suffer from its contact with the material world. There are two ways to end this suffering: one is to become fully material, either through death or through intoxicants that lower consciousness to a chemical level, offering temporary relief. The other way, which is the spiritual approach, is to rise up and leave the material far behind, moving fully towards the transcendental. The problem lies in the middle ground, and one must choose to either move fully towards the sky (transcendence) or sink into the earth (materiality).
