Acharya Prashant explains that to be conscious means to have choices and to realize that you are not bound or conditioned to move in one particular way determined by the material forces of existence. It means having volition, agency, and the freedom to choose. While we all think we are conscious, real consciousness exists only when there is real choice, which can only happen in real freedom. Unfortunately, most of our choices are not made in freedom. Therefore, even though there are apparent choices and a choosing agency, there is no real, free consciousness. We all live in apparently free but actually caged and constrained consciousnesses. When asked if animals are conscious, Acharya Prashant clarifies that in the sense that human beings must be, animals cannot be called conscious. In their own dimension, animals are conscious, but their consciousness is algorithm-driven. It is appropriate for an animal to operate purely by its natural (Prakritik) algorithm. The consciousness an animal exhibits is again very algorithm-driven. For example, if an animal is breathing, moving, and seeking food, we call it conscious, and that is an appropriate parameter for animals because their very paradigm is different. An animal is conscious if it is following its physical, biological nature. However, the same cannot be said for human beings. The parameter for human consciousness is free choice. A human being must exceed their physicality, materiality, and biology, which is termed 'Prakriti' in Vedantic terms. A human being limiting themselves to their physical mandate must be called unconscious, even if they exhibit all the classical attributes of consciousness like eating, breathing, and even thinking. A human is conscious only if they are free; if there is no love for freedom, they are not conscious. A bad choice must be an unconscious choice, as in consciousness, whatever is done is alright. The distinction between good and bad is not a moral one but is based on the quality of one's consciousness. The need for this inquiry arises from the restlessness of an unfulfilled consciousness, which is the human condition.