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Ontology of Consciousness

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Ontological Commitment

by David Bruce Hughes

Every time we make a statement about anything, we knowingly or unknowingly reference an ontology. An ontology is a collection of descriptions of the world that helps us define the meaning of our experience and actions. A metaphysics is an ontology; so is a science, a religion, a culture and many arts, such as music.

For example, simply using the word ontology or ontological immediately invokes a whole science of meaning, along with its technical vocabulary and specialized terminology. Similarly, mention music and you link to a vast historical and contemporary repertoire of music, musicians, musical styles, technique, theory, interpretation, etc.

Ontologies are far more than definitions of terms; they are definitions of concepts: the thoughts in our minds that terms represent. Whenever we use a term in a certain sense, we invoke the concept it represents. Concepts do not stand alone, but form contexts that more fully qualify their meaning; a context complete with a full metaphysical structure is an ontology.

Therefore, just as no one can avoid making ontological implications, no one can avoid making ontological commitments. Nor can we divorce ourselves from making ontological judgments about people and situations. Our ontological commitments identify our level of consciousness and determine our possibilities—what we believe to be possible certainly delimits the scope of our activities. For example, if one does not believe that he is smart enough to understand ontology, it is very unlikely that anyone can teach it to him with any amount of effort.

Ontologies are necessary because we require more information than just the immediate experiential facts to determine the meaning of a thing or process. We need a map to remind us where we are in the forest while we deal with the trees. An ontology is such a map, supplying additional contextual information and effectively increasing our intelligence.

The more consciously aware we are of our ontological commitments, the clearer we will be about the meaning of our life and ourselves as persons. The more we make our ontological commitments explicit, the better we communicate our understandings with others. Anyone who is unaware or unsure of their ontological commitment is certainly at a disadvantage.

Vedic Ontology

Vedic texts express a very high degree of ontological commitment. Scriptures like Bhagavad-gita and Vedanta-sutra do not stand alone, but remain integral parts of a vast ontological context: the Vedic literature. Analyzing the meaning of any Vedic scripture apart from its ontological context would be like a desert dweller, who has never seen a lake or ocean, trying to figure out the biology of a fish.

The Vedic literature contains numerous ontologies, all perfectly harmonious with the ultimate purpose of the Vedas: to help humankind attain self-realization. Srimad-Bhagavatam, the extensive commentary on Vedanta-sutra by its author Srila Vyasadeva, is especially rich in ontological content. The Second Canto describes the process of universal manifestation, and the Fifth Canto contains a very complete ontology of time and an amazingly accurate map of the solar system.

Thus, to speak in the Vedic context is to invoke a powerful ontology, a complete metaphysics and a science of consciousness unequaled elsewhere in literature. One who claims to represent the Vedic tradition must understand the Vedas on the ontological level, and must live according to the Vedic ontological model. This means he must be willing to accept instruction and initiation from a spiritual master in the Vedic disciplic lineage. Why? To validate his conception of the Vedic ontology. Beyond this external commitment, a sincere student of Vedic thought must also make a commitment to the Vedic ontological context, and personally realize the state of consciousness described in the original Vedic literature.

So far in the West we have seen very few teachers of the Vedic tradition who can speak from the Vedic ontological conception. Most seem to base their claim to teach Vedic wisdom on their status in a particular ecclesiastical organization. However, this is not the standard of Bhagavad-gita:

“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both.” [2.16]

The original Vedic sources are full of such highly metaphysical ontological statements qualifying the Vedic conception of reality. Only a student who grasps the ontological content is actually studying the Vedic tradition; others are studying mere arrangements of words. Explaining this in simple language to an unsophisticated audience without becoming dogmatic is the mark of a real Master. The greatest difficulty any student or teacher of Vedic wisdom faces is the ontological gap between Vedic sources and Western culture.

Western ontologies, even of spiritual or religious origin, tend to be based on the assumptions of Platonic metaphysics and Aristotelian logic. The Vedic ontology is a non-Newtonian metaphysics based on consciousness in a non-Euclidean space using non-Aristotelian logic. Therefore it is unsurprising that serious conceptual barriers to communication and understanding of Vedic subjects exist in Western culture. Our practical ontological work therefore should focus on becoming conscious of our ontological commitments, and clarifying those commitments with others. That is the purpose of any Vedic exegetical work, such as the Vedanta commentary of Srila Vyasadeva, the original author of Vedanta-sutra, entitled Srimad-Bhagavatam.