Higher Self / Lower Self

Consciousness is vast. It is cosmic. It is also multi-dimensional. This means that what we experience as consciousness is a limited display of it, just as if a man stands by the beach and sees a small wave coming to him. He sees the action of the ocean but that is a small, very small, part of it.

There are levels of consciousness as for instance when a man drinks liquor and begins to act silly. That is also a type of consciousness, as compared to if he took some milk instead where that may give him energy to act in a socially constructive way.

As for Lord Krishna, he is extra-ordinary, multi-dimensional. He exists in more than one place or level of consciousness simultaneously. His presence as a physical being on the battlefield in no way causes his other existences to reduced. He is simultaneously the physical Krishna, the supernatural person in the Universal Form (VishvaRupa - chapter 11 of Gita) and more. Like for instance he is also the MahaVishnu who produced the creator-god Brahma.

In our case as limited selves (atma, jivatmas), we have potential a higher self but with Krishna that does not apply. He is his conscious higher self. He does not have a lower manifestation which requires elevation.

There is some confusion in India however where some teachers explain that there is a lower and then a higher self and that we should adopt or become that higher self only. Actually, the situation is that we only have one self (atma). This one self has two types of behaviors one which is lower and one which is higher. It is the same self in each case but under lower or higher influences. When this same self is under a lower influence, it is regarded by some as the lower self and then when it is under a higher influence, it is regarded as having repossessed itself and become its higher self. But the truth is that it is the same self plus or minus certain influences.

These influences are tagged in the Bhagavad Gita as the three gunas (moods of mental and emotional energy). But higher than the three gunas there is another influence which come from Krishna or from Rama. That makes for four influences total.

Lord Krishna is different and should not be regarded as a limited self, otherwise why do we have the word paramatma. This paramatma is Krishna. He is param because he is not limited as we are. He is the supreme self with special attributes which exempt him from limitations and lower influences.

In our case, the self must be upgraded from lower to higher. And that depends on the influences which prevail over us at one time or another.