Consciousness is the distinctive and defining future of human condition. Its study is at once fascinating and frustrating, because consciousness is too familiar to ignore and too complex and elusive to understand and explain. Many consider understanding consciousness the greatest challenge facing twenty-first-century science. Cultivating Consciousness is an absorbing East West dialogue on the conceptual, methodical and theoretical issues. In this unique collection of scholarly articles by eminent researchers in and exponents of consciousness studies we find transdisciplinary discussions on the nature of consciousness, the methods of studying it, the relevance of consciousness to our values and its role in enhancing human potentials and wellness. Ramakrishna Rao discusses consciousness from the perspective of classical Indian thought in separate chapters devoted to Yoga, Advaita and Buddhism, and contrasts the Indian views with those in the West. Over all, the book gives the nature of things to come, the controversies and complexities involved and the imminent clash of paradigms. This volume is more than a study in contrast; it is an intellectual bridge that facilitates the travel and exchange between the spiritual and scientific traditions of East and West and between first-person and third-person perspectives.

Papers presented at the conference on "Cultivating Consciousness for Enhancing Human Potential, Wellness and Healing", held at Durham during 8-10 November 1991.