Hi friends, how are you?
Today, I want to discuss a profound question that a very young girl recently asked me. Her question cuts to the core of personal responsibility and destiny: Is what is happening to me God-created, or am I truly responsible for my own reality?
This question immediately brought me back to my own youth. I remember hearing the saying everywhere: “Without God’s will, a leaf does not move.” I used to ponder this deeply. If a leaf cannot move without His will, then who am I? I mean, if He wills it, I will study engineering. If He wills it, I will pursue medicine. If He wills it, I will remain uneducated.
If that is the case, who am I? Do I have any individual will at all? Am I just a puppet—a mere tool in the hands of the Almighty? I was utterly confused about the extent of my own agency.
This mental fog, this confusion about my own power, only increased over time. But thankfully, the answer came when I immersed myself in a powerful philosophy—a spiritual framework that introduced me to the concept of Nine Consciousnesses.
Checkout: Mental Health: The Matters That Matter
The Nine Consciousnesses: How We Perceive Reality
This concept is essential to understanding your mind power and why you are the primary force shaping your life.
In this philosophy, it is taught that our experience of the world is filtered through different layers of consciousness:
The First Five (Sensory Organs): These are the five senses—what we hear, speak, taste, see, and touch. They are the conduits through which raw data enters our system.
The Sixth Consciousness (Information Collector): This is where information is collected and registered, like a camera capturing an image. It registers the facts: what happened.
The Seventh Consciousness (The Perceiver/Ego): This is the layer that takes the raw data and processes it—it dictates how we perceive it, and how we attach meaning to it.
Let me give you an example to illustrate the difference between the sixth (collection) and the seventh (perception):
Imagine three of us are sitting by a window. Suddenly, a person runs past.
Sixth Consciousness (Facts): We all observe the same facts: “The man was about 40 years old, wearing a white shirt, blue jeans, and goggles. He was running away fast.”
Person A: Immediately jumps up, thinking, “He must have stolen something! Let’s call the police and create an issue!”
Person B: Shrugs and says, “Leave me alone; I’m talking to you. It’s none of my business.”
Person C: Gets up with concern, thinking, “Maybe he needed help.” That person goes outside and says, “Bhai sir, can I help you?”
Why did all three people perceive the exact same event so differently? Why is one calling the police, one ignoring it, and one trying to help?
The action is the same—a man running. But the reaction is driven by something much deeper.
The Eighth Consciousness: The Storehouse of Our Programming
The reason for this variance lies in the Eighth Consciousness. This is often called the “Storehouse Consciousness.” It is the repository of everything that has programmed you:
Old Sanskaras (Karma): Your habits, tendencies, and residual energy from past lives (if you believe in them).
Current Life Conditioning: The environment in which you grew up—your parents, your education, your culture, your friendships, and the narratives you absorbed.
All these elements make up your sanskars, or deep-seated patterns, through which you process your thoughts. You see everything according to this programming.
Person A, who called the police, might have been raised in an environment of suspicion or fear, where they were constantly told to look out for danger.
Person C, who offered help, might have been raised with boundless compassion, where the impulse is always to care for others.
The Eighth Consciousness controls us, acting like colored glasses through which the world is viewed. Some people are quick to anger and lash out because that is the established sanskar (programming). This leads to the different perceptions in the Seventh Consciousness (some doing good, some doing bad) and, consequently, the different actions or karma (calling the police vs. offering aid).
We often say, “It is God’s will; He made me angry, He made me do this, I had no choice.” We shift the blame onto Him. But in reality, we are simply behaving according to our own ingrained sanskars. This means we have become puppets of our own programming, not of God.
This is the crucial step for taking control of your mental health. If you are perpetually angry, anxious, or depressed, it is because the Eighth Consciousness—the old programming—is dominating your reactions.
The Ninth Consciousness: The Ultimate Free Will and Mind Power
So, are we doomed to be governed by our past programming? Absolutely not!
God has given us a glorious, final level: the Ninth Consciousness. This is your Free Consciousness—pure, untainted, and powerful. It is the inherent wisdom and purity within you, the part of you that is inherently divine and unconditioned.
This Ninth Consciousness holds the key to your self-mastery and the creation of a healthy relationship with yourself and the world.
How do we strengthen the Ninth Consciousness?
Good Karmas (Actions): By consciously choosing to perform good deeds, we create positive causes that purify the entire system.
Good Literature and Learning: By reading good books, engaging with uplifting philosophy, and learning from ethical, mind power masters, we flood our minds with clarity.
Prayer and Spirituality: Through consistent prayer, meditation, and spiritual practice, we connect with the highest, purest aspect of ourselves.
As we strengthen the Ninth Consciousness, we can rise above the control of the Eighth Consciousness—which, in this context, can sometimes feel like a ‘devil’ or a self-sabotaging demon.
You get to issue a command: “I don’t want to be governed by you anymore! I don’t want to see the world through the negative, prejudiced, or angry lens of my past programming.”
You can choose to swap those red, angry glasses for clear ones.
If we do good karmas, if we read good literature, if we pray, we will see everything clearly. We will no longer be trapped by our conditioned reactions.
Another Example of Perception
Think about this second, simpler example:
Someone is breaking something off a tree in a park.
Child (Sees through the lens of mischief): “He is naughty!”
Hungry Person (Sees through the lens of need): “He must be hungry.”
Suspicious Neighbor (Sees through the lens of conflict): “His neighbor must have sent him to ruin the orchard.”
The single action is just a person breaking a branch. But our internal programming dictates our interpretation, which then shapes our emotion and our subsequent action.
Taking Charge of Your Mental Health and Destiny
The beautiful answer to the young girl’s question is this: God created you with the Ninth Consciousness, the ultimate power of choice, which makes you responsible for your actions and your perceptions.
You are not a puppet of God; you are the architect of your destiny, given the ultimate tool—pure, free will—to overcome your past conditioning.
This understanding is the cornerstone of great personal transformation. If you are struggling with your mental health, it is time to stop blaming external factors (or God) and start strengthening your inner core.
Daily Practice: Choose one good karma today.
Daily Input: Read one page of inspiring, uplifting content today.
Daily Focus: Dedicate five minutes to quiet meditation or purposeful prayer to connect with your Ninth Consciousness.
This is the process of purification. This is how you change your inner world so that when you look out the window, your default reaction is one of compassion, clarity, and constructive action, not anger, fear, or withdrawal.
If you want to understand the challenges I had to overcome to achieve this level of clarity—to conquer the devil of my own Eighth Consciousness and become the person I am today—then you must read my autobiography (which documents my struggles with debt, court cases, and the emotional turmoil of rebuilding my life). It is the raw, detailed account of how I strengthened my Ninth Consciousness through relentless good karma and focused spiritual effort.
Don’t let your past programming define your future. You have the supreme power within you. Utilize your Ninth Consciousness and see your world transform.
