Exploring the Nature of Consciousness

Francis Lucille is a spiritual teacher of the tradition of Advaita Vedanta (non-duality). He became a disciple of Jean Klein, a French Advaita teacher whom he met in 1975. This was the beginning of a close association that lasted until the death of his friend and spiritual master in 1998. Jean Klein's own guru, "Panditji" Rao, whom he met in India in the nineteen-fifties, was a college professor in Bangalore who taught Sanskrit and belonged to a lineage of traditional Advaita Vedanta teachers. www.francislucille.com. Interview recorded 10/29/2012 Summary and Transcript of this interview. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Francis Lucille 00:02:54 - The Impossibility of Proving Consciousness 00:05:58 - The Belief in Limited Consciousness and its Revolt 00:08:51 - The Search for Truth 00:11:26 - The Reality of Consciousness 00:14:08 - The Reality of Consciousness 00:16:30 - Discrimination between the perceiver and the perceived 00:19:04 - The Journey to Enlightenment 00:21:56 - The Difference Between Intellectual Understanding and Realization 00:24:18 - A Zen Story about Satori 00:27:08 - Establishing Peace and Happiness 00:29:35 - The Journey to the Summit 00:32:00 - The Importance of Physical Proximity in Transmission 00:34:43 - Becoming Addicted and Finding True Nature 00:37:28 - The Natural State of Fulfillment 00:39:43 - Enjoying the Show and Following Your Heart 00:41:20 - The Value of Exemplarity 00:43:40 - The Watershed Moment of Enlightenment 00:46:01 - Incremental Glimpses of Consciousness 00:48:15 - Glimpses of Not-Being 00:50:29 - The Litmus Test for Awakening 00:53:04 - The Three States of Consciousness 00:55:53 - The Unity of God in Sufism 00:59:30 - Expanding Consciousness and Connecting with Others 01:02:07 - The Body Expanded to the Size of the Universe and Contains All Things 01:04:37 - The Surprise of Absolute Happiness 01:06:24 - Recognizing the Love for Truth 01:08:56 - The Miraculous Intelligence in Everything 01:11:24 - The Divine qualities in consciousness 01:13:42 - The Bird Enjoys the Singing 01:15:36 - Gratitude for Donations and Closing Remarks