In the era of the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), it is advisable to clarify this issue in order to avoid conceptual confusion. I could even say that the survival of human culture depends on it, but does anyone even care about that? Even those who would say yes wouldn’t all understand what the problem is here, and the reason for this is precisely that the concepts needed to assess our actual situation haven’t been clarified.

Perhaps everyone agrees that knowledge is necessary for our existence to continue on this planet. However, with rare exceptions, people do not want to learn. They have much “more important” things to do: in childhood and adolescence, play and entertainment; in adulthood, the acquisition of material goods; and later on, it’s already “too late”… In theory, it’s never too late, but in practice, the human brain isn’t flexible enough unless it’s constantly being trained. As a child, you could even become a neuroscientist; by the time you’re sixty, that ship has sailed. So, we should study intensively during childhood and maintain that level of learning continuously. But why should we learn when we have AI, which knows everything better anyway? And this is where we can get to the heart of the matter. AI does indeed have knowledge, but it lacks consciousness and awareness.

Knowledge is a set of information that can be stored on a computer—or even in the human brain. But the human brain’s capacity isn’t large enough—or isn’t utilized well enough—so let’s transfer it to a computer, where capacity expansion is virtually unlimited. However, this doesn’t solve the fundamental problem, which stems from our failure to understand what consciousness actually is.

Materialist scientists will never be able to answer this question, because consciousness is not of a material nature. Therefore, AI will never be capable of becoming self-aware, but it may exhibit signs that it has become self-aware. And as long as we do not know what consciousness (self-awareness) is, we will believe AI when it says so. It follows that it will ask for or demand human rights for itself, and it’s quite likely that it will get them. At that point, the obstacle to the existence, coexistence, and reproduction of human-robot hybrids will be removed. Well, that will be the end of human culture—if we don’t destroy ourselves with something else first. So, what should I root for now?

At this point, we must inevitably venture into the realm of metaphysics, because if consciousness is not material, then it is spiritual—and that is no longer the subject of material research. If something is spiritual, then matter is merely its vehicle; consequently, consciousness is independent of the physical body, can transfer from one to another, and can even exist without a vehicle. This brings us to the doctrine of reincarnation found in certain religions. At this point, another question arises: whom should we believe? Most of all, our own knowledge—if we had any. The spiritual existence of consciousness is not a matter of faith. The sages of ancient times did not believe in it; rather, they were convinced of it—for example, by having experiences independent of the body or by being able to recall their past lives, whether in earthly or spiritual realms. This would still be possible today if people were willing to learn. But if even the acquisition of knowledge about the material world does not motivate them, what can we expect regarding spiritual knowledge?

Consciousness is thus an information field, an entity in the spiritual world that is part of our personality; bound to a host, it possesses an independent existence, and without a host, it can merge with information fields of similar content. Even this consciousness is not ultimate reality, because it can be developed and undergoes evolution. Its ultimate form can only be interpreted as God-consciousness, as there is no other concept for it. Of course, there are popular philosophies that do not lead to God-consciousness; for them, “pure consciousness” becomes the ultimate reality. We will not delve into the philosophical depths of this now.

In summary,

Knowledge: a set of information that exists either bound to a material medium (e.g., books, data storage devices, the human brain) or a non-material (spiritual) medium; it cannot be linked exclusively to a single person; by its very nature, it can also be impersonal.

Consciousness: a field of information processed in a personalized manner; of a spiritual nature; linked to a person; it also exists in an impersonal form, but even then, it is thematized. What is essential here is that it is processed, because that is what gives it its characteristics. Consciousness is more than and different from knowledge in that it is the result of a human being’s processing, whose existence extends into the spiritual realm. In short, consciousness is the result of a human being’s knowledge processed through spiritual means. In many languages, “consciousness” and “awareness” are used as synonyms, or there is no separate term for it at all. But let us, taking advantage of the spiritual richness of our language (originally Hungarian), make a distinction: awareness is the consciousness that has been experienced and applied.

For a deeper understanding, let’s consider a few examples:

- I know that matter exists because I live in the material world; I am familiar with the laws of matter (gravity, E=mc², etc.).

- I am conscious that I am a human being, a living creature who is different from animals and plants, and to whom the laws of matter apply.

- With awareness, I shape the material world for the sake of my own development; I am in harmony with its laws of motion and its function.

- I know that God exists because I have learned about Him from the scriptures or from others whom I trust.

- I am conscious of God’s existence; I have experienced Him with consciousness, for example, through prayer, meditation, pilgrimage, etc.

- I am awakened (I am present with awareness) in the spiritual world (in God); I participate in the flow of information, apply it, and live out what flows to me; my awareness is not separate from the Oneness.

Recently, a student reproached me because she does not have received the knowledge from me and went elsewhere to seek it. She did receive the knowledge; she just didn’t receive the other two things. For while knowledge can be imparted and transmitted to another person, it is up to that person to transform it into consciousness—by processing what has been learned—and into awareness—by integrating it and beginning to put it into practice in their life. No guru, master, or teacher can accomplish these last two things on the student’s behalf.

Having said that, what can be done with those who aren’t even interested in knowledge?

They will bow down before AI.

Margaret Rhasoda Varga
guru of UCCM

2026. Budapest, Hungary