About Edi Bilimoria
Edi Bilimoria
DPhil, FIMechE, FEI, FRSA
Born in India and educated at the universities of London, Sussex and Oxford, Edi Bilimoria presents an unusual blend of experience in the fields of science, the arts and philosophy.
Professionally, Edi was a consultant engineer to the petrochemical, oil and gas, transport, and construction industries. He was Project Manager and Head of Design for major innovative projects such as the Channel Tunnel, London Underground systems, and offshore installations. He also worked in safety and environmental engineering and management for several Royal Navy projects, including the Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier and the fleet of River-class offshore patrol vessels. Edi’s Rolls-Royce funded doctoral research paper on gas turbine thermofluids was awarded the Thomas Lowe Gray Prize by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He has also received industry ‘recognition of achievement’ and ‘impact achievements’ awards for safety and environmental management of petrochemical complexes and defence projects.
A student of the perennial philosophy for over half a century, Edi has given courses and lectured extensively in the UK, and internationally in California, the Netherlands, India, and Australia. He has organized and chaired conferences in order to encourage the cross-fertilization of ideas in the fields of science, religion and practical philosophy. He worked as Education Manager for the Theosophical Society in Australia developing courses and study papers, researching, lecturing and organizing international conferences; as well as supervising the Research Library, National Media Library, National Members Lending Library and the development of the website.
Edi has published many informative articles and papers in the disciplines of science, engineering, and esoteric philosophy. In 2007, his book The Snake and the Rope was awarded the Book Prize by the Scientific and Medical Network (SMN). In 2022, this present work, consisting of four volumes, was awarded the SMN’s Grand Prize. Applauded by many, it is considered to be the most penetrating and all-embracing work on consciousness written in decades, and possibly ever.
For many years Edi was a Board Director of the SMN. He now serves as a Trustee of the SMN, in an advisory capacity to the Board, and as a Consultant to the Steering Group of the SMN’s Galileo Commission, a project for promoting an expanded and humane worldview in a new science of consciousness.
Edi is also a Trustee and Council Member of the Francis Bacon Society.
An enthusiastic glider pilot for many years, Edi is a choral singer and a dedicated pianist of concert standard.
Summary
The benefit of Edi’s work in science and engineering is that it has enabled him to understand and approach interdisciplinary problems in an innovative, lateral-thinking manner under time and budgetary constraints. It has also provided the necessary team-working, supervision and management skills with the opportunity to actuate eternal principles on an organizational level, in line with his belief that spirituality is reserved not only for quiet retreats, but also applies to daily working life.
The outcome of Edi’s involvement in music and the perennial philosophy is a discernment of the higher laws governing all life and existence, at all levels, and the necessity of striving to live with integrity according to this realization.
His most recent book, Consciousness Came First, offers an accessible introduction to the themes explored in his acclaimed four-volume magnum opus, Unfolding Consciousness: Exploring the Living Universe and Intelligent Powers in Nature and Humans. Together, these works challenge prevailing materialist assumptions and explore consciousness as a fundamental principle underlying both nature and human experience.