In his first major podcast appearance following the publication of Consciousness Came First, Dr Edi Bilimoria joins Brendon Orr on Podmasana to explore consciousness, perennial philosophy, and the profound question at the heart of both science and spirituality: does consciousness emerge from matter, or is consciousness itself fundamental?
If Part I challenged inherited assumptions and Part II disclosed the hidden work, Part III turns to the question that concerns us most directly: why does this matter now? In an age of unprecedented technical power and moral disorientation, Bacon’s legacy speaks to the urgent need to reunite knowledge with meaning.
If the Shakespearean works embody a mind trained in law, statecraft, diplomacy, classical learning and esoteric philosophy, then the question of authorship cannot be reduced to attribution alone. It becomes a question of intention – and therefore of historical consequence. Read in this light, the plays begin to appear not merely as literary achievements, but as a carefully fashioned instrument of consciousness, working upon the moral imagination of an age in transition.
As the 400th anniversary of Francis Bacon’s passing approaches, long-held assumptions about the Shakespearean works demand fresh scrutiny. This opening part examines the profound mismatch between the Stratford actor’s life and the depth of learning within the plays, and invites readers to consider the figure whose genius, training and esoteric purpose align far more closely with their creation.
Join us this Thursday, November 13, for a free webcast with Dr Edi Bilimoria—award-winning engineer, philosopher, and author of Unfolding Consciousness. Are Theosophy and modern science natural allies in humanity’s search for truth, or uneasy adversaries divided by method and belief? In this timely talk, Edi explores how reason and revelation may once again work together to unveil the deeper purpose of human evolution and the timeless truths of the Ancient Wisdom.
The modern fervour surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI) is undeniable. Daily headlines trumpet new algorithms passing yet another frontier of what we once considered exclusively human capability. But in this accelerating rush to replicate intelligence, have we paused to ask a more fundamental question: do we even truly understand what intelligence is?
Or, perhaps more critically: do we even understand what life is?
Whether we witness the heartbreaking demolition of the cultural heritage of Palmyra by the Islamic State, or the Taliban destruction of Afghanistan’s ancient Buddha statues, or the systematic destruction of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and centres of learning by the Chinese, or the whole sale burning of books on philosophy and esotericism from German libraries by Nazi mobs, the list is indeed depressingly long, but the playbook of all dictators is always the same. It an assault on the minds of people by curtailing freedom of thought by clamping down on freedom of enquiry in order to control the masses and brainwash them into a narrow groove of ideology with the sweetener of ‘a golden age of economic prosperity’.
Sincere thanks to Shepheard-Walwyn Publishers for nominating “Unfolding Consciousness: Exploring the Living Universe and Intelligent Powers in Nature and Humans” for The People’s Book Prize!
Just look at yourself in a mirror. If you have clear vision and a sound brain to interpret what you see, you will see both God and the Devil—and remember: Truth is not facetious!
I am honoured to have been mentioned in Robert Kuhn’s review article on major theories of consciousness, titled A Landscape of Consciousness: Toward a Taxonomy of Explanations and Implications. Recently published in Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, the complete Open Access article is now available online, with a print version coming out in August.