Question: Does water really have consciousness, or does it just represent consciousness? ⁵

Sri Chinmoy: Water embodies consciousness; water represents consciousness. If one is a very advanced, highly developed seeker, not to speak of a great Master, then he is bound to see and feel that water embodies consciousness. Consciousness can take different forms. Water represents consciousness for those who have not yet discovered the oneness between the finite life and the infinite Life. They see that there is a great gap between the finite and the Infinite. But I always say that the finite and the Infinite are one in the same way that the drop and the ocean are one. Boundless drops make up the ocean. If one knows that the drop represents the ocean, then he will also feel that one or two drops embody the ocean itself.

Those who are not advanced separate the ocean from the drop, the finite from the Infinite. For them, the President of the country is one person, and someone else represents him as the Secretary of State. But if people are highly advanced, they will see that the one who is representing the President is definitely embodying his consciousness. It is the same with God and a true spiritual Master. When the spiritual Master is in his everyday consciousness, some disciples may think he is just a human being. But if the disciples are highly inspired, they will feel that the Master is the representative of God all the time. Even when the spiritual Master is in a high trance, some disciples may feel that the spiritual Master is one person and God is somebody else. But when the seekers develop receptivity, and the Master is in his absolutely highest consciousness, the disciples do not see any difference between the Master and God. At one moment Sri Krishna said that he was representing Brahman. The next moment he said that he was Brahman Himself. When life-energy is taken as inseparable from water, at that time water embodies consciousness. Consciousness is the connecting link between Heaven and earth, between the finite and the Infinite.