This paper compares and contrasts the model of consciousness as developed to understand Swami Vivekananda’s transformation of consciousness under the supervision of Sri Ramakrishna in my doctoral thesis, Learning in Depth: A Case Study in Twin 5×5 Matrices of Consciousness, with that developed by Sri Aurobindo and presented by Debashish Banerji in Seven Quartets of Becoming.

As part of the integral approach of both models—posited on vijnana, a state beyond traditional cognition that combines into a whole many elements that previously were not considered even compatible with each other—the basic presupposition is that matter and spirit are valid, totally interconnected elements in a holarchic spectrum of conceptual levels. Both models present a conceptual and experiential aspect of each level. In addition, each side of each level is investigated by a gamut of experiential content that internally transforms the context of the levels themselves, creating a kind of fractal pattern throughout the internal range of both models. In addition, each model emphasizes the evolutionary and involutionary dynamic of human self-realization and self-manifestation “up” and “down” the range of levels and their transformation through state experiences. Finally, both models bring out the role of the mantra Sat-chit-ananda as a type of algorithm that inspires and holds together the matrices.