Not really my view on consciousness, but who knows, at this point, what consciousness really is or how it works . . . and why?

His book is The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami (2010). Here is a little article from Radhanath Swami's site:

Three Planes of Consciousness

April 30, 2013

Essentially there are three planes of consciousness: enjoyment, renunciation and devotion.

1. Enjoyment

In order to survive, the environment is geared towards exploitation. Why? Because of selfishness. We put ourselves in the center and this results in conflict as everyone has a different center.

2. Renunciation

It is taught that there can be no peace in this material existence because everything is temporary and there is so much conflict. To renounce everything and have a deep dreamless sleep – no more pain and suffering, everything is just peaceful! Yet death is not the end, so the problem is that you are going to be reborn according to your karma.

3. Devotion

This path recognizes that the highest of all solutions is to understand who we are, who is our origin and to live in harmony with that. We are meant to serve and to be selfless. To put God in the center and eternally be connected to Him. Harmony is there because we have a common interest.

The path of devotion transforms the material world to the spiritual world through consciousness. We need to find the spiritual world within ourselves – to find the love, peace, compassion within ourselves and to be instruments of that within the world - Radhanath Swami

Consciousness: The Missing Link by Radhanath Swami, Talks at Google

Published on Jun 28, 2013

Despite decades of advancement in science and technology, we are somehow facing increasingly complex problems to solve -- both individual and collective -- even in the most affluent nations: identity issues, high divorce rates, unexpected violence, high school dropouts, teenage pregnancy, environmental crisis, energy shortage, unemployment rates, unstable economy, rising healthcare costs, etc. Why and where is the disconnect ?

The Vedic model of consciousness that's described in the ancient Sanskrit texts of India provides dramatically fresh insights into the root cause of these problems -- and their solutions -- in the most unexpected way. In this talk, Radhanath Swami will explore the inner workings of consciousness based on this model and discuss its application in the modern day context.

Speaker's Bio:
Radhanath Swami is a renowned Vedic scholar, a highly respected bhakti-yoga teacher and author. As a counter-cultural young American teenager, he left a promising career behind 40 years ago and hitchhiked all the way across the world in search of deeper meaning of life. Convinced from his world travels that the fundamental problems of the society are simply caused by basic human frailties irrespective of race, nationality, sex or economic status, he dedicated his life to the exploration of solutions to the world's problems through advancement of human consciousness. He is currently based in New York and travels frequently giving presentations and workshops at universities, corporate venues, community, yoga and cultural centers.