What really is consciousness

Consciousness, is a word, that indicates the reality of the self.

The self is mistaken for the body and mind, and various levels of body and mind.

These are the self mistaken to have attributes of the body and mind.

Whereas in truth, self is said to be consciousness free from body mind attributes.

Consciousness means what, it means that which is the reality of the seer.

The reality of the knower.

See, upanisad says 'shrotrasya shrotram,  manaso manaH', the ear of the ear, and the mind of the mind. The knower via which mind and ear, mind and nose, mind and eye, mind and togue, mind and skin become "perceivers".

This knower is not a physical entity that is at any point "known" , knower is the not the known, is very clear.

Hence the knower is that being which is the self evident reality in whose proximity, the ear and mind can hear, the eye and the mind can see and so on.

This consciousness is called as the knower only with respect to the mind and the sense organs , and the presence of objects, in reality it is an independent self evident being of the nature of existence.

ShAstra says in fact this chit, or consciousness is in fact non dual, since it is satyam, the very cause.

This universe of names and forms, that are also manifest as the mind and the sense organs too, this universe is projected out of the very consciousness as the substratum or the reality.

The projection is due to beginingless ignorance , avidya or maya, which has it basis or existence or being in brahman which is consciousness. Consciousness is brahman.

The names , forms, functions are superimposed on this brahman by maya shakti.