Balakrishnan, also known as Balan, had spent years using his skill as a conversationalist, journalist, and tennis player to claw his way into the world of the wealthy in Delhi, finally culminating in his being invited to grand balls like the one mentioned above. As a social activist in India, he was searching for a way to bring happiness to the Indian people. The above excerpt portrays a crucial point in his life when he recognized that even economic prosperity did not guarantee a happy life. He was led to reflect on the nature of happiness, which brought him to the study of "consciousness", the core subject of this thesis. And as the thesis unfolds, we will see from the quotations and excerpts that "consciousness" eventually became a prime concern of his, which is the reason that it is important to focus on the title of this dissertation. But before we proceed, we may ask, can we define "consciousness"?