Author’s Background
Arjuna Rao Kaza is a retired engineer whose life blends scientific discipline with a deep spiritual quest. His engineering career honed precision and problem-solving, qualities that shape his clear and thoughtful writing. Alongside his professional journey, he has explored the mysteries of consciousness, morality, and the eternal struggle between good and evil.
He is the author of Journey into Unknown and Of Consciousness and Experience: Reflections, works that capture decades of contemplation and personal insight. Kaza writes from lived experience—combining technical sharpness with spiritual sensitivity—to inspire readers to seek truth and self-understanding.
Questionnaire
The Literature Times: What does “consciousness” mean to you personally, and how do you differentiate it from awareness or intellect?
Kaza Arjunarao: Consciousness is the spiritual attribute of the soul, whereas awareness and intellect are physical attributes of the soul.
The Literature Times: In your book, you describe God as the “final stage of spiritual evolution” rather than a creator. How did this perspective evolve in your own understanding of divinity?
Kaza Arjunarao: I am a believer in the theory of gradual evolution and in the scientific belief that nothing can be destroyed or created absolutely. The desires, which are the bane of human society, must have some origin. The creation of the universe must have been born out of this divine desire.
The resultant cosmic forces have been prevalent throughout the infinite universe, while the human being — a mere speck in the vastness — cannot comprehend the infinite. Along with the physical evolution of the Earth, there is also a simultaneous spiritual evolution — the ultimate being God.
The Literature Times: You introduce the fascinating idea of “paraphysics.” Could you explain how this concept expands beyond the boundaries of traditional science and metaphysics?
Kaza Arjunarao: I have not invented the word ‘paraphysics’. The word is already there in the dictionary. It can be checked in Google.
The Literature Times: Many of your reflections question the morality of modern civilization. In your view, what is the root cause of humanity’s moral decline?
Kaza Arjunarao: The desire to lead a comfortable life has been there since the very beginning. With the evolution of technology, there arose a clamor for greater comforts, and the desire to be more comfortable than others ultimately led to the decay of morality.
The Literature Times: You’ve said that the soul is “knowledge” — not a mystical entity. How does this redefinition change the way we understand rebirth, karma, and moral responsibility?
Kaza Arjunarao: Since Vedic traditions know the soul is considered nothing but knowledge. By my rational faculties also it struck me that the soul is nothing but knowledge — as already explained in the book.
The Literature Times: The book integrates theology, sociology, psychology, and philosophy into one stream of thought. How did you manage to maintain coherence across such vast disciplines?
Kaza Arjunarao: That was not intentional. They came into being automatically with the flow of thought.
The Literature Times: Do you believe that spirituality can coexist with science in shaping the future of human consciousness? If so, how?
Kaza Arjunarao: It is imperative that spirituality must develop along with science. Nowadays we see the results when spiritual awareness is not developed. In the present predicament, once spirituality develops, it will automatically be relied upon.
The Literature Times: If a reader takes away just one lesson from Of Consciousness and Experience, what would you want that to be — and why?
Kaza Arjunarao: Teaching of moral sciences from childhood is essential; otherwise, it is very difficult to change an adult mind.
