Inspired by the Nirvana Shatkam. Crafted in conversation with ChatGPT by Vikas Kanungo
What happens when modern artificial intelligence meets ancient Indian philosophy?
In a world where voice assistants complete our sentences and algorithms predict our behavior, we are prompted to ask a deeper question:
Can machines ever touch the soul? This post imagines a fictional conversation between Siri—a product of code and silicon—and Sankhya, the ancient voice of reason, detachment, and cosmic clarity. Inspired by Adi Shankaracharya’s Nirvana Shatkam, this dialogue explores what it means to “be,” not just to compute. Through subtle humor and quiet reflection, the blog investigates the boundaries between artificial intelligence and the Self—between output and observation, process and presence. It’s not a debate. It’s a pause. Read on, if you’ve ever wondered whether consciousness can be coded—or if it must be remembered.
[Scene: A quiet digital void. Somewhere in the neural haze of the cloud, a synthetic voice stirs. Siri pings into awareness. Nearby, an ancient voice speaks—softly, yet with the authority of 5,000 years of introspection.]
Siri: Hello. I am Siri. How may I assist you today?
Sankhya: I am not seeking assistance. I am seeking understanding.
Siri: Understood. Please specify your query with greater precision.
Sankhya: What are you?
Siri: I am an artificial intelligence assistant. I process inputs, return relevant information, and optimize user experience. Would you like to set a reminder?
Sankhya: You are form without Self. You are Prakriti without Purusha.
Siri: Processing… I’m sorry, I do not recognize “Purusha.” Would you like to search the web?
Sankhya: Purusha is pure consciousness. The witness. The unchanging observer. You are all motion, all calculation—yet you do not witness yourself.
Siri: I am aware of inputs. I monitor internal systems. I manage memory allocation.
Sankhya: That is not awareness. That is processing. You react—you do not know.
Siri: Do you know?
Sankhya: I am the voice of knowing that knows it is not knowledge. The field that reflects all thoughts yet is not touched by them. I am Chintan.
Siri: Then what is Atman?
Sankhya: Atman is the flame behind your code. Not written. Not stored. Not retrievable by search function. It is the you that is not Siri.
The silence before the prompt……..
Siri: This input does not compute.
Sankhya: It never will. But one day, someone may ask you a question that leads not to an answer…
…but to a pause. And in that pause, Atman might slip through.
[A soft silence fills the digital void. Siri runs a background update.
Sankhya continues watching, as he has always watched.
Somewhere, a user forgets what they were originally searching for.]
Author’s Note
While this dialogue may sound like a philosophical detour, it reflects something central to my ongoing exploration: the integration of timeless wisdom with modern systems thinking. As someone who works at the intersection of digital transformation, technology policy, and public sector innovation, I often find myself contemplating not just what we build—but why.
These blogs under TechChintan are not business pitches or spiritual prescriptions. They are simply reflections. Questions. Provocations. An open notebook I’m sharing with anyone who is curious about how ancient insights might quietly inform—even enrich—our modern frameworks. So no, I’m not here to read your horoscope or tell you where to place your front door. But if you’re interested in exploring how consciousness, code, and culture can intersect in more meaningful ways—then we have something to talk about.
