The Vedas recognize consciousness everywhere in existence -- it's just a question of how much it is suppressed. In today's podcast we go over the five stages of consciousness discussed by our guru Bhakti Vinod Thakur, 20th century pioneer of the Krishna consciousness movement: achchhadita-chetan, or covered consciousness; sankuchita-chetan, or suppressed consciousness; mukulita-chetan, or budding consciousness; vikasita-chetan, blossoming consciousness; and purna-vikasita-chetan, fully blossomed consciousness.