Developing the Autonomous Consciousness Framework (ACF): Decoding the Bhagavad Gita as a Self-Governing System

This paper proposes the Autonomous Consciousness Framework (ACF), a conceptual and hermeneutic model that reads the Bhagavad Gita as a structured developmental system for transforming reactive consciousness into self-governing awareness. Rather than treating the text as a collection of philosophical maxims, the ACF interprets its eighteen chapters as a progressive architecture organized into three sequential phases: Diagnosis (Chapters 1–6), in which cognitive instability and emotional reactivity are identified and regulated; Correction (Chapters 7–12), in which perception is reoriented through knowledge, devotion, and discriminative understanding; and Stabilization (Chapters 13–18), in which integrated action, ethical discernment, and durable autonomy are consolidated. The framework draws on contemporary scholarship in self-regulation, executive function, contemplative psychology, leadership studies, and consciousness theory to situate the Gita's internal logic within current interdisciplinary discourse. A chapter-by-chapter analysis maps each of the eighteen chapters to specific ACF functions, demonstrating how the text's sequence constitutes a coherent system of inner governance rather than a loosely ordered spiritual dialogue. The paper is offered as a foundation for interdisciplinary research in leadership development, Vedantic psychology, consciousness studies, and the ethics of autonomous systems.