OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Even with its nuclear arsenals and contamination of air, water andearth, it is not science that has become destructive; it is the distortionand vitiation of the human intellect that is responsible for the presentunsafe situation of the world.
Knowledge can be both constructive and destructive. The ultimatearbiter is the human intellect. This is the reason why revelation hasalways been a necessary instrument for the spiritual progress of the race.Intellect, unable to see centuries or even only decades ahead, cannotdetermine the evolutionary needs of mankind. It is liable to make seriouserrors in calculation at any time.
Human life is so complex and the course of evolution so full ofbewildering situations that it is only a cosmic intelligence that can guideit rightly to the destined goal. Can even a whole galaxy of the highestintellects, in every branch of knowledge, make an accurate forecast of whatwould be the state of mankind after the span of only the next quarter of acentury? Or even what changes will occur in the current concepts ofscience, politics and religion?
If not, doesn't it plainly signify that the race is drifting toward anindeterminable goal at the mercy of forces over which it has no control?
The error of science has been that it has entirely ignored thespiritual side of man and devoted all its attention to the physical andorganic fields. The outcome is that mankind faces a threat of annihilationon one side, or death with poisoned air, water and earth on the other, andof mental distortion on the third.
On the political side, it has become a seething cauldron ofaggression, violence, lust for power and hate. On the spiritual and moralside we see confusion rampant everywhere. There are as many ideas,concepts, systems and doctrines as there are scholars or teachersexpounding them.
It is not surprising, therefore, that science has failed to createthat harmonious progress of mankind in the social, political and spiritualfields.
Science today is suffering from the same distemper of mind whichaffected faith during the period of her supremacy, namely dogmatism, vanityand arrogance. It is amazing to what extent even scientists can be ledastray by vanity. They understand very well that all we know about thevisible cosmos is but a drop in the possible ocean of knowledge. Not ayear passes when they are not forced to revise their opinions about certainissues.
But with all this uncertainty, most of them display a dogmaticattitude toward mind and consciousness. It is chiefly because science hasbeen one-sided in this investigation--ignoring the spiritual side ofman--that it has failed to bring about that wholesome transformation in themental and moral sides as it has in the physical.
The neglect of the material side brought about the fall of theonce-highly honored sovereign faiths of mankind. In the same way, theneglect of the spiritual side is now tending to undermine the position ofascendancy gained by science.
In either case, it was the intellect that failed to assess theposition correctly and to err in over-emphasizing only one side of man andneglecting the equally important other side.
Therefore, it is not science itself but the overweening vanity andshortsightedness of savants and scholars--or, in other words, a faultyintellect--that is responsible for the destructiveness of modern technology.
The first thing that should be done to bring about a harmoniousdevelopment of human beings and the eradication of present-day irrationalbeliefs in the spiritual realm is to embark on a scientific investigationinto consciousness.
There is a huge volume of literature available in both the East andthe West, describing methods for attaining the higher states ofconsciousness and the nature of these higher states. A documentaryresearch into these volumes, followed by systematic experimentation, can, Iam sure, lead to an understanding of the biological relationship betweenexpanded states of consciousness and the brain.
When this is achieved, the next step would be to find the lawsunderlying this relationship. Enough material would be available--whenthis is done--to enable scholars and scientists to determine the path andthe goal of evolution designed for mankind. They would then be able tounderstand the nature of the changes imperceptible occurring in the brainand consciousness.
It is not only by experimentation on the methods leading to higherstates of consciousness, but also by the observation of the psychic forcesresponsible for genius, mediumistic faculties and insanity that theseevolutionary processes can be understood.
The all-inclusive nature of sex energy has not yet been correctlyunderstood by psychologists. In fact, the very term reproductive, or sexenergy is a misnomer: Reproduction is but one of the aspects of the lifeenergy, of which the other theater of activity is the brain. The cephalicactivity is so slow and subtle as to be almost imperceptible. But it isthis activity that is the cause of genius, uncanny psychic powers and alsoinsanity.
Once this fact is empirically demonstrated, we come to a turning pointin our present concepts about mind and consciousness--even about matter andthe universe as a whole.
The first harvest of this change will be the beginning of a newscience dealing with subtle intelligent energies in the cosmos. When thishappens, the gigantic physical world--now dominating the whole mentalhorizon of science--will be relegated to its proper position. It is butthe visible peak of an infinite creation, of which the unbounded major partis sunk below the surface of the space-time ocean, forever hidden from thesight of man.
It is only in higher states of consciousness that a fragment of thesubmerged portion comes into view, causing a state of wonder andexhilaration which is beyond description. It is only when the evolvinghuman organism and the cosmos are viewed in right perspective that theappropriate ways of life and conduct, favorable for this transformation,can be devised by science.
Try as we might, without a clear knowledge of the goal ahead, we canby no exercise of the intellect determine the right pattern of lifeessential for mankind on the evolutionary path: A united world, abolitionof war, demolition of armaments, disbandment of armies. An environmentmore in harmony with nature. A life more natural and simple. Removal ofbarriers between man and man, inculcation of altruistic and humanitarianprinciples, moral education, social equality and universal brotherhood.These are some of the basic factors that contribute to the harmoniousprogress of mankind.
This may appear idealistic or even fantastic and impracticable to manypeople. But the conclusion is unavoidable. At its present intellectualstature, the alternatives facing the race are either self-causedannihilation with dreadful agony for myriads, or knowledge of and obedienceto the laws of evolving consciousness.
*This article is from Gopi Krishna's book "Higher Consciousness", publishedby The Julian Press. The article appeared in the New York Times October 6,1973.
Written by: Gopi Krishna
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