Ever since Charles Darwinfirst published his theory of Natural Selection, the subject has been embroiledin controversy. In the case of Darwinism, the explanation for the originof life on the earth is that it was the combination of certain elements,coming together more or less accidentally, which created the first primaryforms. For the creationists, the position is that God created man in hisown image.
From my point of view, both explanations are incorrect.The Darwinian hypothesis is weak because it could not be possible for anaccidental product to attain to such remarkable variations and complexityduring the course of millions of years. Darwinian evolution stretches chancetoo far. The odds against it are almost infinite.
As for Creationism, it is equally hard to believethat man could make an appearance on earth all of a sudden, as if he haddescended from the sky. The fossil record does not support this point ofview. We see man as a half-cultured being, before that as a savage, andbefore that in almost human forms in different parts of the earth. Theremust have been some sort of a growth, some sort of an evolutionóaprocess of gradual development.
The human fetus passes through stages from theday of conception to the day it is born from the womb of the mother. Itpasses through different stages, like a fish, tadpole, reptile, quadruped,and then a fully formed baby. The child stands erect at the last stage,and then is able to walk and talk, which is not possible for it to do duringthe first couple of years.
The reason for this attitude can probably be foundin their antagonism toward the concept of religion. It is a battle betweenthose who believe in religion and those who inherently are opposed to it.Most of the evolutionists array their arguments as if evolution standsproved, but it hasnít. There are many gaps which have not been filledin.
For instance, there is no explanation for howthe intellect developed. Darwin explains it by saying that it was due toaccident or a random mutation, as in the other cases. But no detailed explanationis forthcoming either from him or from any other evolutionist.
Similarly, there is no explanation as to how theeye was formed, how such a complex organ as that of the organ of sightdeveloped. And there are many other facts not explained, so greater oppositionto the theory is mounting up by other biologists and scientists. For thatreason, the Darwinian hypothesis does not hold such a sway today as itdid fifty years ago.
Is there any reason why we should not ascribethe phenomenon of life to the operation of an energy which is entirelydissimilar to the material energies with which we are surrounded everywhere?
Our senses can perceive only a very tiny fragmentof the universe. There are animals and other lower forms of life whichhave some of their senses developed much more acutely than the senses ofman.
For example, in the case of dogs, moths, whales,and migratory birds, there are senses which inform them of their surroundings,and about other matters, far more accurately than they do in the case ofman. We have no explanation for the sharpness and the acuteness of theirsenses. Nor do we have very complete knowledge about the brain, how itfunctions and what fuel sustains it in its day to day work.
The creationist theory stands on the story ofGenesis as contained in the Holy Bible. It is not supported by the revealedmaterial of the Vedas or the Buddhists. In the Vedas the explanation ofman is more or less of the evolutionary kind. The embodied spirit startsfrom the lowest form of life, and in a cycle of 840,000 lives it completesthe circle before it reaches the stature of man.
There also its future depends on the Karma thatit does in a particular life. So from that standpoint, the Indian viewis nearer to the theory of evolution, but with this difference: It is notthe material elements but the spirit which evolves.
I believe that life is the product of anotherelement of creation which is entirely dissimilar to the material elements.The universe is not only what we perceive through our senses, but it containsother energies and forces of which we have no awareness at all. It is theseenergies and forces that come into play in psychic phenomena, in the enlightenmentof great prophets and in other paranormal or abnormal phenomena of themind.
Science has rejected all experiences of religionfor the simple reason that scientists never experimented with religionitself. If it were to do so along the lines followed in India for thousandsof years, their attitude would change, and they too would come to understandthe force which is behind the phenomenon of life. However, there is a growingtendencyóeven among scientistsóto believe that mind has anindependent existence of its own and that it is not an epiphenomenon ora product of the brain cells entirely. It is only the manifestation ofa force which is beyond our comprehension.
Now if it is admitted that mind has an independentexistence, and that the human mind forms a part of a whole, which is beyondour observation, this mind must continue to exist irrespective of our bodies.If this is true, then it cannot be supposed that this world of the mindóthisreservoir or this oceanóis without laws of its own. It must haveits own laws just as we have laws in the physical universe.
Religious revelation has come solely to bringthis fact to the notice of mankind. Revelation says that there is somethingbeyond the phenomenal world which is imperceptible to our eyes but whichcan be observed or experienced by means of certain disciplines and a righteousway of life.
This means there is a law which rules our destinyas human beings with a soul and that this law has been imperfectly andpartially revealed in the various scriptures of mankind. It has been myendeavor, also, to reveal this law as far as I have been able to observeit during the course of my long experience in this state of consciousness.
What this law demands is that people should leada peaceful, moderate, and harmonious life, according to principles thatare good for others and for society as a whole. There should be no exploitation,no aggression, no action or thought which in any way affects the welfareof another human being.
When we compare the commandments issued by theprophets, based on their experience of a higher state of consciousness,we can readily see that present-day competition, both as individuals andas members of a nation or group, brings with it the very reverse attitudes.Everyone tries to have the largest share of the earthís resources,or of wealth, possession, or whatever may be of use or utility to him.
This is the very thing that is forbidden underthe law which rules the evolution of the human race. In view of manísmany scientific and technological advancement, and progress in so manyother aspects of civilization, why does he seem to be even more deadenedto the law than man of two hundred or three hundred years ago? Before wecan address this question, we must first determine what civilization reallyis.
Does civilization mean technological advancement,learning, large cities, palatial buildings, elevators, cars, computers,and all the other amenities and facilities provided by science? Or doescivilization mean sound, healthy, morally perfected human beings?
Does civilization mean war, with the earth transformedinto an atmosphere in which selfish, egotistical, hard-hearted exploiters,black marketers, criminals, and aggressors reside, or one simple communitywith open fields, natural developments, small homesóa communitywhere there is peace, tranquillity, health, happiness, long life and loveamong members of a society or of humanity as a whole? Which would you prefer?
It is not in building spaceships, computers, ortelevision sets that man can excel. It is in his perfection, in his developingmore and more mental faculties, in his knowing more of the universe surroundinghim. Otherwise, if he competes and dresses himself in satin, eats whateverhe craves every day, resides in palaces, and has all the comforts of theflesh and yet dies without knowing anything about himself, he is no betterthan an animal. There is no difference. There is only the difference inthe quality of dress, the food and other things. Otherwise he is as goodas an animal. And that is what a number of scientists tries to make ofhim. Man has not come on earth to stagnate as an animal but to fly as anangel. He has come to become a god.
Our wrong thinking and stress on nonessentialsmake a beast of him. What we need are thinking men and women, noble, compassionate,loving. If these traits are lost, the consequences will be self-destructionwith the forces gained by the advance of science. The very instrument withwhich we pride ourselvesóour keen intellectówill become thecause of our own extinction.
The more powers man attains, the greater the needfor a more disciplined mind to handle them. We went radically wrong whenwe devoted every ounce of our energy to gain more and more knowledge andcontrol over the forces of nature rather than in becoming more and moreself-disciplined and perfect. The very foundation of civilization mustrest on the self-perfection of every human being.
We rejected this as a false doctrine, as superstition,as a myth, and the result is that after two hundred years of scientifictriumphs, we are now face to face with a contingency where the annihilationof the whole race stares us in the face.
We must ask ourselves, have men become more noble,more honest, kinder, or more benevolent to deal with, or is the positionthe reverse of this? Is there love and amity between nations or do we findhatred seething everywhere, even between neighbors and erstwhile friends?If this is the position in this age of scientific triumphs and technologicalvictories, what will be the state of society after another 25 years? Theanswer seems obvious. It would be more tense, more full of alarming situations,more critical, more threatening, and more fraught with danger than whatit is today.
How long can the human brain bear this stressand tension? When we look at the present world with all the learning itpossesses, with all the knowledge that it has gained, doesnít itmean that something is wrong in the leading intellectuals and spiritualteachers? The future leaders and guardians of the world should have hadthe experience of their inner selves to understand life better than theyare able to do now.
What the world needs are mystics, or in otherwords people who have had the experience which Christ, Buddha or Socratesunderwent, coupled with full knowledge of temporal things.
There is a psychosomatic mechanism in the humanbody which is operative in the race and which can be accelerated with certaindisciplines. This was done by thousands of men and women over the past3,000 years. This center of psychic energy is responsible for genius andparanormal gifts. All great mystics and enlightened sages were in possessionof this active center, which raised them to the level of a new dimensionof consciousness. In that dimension they could experience what is hiddenfrom normal vision.
It is for this reason that every religious bookis written in a mandatory tone, because the message it conveys was receivedfrom a higher source of consciousness, a source which gave the authorsthe confidence that it was infallible. If it had been the result of theirown reasoning they would have been more cautious in their expression andtried to argue out what they were saying. But the scriptures are expressedin an authoritative tone, as if what the prophets are revealing has thesanction of a power or a mind far above their own.
In the case of geniuses, a large percentage wereeccentric in their behavior or had mental problems at one time or another.The same is true of mystics. But since mystics have been treated as a classapart, men and women in communion with divinity or God, their eccentricityhas been ascribed to spiritual intoxication. Both mystics and geniuses,however, are under the impact of an awakened Kundalini and are not ableto maintain their balance like ordinary human beings. They need speciallifestyles, special ways of thinking, behavior, discipline and moderation,in order to live healthy, sound and happy lives, with the gifts they possess.
People who have psychic or spiritual experiencesoften have an activated Kundalini, and this imposes certain conditionson their bodies which must be fulfilled by them. Since knowledge of thismysterious mechanism is still very slight, still shrouded in mystery, thosewho have an active Kundalini have tended to be hysteric, neurotic, unstable,or even insane.
This is also the reason why many men and womenof genius, including great mysticsóboth the result of the activationof Kundalinióhave also been unstable, neurotic, disoriented. Gen-erationsmay be needed for the emergence of ideal candidates who are perfectly suitedfor such experimental projects. It will not only be the candidates themselveswho will be able to achieve that state of perfection required. but a partof this work will also have to be done by their parents. This is the mostpotent method for ensuring that generation after generation there is anattempt at self-perfection among human beings. People will soon come tobelieve that it is far better to leave their children with a healthy hereditythan unnecessary and super-abundant wealth or position.
A period of five or six years may be necessaryfor those candidates who already have the seeds of the awakening in themand whose nervous systems have attained a stage of maturity where an awakeningis possible in a healthy way.
Many people describe experiences heat in theirsystem, currents going up their spine, lights before their eyes, soundsin their ears, and other symptoms of an awakened Kundalini. When once thisknowledge becomes widely known, these people would be able to understandtheir own condition and also to use other methods that can bear the bestfruit for them.
Kundalini is the guardian of human evolution andthe key to the mystery of existence. There is nothing in the whole massof knowledge, gathered by mankind so far, of such paramount importanceas this. A new science with a fresh outlook on the Riddle of existenceis therefore needed to open the still hidden horizons for the elevationof the race.
If this is not done, the fires of ambition anddesire, smoldering in every human breast, can never be extinguished. Eachwar, however deadly, would but provide the base for a still deadlier one.The only remedy lies in changing the direction of the human mind from temporalto spiritual objectives. This has to be done in order to conform to theevolutionary change in the human brain. The aim of nature is to lift manto another dimension of consciousness, to be a superman in his own right,possessed of amazing powers of body and mind. All the achievements wonby science are but a means to this sublime goal.
Once this evolutionary goal becomesthe subject of discussion in the halls of learning and the media, the long-standingcontroversy between evolutionists and creationists will come to an end.Then the whole of humanity will begin to take a new direction towards peaceand universal brotherhood.
Written by: Gopi Krishna
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