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by Jayaram V
Hinduism believes in the concept of evolution of
life on earth. Although it
is not the same as the one known to modern
science, in many ways and in a very fundamental sense, it is not much
different from the latter.
Modern science speaks of physical evolution and the
evolution of nervous system, starting with simple life forms and
proceeding to more organized and complex beings with well developed
and self-regulating biological and mental mechanisms. Man is so far
the known and the ultimate product of this very complex and continuous
process.
Hinduism, on the other hands, places its emphasis
on the mental and spiritual evolution of life on earth. It speaks of
evolution of the beings from a state of ignorance to a state of
illumination through progressive and successive intermediate states of
partial ignorance and partial illumination. It alludes to a process
that proceeds in three primary stages.
The first stage consists of formation, development
and strengthening of individual centers of consciousness in physical
bodies that are mostly and vastly very inert and unconscious and
driven by the force of blind instinct and natural impulse.
The second stage consists of the consolidation and
concretization of these personalities into individual egos which act
under their own individual and independent wills powered by the energy
of desires, and the instinct of survival, undergoing repeated births
and deaths, as an ongoing process of further evolution towards the
next phase.
The third phase consists of development of a new
center of discriminating awareness (parisilanatmaka buddhi) that leads
to the gradual surrender and ultimate dissolution of the ego into
Truth, Consciousness and Bliss.
The emphasis here is more on the evolution of the
subtle bodies rather than on the gross body. Science heavily rests its
speculations upon the latter making it the central theme of its
attention. But Hinduism goes a step further and tries to explain a
more comprehensive and holistic vision of the same process.
Science is yet to come to terms with the theory
that man can consciously and willingly direct his evolution through
the exercise of his will, intelligence and choice, where as in
Hinduism there is no such hesitancy or bias. Here evolution is very
much a product of individual effort and can be consciously willed and
controlled under the guidance of an enlightened master.
According to science, evolution is a process
directed by Nature for its own ends, which tries to maintain balance
in the physical world and evolve forms that are progressively
competent and mutually self-destructive. The evolving beings are at
the best experimental models in its gigantic laboratory. Here the
individual being has little freedom to determine the evolutionary
course of himself or of his species, helplessly enacting the drama
authored and directed by the forces of mysterious Nature.
In contrast, Hinduism explains the process of
evolution from a wider perspective. It views the whole problem on an
universal scale, going beyond the visible and the manifest forms of
life to understand the mechanism that is involved in the creation of
not just the earth or its beings, but of the entire universe in which
exist different planes of reality and consciousness.
Thus the vision that we come across in the
scriptures is much wider and comprehensive. Here Nature is also a
powerful agent, playing a very dominant role, but only so long as the
individual being is willing to let himself remain under its influence.
When wisdom and insight prevail, he realizes his folly and tries to
liberate himself from the bonds of Nature.
Through his will and sincere efforts, he succeeds
in overcoming his limitations, which Nature so far imposed upon him,
and achieves liberation from its overwhelming and deluding dominance.
Thus Hinduism interprets the process of evolution
both from within and without, both as a mechanism of Nature and a
product of self-effort, with a hidden agenda which is the ultimate
liberation of the soul. This objective is accomplished through inner
transformation and purification of the mind and the body.
The transformation begins with a new awareness of
ones personality and a new sense of responsibility,that tries to
separate itself from the external confusion and the surface reality.
It leads to the gradual withdrawal of oneself from the external world
and a journey into oneself. The next step involves elimination of all
forms of desires, egoistic effort and impure thoughts, preferably
under the guidance of an advanced soul. In the third stage one has to
make desireless effort through detachment, devotion and self-surrender
to realize the Highest Truth.
From unreality towards reality, from darkness
towards light and from death to deathlessness: these are the chief
aims of the terrestrial evolution of life in this world. It primary
objective is liberation but not bondage, immortality but not survival.
It is a movement away from primeval Nature, and towards light and
boundlessness. Its aim is not to render the being into fit a
instrument under the control of Nature, or into a better player in the
game of survival, but to establish divinity in the being so that it
can transcend Nature, both within and without and attain immortality.
Evolution is the expression of each individual
being seeking to escape from the cycle of births and deaths and regain
its lost glory. The process is neither instantaneous nor uniform,
neither uniformly progressive nor easily predictable. There is no one
particular way. There is no particular result. The paths are many and
the methods as well as the outcomes.
There are no definitives here, except those
sanctioned by the laws of creation. Intuitive awareness may help us to
predict the possibilities and explore the opportunities. But the
limitations are always there. The difficulties on the path are
innumerable. Only an enlightened soul can guide us safely to cross the
mirage of life. So long as the Jiva is in love with its own chains and
its distracting dreams, desires and faulty actions man has no escape
and no hope from his own illusions.
The laws of evolution are applicable to all beings
both in the mortal worlds, and also in the worlds of devas and the
demons, for they too are a part of the creative and evolutionary
process. The plants animals and the worlds of mere forms too evolve in
their own limited ways towards light and delight.
But in this play of God, man has certain rare
advantages. In the chain of evolution he stands at an important
threshold. Rare and precious indeed the mortal life for it is attained
after innumerable births and deaths and which sometimes gods also envy
for the opportunities it offers to the humans not only to surpass
themselves but even the gods to reach world of immortal Brahman.
The pitfalls on the way are many. By his wrong
actions a being may falter and fall temporarily on this path and
descend down into lower worlds, taking birth as an animal or under a
misfortune, as an inanimate object such as a stone, a lake, a tree or
a plant. He may also degenerate into a demon or an evil spirit.
But that is not the end. All is not lost. The being
so devolved, can ascend again into higher life forms through a process
of self-correction, penance and penitence, performing good deeds
according to the laws of karma and adhering to the path of
righteousness as prescribed in the scriptures.
It is the proper exercise of buddhi which is the
key. It is by knowing the reality from unreality, truth from
falsehood, right action from wrong action, right knowledge from wrong
knowledge, that one can ensure ones own progress towards the Divine.
None can help him in this process except himself and the Divine. Man
is his own enemy and he is his own friend in this stupendous effort.
Those who fail to discriminate properly have to
relearn the process till they become adepts. But in no case they
should willingly let themselves lose control and fall prey to the evil
passions. The Isa Upanishad (I.1.3) warns the students of Brahman in
no uncertain terms, "Demonic worlds enveloped in blinding
darkness they enter after death those who are the slayer of the
self." So does Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita, (Chapter 9, 14
and 16).
Shri Aurobindo was one of the modern seers of
Hinduism who saw the vision of supermen evolving out of present race
of men and laying foundation for a new future for the world to emerge.
With the awareness of an awakened soul he declared that man can hasten
his own evolution from the state of an ignorant consciousness struck
in an animal body struggling to express itself to the state of a
supramental consciousness manifesting itself in a divine and immortal
body of light and bliss.
"To know, possess and be the divine being in
an animal and egoistic consciousness, to convert our twilit or obscure
physical mentality into the plenary supramental illumination.- this is
offered to us as the manifestation of God in matter and the goal of
Nature in her terrestrial evolution," he wrote.
Thus it can be concluded Hinduism believes in the
retrogressive process of the descent of the Universal Self and the
evolutionary process of its ascent. Each being that comes into
existence into the manifest worlds is in a state of evolution whose
ultimate aim would be its liberation from ignorance, darkness and
mortality and movement towards knowledge, light and immortality
through a process of inner purification and illumination. The Divine
descends in order to ascend.
Creation and destruction are the two sides of the
same reality. Creation begins with destruction and in creation there
is already a seed of the destruction to come. The same is true in case
of destruction, which begins with creation and contains in it a seed
of the creation that is yet to manifest.
If birth of an individual is creation, his death is
destruction. It is through this repeated process of creation and
destruction that the individual being evolves gradually in series and
stages. The One indivisible Self, divides Himself into many, in order
to become One again. "In a word godhead; to remake ourselves in
the divine image."
This in brief is the story of evolution in
Hinduism.
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