A Hypothesis on the Future Evolution of Nature

by Jayaram V

The following is a hypothesis on the evolution of super humans in future with bodies of pure intelligence. It is one of the innumerable possibilities in which life may evolve and take shape.

It seems the ultimate purpose of evolution is not the evolution of physical beings, but evolution of intelligence until it becomes self-existing without a gross body. The physical evolution at the best is accessorial to aid and abet this process. It is possible that it might have already happened in some parts of the universe, where civilization might have passed into subtle realms which are invisible to the naked eye.

In Hinduism, intelligence is considered the highest aspect of Nature. It is also the first to manifest. It has a universal aspect, called Mahat which universally functions as a set of laws, processes and principles, and an individualized aspect called buddhi, which manifests in the living beings as the executive functions of the mind, intelligence or the discerning wisdom.

The nature of Self is also pure intelligence. Brahman himself considered pure intelligence (prajnanam Brahma). However, the eternal, indestructible intelligence of the Self is not the same as the intelligence of Nature. The intelligence of the Self is pure, eternal and indestructible while natural intelligence is subject to modifications, decay and destruction. It is also subject to the influence of the triple modes of Nature, namely sattva, rajas and tamas which impart to it dynamism, individuality and predictable patterns of behavior and modalities.

Origin and evolution of life upon earth

If we believe in the physical, mental and spiritual evolution of life upon earth, we can foresee the possibility of a bound soul (jiva) eventually ending up with just one subtle body of intelligence, which may have either the predominance of one of the three modes of Nature or a mixture of all the three. With that the beings will be freed from the physicality and the grossness of their current bodies.

From the Samkhya school and from the Upanishads we understand that life manifests upon earth due to the involution of Nature from a state of singular, infinite reality, Mula Prakriti or Primal Nature, which is pure energy (Shakti), into multiple, finite realities (tattvas) namely the five elements (mahabhutas), 15 physical and subtle senses, mind, ego and intelligence. In the course of manifestation of life upon earth, these constituents of Nature combine in numerous permutations and combinations to create diverse life forms, from microorganisms to organisms with one or two senses to the highly evolved human beings with all the aspects of Nature function to their capacities.

Once, the natural order of life forms is initiated, Nature sets in motion the transformation and evolution of individual beings. Through rebirth and the refinement of the tattvas of Nature, they further evolve from purely physical beings without any sense organs to mental and spiritual beings with well developed bodies, in which all the tattvas manifest. Human beings stand at the peak of this process, since they are endowed with the highest intelligence and fully developed gross and subtle bodies. Only they can evolve further into beings of pure light and delight. Thus, with the manifestation of intelligent life forms, life comes to a full circle upon earth.

Two possible courses of evolution

Evolution is a random process and may proceed in future in many ways. However, we can broadly classify them into two, the dark paths and the bright ones. In the former, Nature may manifest increasingly dominant, destructive, cruel and utterly selfish beings for whom survival means everything. In the latter case the world may witness the emergence of divine beings who are endowed with the energy, light and wisdom of the gods. Nature may take the former course if it is allowed to have its ways, since the survival of the fittest and promoting efficiencies and survival instincts seem to be at the top of its agenda. In that scenario you can expect the world to become increasingly chaotic with the predominance of rajas and tamas, and beings with demonic qualities. However, fortunately human beings are endowed with the will and discretion of their own to choose what is good for them. If human beings use their discretion and put their moral and spiritual values as the guiding principles of their lives they have a chance to alter the course of natural evolution and take it towards the brighter side to facilitate the emergence of super humans who are filled with the light and wisdom of gods

Evolution of super humans with bodies of pure intelligence

In Hinduism, we do not see creation as a onetime projection of God. We envision it as a continuous, cyclical process, in which modifications of Nature and transmigration of souls ensure the continuous and progressive evolution of the macrocosm. Involution of life forms into gross bodies constitute the first phase of the cycle, and their evolution into subtle, or supra fine bodies the second stage. In the final stage, beings will possess only intelligence bodies.

Human beings currently possess five bodies namely the food body, the breath body, the mental body, the intelligence body and the bliss body. Of them, the bliss body is an aspect or projection of the soul rather than Nature. Thus, in all we may consider four natural bodies or sheaths forming part of each being, which are subject to natural modifications or evolutionary transformation. Of them, the food body is gross, and the other three are subtle.

In the first phase of evolution, these bodies become fully manifest in the beings in progressive stages, with their functionality reaching peak levels in humans. In future evolution, they may begin to weaken and disappear. Nature may gradually remove first the gross body, leaving the beings with the subtle bodies namely the breath, mind, intelligence and bliss bodies. In further evolution, it may also remove the breath and mental bodies, thus leaving the souls with just the intelligence body.

In that state, the individual souls will possess only intelligence bodies. Since intelligence body is an aspect of Nature, they will still experience duality, objectivity and have their own identity and individuality. However, they will be purer and much more powerful. As their lower bodies disappear, so will be the problems associated with them such as mortality, sickness and aging.

Beings at that level may live for thousands of years, without suffering any decay or destruction. Since their bodies will be subatomic and very subtle, they may transcend the limitations of time and space and perceive the subtle worlds as naturally as we perceive the physical objects. They may also gain enormous supernatural powers, as pure intelligent beings, and manifest their will with unimaginable force even though they may not possess any physical bodies.

As we have discussed before, such a possibility may arise not necessarily through the direct intervention of Nature, but indirectly through the intelligence of humans, for human intelligence is also an aspect of Nature only, and human beings may as well be instruments of Nature according to Nature's design to alter its natural course and create new opportunities and possibilities for the species to evolve. As we create machines to perform our tasks, Nature might have created humans not only to perform its tasks and implement its programs but also speed up its processes and evolutional mechanism. If we go by the current research in the field of Artificial Intelligence and biotechnology, it appears that we are already on the way towards this possibility. We may be already serving its purpose by trying to evolve artificial intelligence and creating robots with extraordinary intelligence.