When the soul of an animal enters the human kingdom it is the first great step on the Path of Evolution of Consciousness, writes VILOO H. ADAJANIA.
We all know that the real man is not his physical self; he is more truly an embodiment of consciousness. Consciousness is the ‘chaitanya’ that enters the physical matter and enlivens it. Not only man, everything in the cosmos is blessed with a spark of the Divine Light of the Supreme Being, and hence everything pulsates with energy. It is an energy in which there is inherent consciousness and intelligence, and hence there is highest intelligence imbued in the Divine Laws of Nature which govern all creations. The whole creation works according to these Laws in perfect order and relentlessly maintains equilibrium.
Even the Quantum Physics has now declared that “there is a substratum of energy (which we may call consciousness) behind everything in this universe.” Dr. Annie Besant has also very finely said that it is “the Hidden Life vibrant in every atom, the Hidden Light shining in every creature.” The consciousness cannot manifest but for the garb of matter. Matter is dense whereas consciousness is very subtle.
Inherent in the spark that a man is gifted with, is also the essence of His divine qualities. The Vedas have declared that it is the ‘Brahman’, the Divinity within, which we understand as a spiritual constituent of man. It is also understood as the Guiding Force which, if heeded to, has the power to change our lives. ‘It is our point of contact with our Source.’his descent, in Theosophical terms, is called ‘the descent of consciousness’ to dense matter.
In the early stages, millions of years ago, the little sparks were not so much separated off from one another as they now are in the human kingdom; they were not ‘self-conscious’ or alive to the world around them. In the mineral kingdom these little sparks were hardly awake at all. In the vegetable kingdom, however, they were somewhat less sleepy, while in the animal kingdom they really began to stir about, but lived only by instinct and sensory impulses. Instinct works for limited ends, but within those limits it is almost infallible.
In the vegetable kingdom we have not a soul for one plant, but one group-soul for an enormous number of plants, mostly for the whole species. In the animal kingdom also there are group-souls but a comparatively small number of physical forms are the expression of one group-soul.
You have perhaps noticed that while most animals of a particular species have many peculiarities in common, some of them like domestic animals who have come in contact with humanity, have developed very distinct individualities of their own. This is the beginning of the road which is leading them direct to the human kingdom. Then comes a time in the case of each such animal when it begins to live so definite a life of its own that the spark inhabiting it finally breaks off from fellow-sparks and, to use a theosophical phrase, ‘becomes individualized’, that is, it enters the human kingdom.
This individualization is the first great step made by the divine spark on the Path of Evolution.
The second great step is when a human being begins to develop a definite sense of knowing what is right and what is wrong, and to realize however faintly, that the wrong must not be done, while the right must be followed. This may be called the dawning of consciousness aroused through ages of experience that happiness follows the less selfish action while pain follows the more selfish action.
He begins to take definite steps towards divinity. He learns to realize that while self-preservation might be necessary at a certain stage, self-sacrifice rather than self-seeking, is the only true way for the progress of the soul. Gradually he becomes aware, guided by the divine force within, that his deeds must not be just those driven by his personal needs, but should rise to the level of good deeds, that is, those deeds which fulfill the divine task entrusted to him by his Creator.
At last, after several incarnations of pain, suffering and sorrow, his consciousness rises. In his earlier lives, his consciousness was self-centred, always turning ‘outward’ into things of desire. Much later, this same refined and progressed man having realized the truth, turns his consciousness ‘within’, that is, towards his Higher Self, the Soul.
This is the most remarkable step leading to expansion of consciousness at the Higher Mental level when the man unfolds from within the latent spiritual and intellectual powers. This stage marks the beginning of the Return Journey of the Soul and that in Theosophy is called ‘the Ascent of Consciousness’ to higher planes. The divine spirit in man cannot fall back again, but rises ever onward and upward towards the divinity from whom it came.
The Divine Plan of Evolution is to bring about a change, a transformation in the consciousness of man, to help it lift from the mind or the Mental Plane to the ‘Buddhic’ Plane where the Oneness of Life in every separate form is realized. There is no division, no separation. It begins with us imagining ourselves as one with all. Love, compassion, empathy, humility, devotion, wisdom, are the expressions of consciousness workings at the ‘Buddhic’ level.
But the world in which we are living is in crisis, a crisis created by the inadequate unfoldment of our consciousness. Technological knowledge has not solved the fundamental problems of man: how to find happiness, live at peace and discover those things whose value will never fade. For this wisdom is required. Wisdom comes with adequate expansion of our consciousness.
The Government of the Creator works relentlessly in its own mysterious ways to bring the Divine Plan of Evolution to fruition, to enable us to do good, to help redeem our souls to salvation. But how much good we do, how much we contribute towards the fulfilment of the Divine Plan, rests entirely in our hands.
