-- Kamlesh D Patel (Daaji)
When you wish to excel at anything in life, you will constantly strive for continuous improvement in your chosen field. And that is evolution. So what do we mean by evolution? In science, evolution relates to morphological change, that is not really in our control. When we talk of human evolution, we are talking of the evolution of our consciousness.
As human beings, we are made up of body, mind and soul. The physical body is made of the flesh and blood of matter. The subtle or astral body is energy and vibration – what we call the heart and mind. And the third body, the causal body, the soul or atman, is the centre/ base of our existence.
The physical body does not evolve much in this life. The soul is also unchanging. So what really evolves or transforms when we want to become a better person? It is the subtle body, the mind. Conscious evolution has everything to do with purification of the subtle body by removing the layers that surround it. This is how we evolve and expand our field of consciousness.
There are four main functions of the subtle body – chit, consciousness; manas, thinking; buddhi, intellect and ahankar, ego.
They work together to make up what we know as the mind. Of these four, consciousness is our focus here, and the other three have their existence within the field of consciousness. Consciousness is like the canvas of a painter, and on that canvas the play of the other three subtle bodies is orchestrated daily.
What will consciousness, thinking, intellect and ego become at the culmination of our evolution? Consciousness does not evolve on its own it evolves with the help of the other three. Intellect evolves into wisdom, thinking evolves into feeling, and ego is transformed into loving selflessness. As a result, consciousness is then able to expand from a static, narrow-minded state to become dynamic and universal in nature.
How does meditation help with this? Through meditation we are able to create this transformation by purifying the subtle body of all its complexities, thus stilling the mind. A disturbed, restless mind is like an ocean in a storm, pulled by wishes and desires, worries, fears and habits, in many different directions, turbulent and imbalanced. It is scattered in so many different channels, whereas a regulated, balanced mind is focused and promotes well-being. When we meditate properly, our mind becomes purer, simpler and lighter, so our consciousness naturally evolves. We are then able to dive to deeper and deeper levels of our existence, opening up more of our inner potential.
We then master the art of carrying that meditative state with us throughout the day, as a byproduct of a good morning meditation, so that the canvas of our consciousness remains unspoilt, fresh and clean. It is no longer disturbed by complexities, reactions and emotions that would otherwise destroy our inner calm and joy.
Wisdom blossoms in such a peaceful state. In wisdom, we utilise all our faculties at their best. We have maximum output with minimum input. With minimum action, we have the maximum result. By doing everything in our day-to-day life with such a meditative mind, we can excel and be the best that we can be.
