The Evolution of Consciousness and the Growth of Civilization.

The Methods of Interpretation:

The study of any subject begins with interpretation. Without proper methods of interpretation, there cannot be any factual study. In physical sciences, the study begins with the standardisation of metrics. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures, near Paris, is an international standards organization tasked with the standardization of metrics. There are numerous societies around the world like ASTM, BSI, BIS etc., tasked with the standardization of metrics concerned with that particular field of study.

American Society for Testing and Materials.

The scientific community is of the opinion that there cannot be any disciple or phenomena, which cannot be brought under the gamut of objective and verifiable observation. The scientific community wanted to interpret everything in terms of metrics. They wanted to figure out the ultimate truth in terms of metrics. They wanted to figure out of what would be the properties of the fundamental particle or the God particle is like.

But there is a limitation to these experiments. These experiments hold good as long as they observe the material phenomena. But, when it comes to the observation of the subject, it is of no avail. For example, science cannot explain the phenomena of death. According to the medical interpretation, death is nothing but the cessation of all vital functions of the body. Here the concern is only about the functionality of the body and its organs. It cannot explain the conscious part associated with the body.

The spiritual community is of the opinion that the subject can be known only by the subject and not by any other means. The fundamental truths about Man and God can be understood only in a subjective way. According to the ancient seers, who had the direct realization of these fundamental truths, the fundamental truths existed from time immemorial. And that is the reason the Hindu religion doesn’t attest or ascribe any scientific dating to the Upanishads or the Scriptures which deals with these immortal truths. It is said that the four noble truths existed even before Buddha and will continue to do so in the infinite time as well. Science is object exemplified, whereas, spirituality is subject simplified. Here the evolution of the consciousness and the growth of civilization is explained in a subjective manner with some objective correlations.

Truths from time immemorial.

The Evolution of Consciousness:

The body is nothing but the system accommodating the consciousness. On the converse, the consciousness finds itself in a system capable of infinite expansion. In fact, evolution is nothing but the consciousness struggling to find itself in a system capable of infinite expansion. The following allegory of an SIM card in a mobile phone will explain this evolution phenomenon.

The SIM card always remains the same. But there is an expansion in the capabilities of mobile phones. The mobile phones which came in the beginning, simply dwarf in the functionality of modern smartphones. Naturally, there is a transition from a simple phone to a modern smartphone. Because the modern smartphones are capable of an infinite expansion than the basic phones. We naturally prefer the phone which is progressive and capable of infinite expansion, but the SIM card always remains the same.  Similarly, consciousness always prefers a system capable of infinite expansion. And man is the fulfilment of this capacity for infinite expansion. But man must raise the level of consciousness from the lower planes to the higher planes to express this fulfilment.

The Growth of Civilization:

The expression of consciousness in the lower plane of material phenomena is nothing but the struggle for existence. The expression of consciousness in the lower planes of material phenomena is nothing but the forces of attraction, repulsion and death. The animals and the earlier cavemen, where the consciousness did not raise above the lower planes, were simply engaged only in hunting and survival activities. One of the reasons why they could not raise above is because of their bent frames. They were men of barbaric brutality. There was an insecurity from food and insecurity from the forces of nature.

Evolution of man.

The man began to struggle against nature to fulfil these inadequacies. As man progressed there came the consequent material development. He settled down in a place and took to agricultural practices, and formed a close-knit group. But still there were inadequacies because of the insufficient space, and because of the growth of the community, and because of the wanting of the resources. The tribes then fought with each other and established dominions. The Roman Empire and the Mongol Empire began with tribes fighting each other for dominion. As man became adequate in food and defence, the higher planes opened up leading to the more intellectual pursuit. When the empires became stabilized there came the philosophers who enquired about the fundamental truths about life. When still higher planes opened up, the man became free from the material phenomena. They observed certain universal truths and passed on to future generations. The highest evolution of man is nothing but the complete independence from nature. The highest plane is free from all inadequacies. The highest plane is nothing but infinite expansion. Man expands in love and compassion for the world. He transcends the limitations of the body-mind complex. He transcends everything that is finite. This is the culmination of evolution. The purpose of existence of nature and man in fulfilled thereby.

The Roman Empire flag.

The Evolution of Idea of God:

The idea of God also progressed with the evolution of consciousness. The caveman was more afraid of being decimated by nature. He then perceived the nature to be all powerful. Because nature presented him every conceivable obstacle for development. Man, therefore, conceived the forces of nature as God. He performed numerous sacrifices to appease the forces of nature. When man began to overcome the forces of nature, the Nature-Gods fell from their pedestals.

The man then began fighting over each other for dominions. It was a matter of life and death for them. There came the idea of War-Gods. They performed numerous sacrifices to appease the War-Gods, for winning the war. When the empires became stabilized the need for war become less frequent, and the War-Gods fell from their pedestals.

As the man began settling down in a society, there came the idea of good and evil. The Good and Evil took the form of Gods and began battling over each other. As man transcended the forces of Good and Evil and found the ultimate truth to be beyond the duality, he relinquished the Gods. He found the infinite within. For millions of eons, the infinite in man remained as if hidden in his being. As soon the man unlocked the higher planes of consciousness, the evolution became fulfilled, and the infinite in man found expression in its own terms.

Good Vs Evil

About the evolution of consciousness, pointing to Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Swami Vivekananda said, “Patanjali, declares that the true secret of evolution is the manifestation of the perfection which is already in every being; that this perfection has been barred and the infinite tide behind is struggling to express itself. These struggles and competitions are but the results of our ignorance, because we do not know the proper way to unlock the gate and let the water in. This infinite tide behind must express itself; it is the cause of all manifestation”.

“Competitions for life or sex - gratification are only momentary, unnecessary, extraneous effects, caused by ignorance. Even when all competition has ceased, this perfect nature behind will make us go forward until everyone has become perfect. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that competition is necessary to progress. In the animal the man was suppressed, but as soon as the door was opened, out rushed man. So in man there, is the potential god, kept in by the locks and bars of ignorance. When knowledge breaks these bars, the god becomes manifest.”

Thank You.

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