generations the entity develops a more complex nervous and glandular system to control the more highly developed body.
Eventually, from the sense of existence, the ego or the feeling “I act” emerges. The wavelength of the mind becomes more subtle, and ego is formed from a portion of ectoplasm. At this stage, the ego has two functions: determination — or will — and translation into action. Living beings with only mind-stuff act only on mechanical impulses; those with ego as well can make limited decisions about their actions. For example, a worm confronted with a stimulus such as fire can only contract instinctively. An ape, however, when attacked, may either fight or flee. This is due to the more highly developed glandular system and the corresponding development of ego.
Moving on in the course of evolution, the mutative tendency begins to wane and the subtle vibration of the sentient tendency carves a place in the individual mind. The subtlest aspect of mind, the sense of self-awareness, awakens. At this stage, the mind of the living being is a complete reflection, potentially, of the mind of God. At last a conscious awareness of that reflection is possible, and a desire to know arises. “Who am I?” “Where do I come from?” “Where am I going?” These are the questions that haunt the human being and that she alone is capable of asking. The attraction of the supreme nucleus, the longing for the infinite, propels us toward self-realization.
As the longing for the Great increases, the physical body develops certain complexities for an adjustment with higher psychic demands. Hence we find that in creatures having developed sentiments, the physical body is a composite structure of a large number of glands with their peculiar activities. The developed glandular complexity is essential for facing the psychic clashes in subtler spheres.
— P. R. Sarkar
During the long process of evolution, the individual soul is propelled through many incarnations, moving up the scale of complexity, eventually embodying a human form. There are three forces of evolution that guide this process and determine the duration and complexity of each structure in each lifetime.
THE FORCES THAT EVOLVE THE MIND
First there is the force of physical clash by which the lower portion of mind (sometimes called the ectoplasm) is developed. It is the result of contact between mind and matter, and the resultant clash between the subtle and dense vibrations of the two. As each living being struggles with nature to survive, that struggle refines the mind and helps develop higher capacities for survival. As these higher capacities evolve, the mind needs a subtler structure in which to grow and so takes on subtler physical forms. Early humans evolved because of clash with nature. They developed tools, agriculture, mathematics, science, etc., and as they did so, the human body evolved into a more complex form in order to house the more complex and subtle workings of the mind.
The second force of evolution is that by which the ego evolves — we can describe it as “psychic clash.” This is the association with other minds and with ideas. As the mind struggles to attune itself to the wavelength of another more highly evolved mind, clash occurs and the mind expands. It is said that often domestic animals who have a lot of contact with humans will embody as humans in the next life. Constant contact with the vibration of the human mind evolves the animal’s ego. In order for it to maintain parallelism between the physical and psychic wavelength, a subtler form is necessary. Education is a form of psychic clash that helps to evolve the human ego.
The third type of clash that acts as an evolutionary force is “spiritual clash,” by which intuition is developed. This happens only in the later stages of human evolution, when the mind has evolved sufficiently and the longing for the infinite is intense. This is the attraction between the individual mind and the infinite wavelength of supreme consciousness. It creates the tremendous desire and momentum needed to drive the spiritual aspirant to full selfrealization.
As the mind evolves, subtler forms are necessary in order for the body’s wavelength to maintain a parallel with the mind.
Now you can begin to see the importance of spiritual practices. Yoga postures, food, meditation, right conduct, service, study of spiritual ideas— all of these activities help the body/mind relationship remain in balance as you evolve.
According to Tantric philosophy, it is possible for humans to de-evolve into other life forms. Our free will is a result of the full evolution of our minds. We have mind-stuff, ego, and self-awareness; we exist, we act to maintain that existence, and we know. We have the capacity to grasp the universal laws with understanding, and we can choose our actions. We are at a critical juncture.
We are attracted by those familiar basic concerns that dominated our existence in animal embodiments — eating, sleeping, procreation, fear. But we also have a sense of greater fulfillment, a dim memory of infinite bliss. Thus many people wander for lifetimes in a state of confusion, vacillating between the pleasures and pains of animal existence and the unknown journey toward higher consciousness. If a human’s mind becomes completely dominated by animal-like instinct, she may need to go back, temporarily, to an animal body to fulfill that propensity before taking a human form again.
Recommended Reading:
Up from Eden by Ken Wilbur
Chapter Three The Psychospiritual Anatomy
Woman dancing with hairon fire, woman writhing in thecone of orange snakes, floweringinto crackling lithe vinesWoman…
— Marge Piercy,
The Twelve-Spoked Wheel Flashing
Long ago, in many primitive cultures, when someone had a disabling disease, it was thought to be the work of a demon who had either projected some object (a dart, a worm, etc.) inside the person’s body, or had extracted the patient’s soul. The best cure was thought to be trepanning, or making a hole in the person’s skull so the evil spirit or object would come out, or the soul would reenter.
Later, as recently as the nineteenth century, healers remained convinced that such diseases could be removed from the body somehow; they cut arteries or applied leeches to the patient’s body in hopes of draining the “bad blood.” All through history, people have disbelieved or misunderstood that which they could not see. Medical science has been greatly aided by the anatomists who dissected and examined animal and human bodies. We were finally able to grasp, after thousands of years of trial, error, and superstition, the subtler workings of the physical organs. Yoga experts say that we are almost as primitive in our understanding of the human body and mind now as those ancient physicians. We have yet to realize that the physical body is only one layer in the human organism, one layer of mind. There are many subtle organs, of a psychic nature, that have yet to find their way into anatomical textbooks.
Yoga practitioners long ago discovered these subtle anatomical parts through deep meditation. They experimented, they observed, and they discovered a body “beyond the body”— a kind of psychic structure. They found its development essential to spiritual progress. All of the Tantric spiritual practices came out of these discoveries, updated and refined over thousands of years. Yogic physicians of the future will