Dear Friends,
Namaste!
“So!” asked the Guru with a twinkle in his eye, “What’s your question?”
“I just witnessed the entire journey of Human Evolution unfold right in front of my eyes through my six sons.” said the King, “My question now is, is there a seventh type?”
“Yes,” replied the Guru to King’s surprise. “These six types are termed in Yogic Science as the ‘Jeeva’ – meaning ‘the ones who evolve or ascend’. This means that Yoga or no-Yoga, material progress or not, these people will continuously evolve, perennially travel till they reach their destination and become ‘Mukta’ – the liberated.”
“So what is the relevance of Yoga and all the sacred knowledge, its acquisition and internalization we discussed?” interrupted the King.
“These are catalysts. They will make the journey smoother and faster. But I was talking about the seventh type and He is ‘Avataar (Incarnation of God)’ or ‘the one who descends’. What this means is, from time to time, God Himself will assume the form of a Living Being to protect, progress and enrich Life – to make the Show go on.”
“So He must have done that a few times in the past?” asked the King curiously.
“Of course.” replied the Guru confidently, “He started Life in water assuming the aquatic form (‘Matsya Avataar’). The Life multiplied and thrived in this form till it came to a roadblock. Then he took Life to the next level by assuming the form of an amphibian (‘Kurma Avataar’) where Life could flourish not only in water but also on ground. The Stream of Life continued as such till it again threatened to stagnate. That’s when he assumed the form of a mammal (‘Varah Avataar’) and enabled life to further diversify and progress. The show went on for may be a few million years till again Life started decaying.
“So he assumed half-beast and half-human form (‘Nara-Simha Avataar’) to propel Life into the next orbit. This was also the first occurrence of a Human Being on the surface of the Earth. The show continued for countless years until Life again threatened to come to a stand-still. This was when he assumed the next Avataar (‘Vaamana Avataar’). He showed the half-humans the way to become more human by lifting the forelegs and standing on hind legs. ‘Vaamana’ literally means a short, hunched-back human being. This was natural for the humans who were trying to stand on two hind legs instead of on all fours! Life continued till it was time again for God to propel it forwards. So he became the human being who could stand erect (‘Parashuram Avataar’ or Homo Erectus). Use weapons made of stone to make a living etc.
“But this would take Life only so far. Very soon it became necessary for Life to become civilized to go further. That’s when He descended on this Earth yet again in the form of a Human Being who was the Epitome of Civility (‘Rama Avataar’ – Homo Sapien). This established law and order everywhere and provided a framework for the strong and the weak, the good and the bad, the wise and the otherwise to co-exist happily and for the Life to prosper.
“But there is obviously more to Life than what the limits of civilization can contain, for Life itself is boundless and limitless. This necessitated exploring the expanse of Life beyond these limits – bringing in exceptions along with the rules that existed earlier. So that Life could be explored and experienced beyond those limits. This incarnation of the Lord is well-known as ‘Krishna Avataar’ – Homo Sapien Sapien. It is also known as ‘Poorna Avataar’ – the Pinnacle of Evolution. The Lord, in this incarnation, revealed all the Divine Knowledge (‘Brahma Vidya’) and Life Secrets (‘Raja Guhya’). He also clearly articulated, laid down and walked Himself the Path to reach the Ultimate.
“This path, O King, is now known as the Path or Science of Yoga (‘Yoga Shastra’).” Finished the Guru with flourish yet again.
“What next?” asked the King with his eyes and mouth wide open.
“If you simulate this entire journey to a day, then we are past the mid-day now – with the Lord having touched the pinnacle of evolution through the ‘Poorna Avataar’. The descent has started but the day will end as gradually as it started and there will be further incarnations from time to time that will ensure that the Life will go on – the Show will go on. Until it is time for the Sun to set on Life during this day.
“A ‘night’ of equal duration will follow when there will only be the Lord – the Existence – in its purest, limitless, infinite form. Then another ‘day’ will follow.”
Friends, we will now conclude our exploration of Human Evolution and move on…
Be good…
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