Philosophical, scientific and spiritual evolution

In our ancient texts, pearls of wisdom and knowledge in all spheres of life and after life were preserved and often hidden under various layers of meaning. The Vedas, Upa-vedas, Vedangas, Puranas, Darshanas, Kavyas and scores of treatises on these by our Sages, scholars, Bhasyakaras, all have answers to several questions, doubts, apprehensions, true meanings on every aspect of life matter, that may appear unknown and offer permanent answers to the seeker. One such knowledge is on Evolution.

Evolutionary philosophies are seen in variety of ways in Hindu scriptures like Bhagavata and Bharata. These philosophical concepts are often coinciding with the thoughts of modern scientific thoughts. For example, the concept of Dashavatara can be seen as having some similarities to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The first incarnation of Vishnu in the form of a fish resembles the evolutionary origin of fish in the Silurian Period (from 443 million to 416 million years ago. It was the third period in the Palaeozoic Era).

Darwin's theory is simple. He observed in Galapagos Islands of Latin America, that, life is evolved in water. All species on the earth from fish to flowers, from banana to birds, have common ancestors. They struggled continuously and started rearranging their genes, their shape, their size, their food habits, selective mating, and finally they got totally new offspring's, and they were totally looking differently. Life in the form of Struggle for existence and survival of fittest was evolved in water. Slowly they changed to amphibians, and finally they changed to terrestrial animals. On the earth it took thousands of years to change from monkeys to primitive man and finally to present day human beings.

When we sit and read Bhagavat purana, Garuda purana, Lord Vishnu has taken Dashavatara, the ten avatars. Each and every avatar is interrelated and resembles Darwin's theory.

Lord Vishnu has taken his first avatar in water in the form of fish (Matsya avatar). This fulfils Darwin's theory of life evolved in water. Lords second avatar is tortoise (Kurma avatar). It is amphibian and it fulfils Darwin's theory of continuous struggle of fishes to change and adapt to amphibian life. Third avatar is boar (Varaha avatar meaning Pig). This is totally terrestrial animal. Amphibians have struggled continuously to adapt to terrestrial animal. Boar reminds us about the dinosaurs that lived on the earth thousands of years earlier. Fourth avatar is Narasimha avatar, body is human form and face and hands are like lion.

Fifth avatar is Vamana avatar, short and intelligent human. Sixth avatar is Parashurama avatar, axe man who stayed in jungle. Seventh avatar is Rama avatar, perfect gentleman, who followed monogamy. Eighth avatar is Krishna avatar. Krishna is wise, shrewd statesman like today's politician. Ninth avatar is Buddha avatar. Buddha is pursuit of happiness. Tenth avatar is Kalki avatar. Kalki is man with weapons, Techno-humanoid man of tomorrow.

Does it not mean that our ancestors knew things that we are discovering now? Our ancestors told evolutionary theory in the form of simple and easily understandable stories. How did they get the entire evolutionary theory right in so much precision is a million-dollar question?

Charles Darwin was born in a small town called Mount in England in 1809 to a popular doctor who wanted him to take up medicine as his career. Darwin however became scientist in a Ship and began his sea journey in 1831, from England towards Latin America. Sailing from one island to another island, he studied the animals, fossils, flowers, fruits, and the men on the island.

Darwin collected large number of fossils, animals, flowers from Galapagos Islands, Falkland Island, made careful study. He concluded that, life evolved in water in the form of simple single cell creature. The aquatic animals slowly started changing their habitat from water to earth and then to four legged animals, and later two feet human beings. Many changes are also noticed in human beings, dwarf man, to man with weapons, intelligent human beings.

According to Darwin's theory, life began in the ocean. Vishnu's first avatar, Matsya, was a fish. Vishnu's first avatar was Matsya. He took the form of a fish to save Manu from the massive deluge. Darwin believed that water is the most essential ingredient to sustain life, and thus that is where life originated. Darwin said that the species then began coming out of the water. Kurma, Vishnu's second avatar was an amphibian.

The next logical step in evolution had to be the ability to travel on the ground. To accomplish this, species started developing legs. Boar, the third form taken by Vishnu, fought Hiranyaksha to bring the earth back from the bottom of the ocean. Narsimha avatar had the features of man as well as those of a beast. This could be similar to the species the very first human beings evolved from. This indicates evolution slowly going towards human beings.

The fifth avatar, Vamana was dwarfed human being, visually very similar to the short ape species that humans have evolved from. The earliest form of apes that human beings evolved from were in fact, much shorter in height than present-day human beings. The short ape-like species finally evolved into what we call 'early man'. Parashurama, Vishnu's sixth avatar was very similar to that. In the study of evolution, all these are the traits commonly associated with the cave dwelling 'early man'.

Aurobindo was an Indian philosopher, yogi, guru, poet, and nationalist. He became a spiritual reformer, introducing his visions on human progress and spiritual evolution. The central theme of his vision was the evolution of human life into a divine life. He believed in a spiritual realisation that not only liberated but transformed human nature, enabling a divine life on earth.

Aurobindo believed that Darwinism merely describes a phenomenon of the evolution of matter into life, but does not explain the reason behind it, while he finds life to be already present in matter, because all of existence is a manifestation of Brahman.

The unfolding of earth's and man's spiritual destiny is illuminated. The Life Divine is Aurobindo's principal philosophical work in which he presents a theory of spiritual evolution, which will culminate in the human being and the advent of a divine life on the earth.

The ancient Hindu wisdom is like the proverbial 'Akshaya Patra' and those who have it will never feel hungry for knowledge. Even in the Kavyas written for the easy understanding of the common readers, there are several layers of meaning. Take for instance the Sundarakanda from the Ramayana which is an encyclopaedia in itself. It has Dharma, Mantra, Tattva, Ayurveda, Jyothish, and Yoga shastras all rolled into one. This is only the tip of the Iceberg. For the serious seekers and people with true curiosity the ancient texts are like a priceless treasure. It is our failure to understand the true meaning and knowledge of these Shastras that we tend to criticize out of our sheer ignorance. Ignorance is not always blissful, definitely not in the context of our rich heritage of wisdom.

(With VJM Divakar)