English
At that point Matter existed as much grosser that the grossest form of Matter now known to us, as the lat- ter is when compared to the most subtle vapors known to science. It is impossible to describe these lower forms of matter, for they have ages since disappeared from view, and we would have no words with which to describe them. We can understand the situation only by comparisons similar to the above. Succeeding the moment's pause, there began the Evolutionary Process, or Cosmic Evolution, which has gone on ever since, and which will go on for ages to come. From the grossest forms of Matter there evolved forms a little more refined, and so on and on. From the simple elementary forms, evolved more com- COSMIC EVOLUTION. 155 plex and intricate forms. And from these forms com- binations began to be formed. And the urge was ever upward. But remember this, that all of this Evolutionary Process is but a Returning Home. It is the Ascent after the Descent. It is not a Creation but an Un- foldment. The Descent was made by principles as principles — the Ascent is being made by Individual- ized Centres evolved from the principles. Matter man- ifests finer and finer forms, and exhibits a greater and greater subservience to Energy or Force. And En- ergy or Force shows a greater and greater degree of "mind" in it. But, remember this, that there is Mind in even the grossest form of Matter. This must be so, for what springs from a thing must contain the elements of its cause. And the Cosmic Evolution continues, and must con- tinue for aeons of time. Higher and higher forms of Mind are being manifested, and still higher and higher forms will appear in the scale, as the process con- tinues. The evolution is not only along material lines, but has passed on to the mental planes, and is now operating along the spiritual lines as well. And the end, and aim seems to be that each Ego, after the experiences of many lives, may unfold and develop to a point where it may become conscious of its Real Self, and realize its identity with the One Life, and the Spirit. At this point we may be confronted with the objec- tion of the student of material science, who will ask 156 GNANI YOGA. why we begin our consideration of Cosmic Evolution at a point in which matter has reached the limit of its lowest vibrations, manifesting in the grossest possible form of matter. These students may point to the fact that Science begins its consideration of evolution with the nebulae, or faint cloudlike, vaporous matter, from which the planets were formed. But there is only an apparent contradiction here. The nebulae were part of the Process of Involution, and Science is right when it holds that the gross forms were produced from the finer. But the process of change from finer to grosser was Involution, not Evolution. Do you see the differ- ence? Evolution begins at the point when the stage of Unfoldment commenced. When the gross forms begin to yield to the new upward urge, and unfold into finer forms — then begins Evolution. We shall pass over the period of Evolution in which Matter was evolving into finer and still finer forms, until at last it reached a degree of vibration capable of supporting that which we call "life." Of course there is "life" in all matter — even in the atom, as we have shown in previous lessons. But when we speak of "life," as we now do, we mean what are generally called "living forms." The Yogi Teachings inform us that the lowest forms of what we call "life" were evolved from forms of high crystal life, which indeed they very much resemble. We have spoken of this re- semblance, in the previous lessons of this series. And, so we shall begin at the point where "living forms" began. COSMIC EVOLUTION. 157 Speaking now of our own planet, the Earth, we find matter emerging from the molten state in which it manifested for ages. Gradually cooling and stratify- ing, the Earth contained none of those forms that we call living forms. The temperature of the Earth in that period is estimated at about 15,000 times hotter than boiling water, which would, of course, render impossible the existence of any of the present known forms of life. But the Yogi Teachings inform us that even in the molten mass there were elementary forms that were to become the ancestral forms of the later living forms. These elementary forms were composed of a vaporous, peculiar form of matter, of minute size, — little more than the atoms, in fact, and yet, just a lit- tle more advanced. From these elementary forms, there gradually evolved, as the Earth cooled and solid- ified, other forms, and so on until at last the first "liv- ing form" manifested. As the globe cooled at the poles, there was gradually created a tropical climate, in which the temperature was sufficiently cool to support certain rudimentary forms of life. In the rocks in the far northern lati- tudes, there are found abundant traces of fossils, which goes to prove the correctness of the Yogi Teachings of the origin of life at the north pole, from which the living forms gradually spread south toward the equa- tor, as the Earth's surface cooled. The elementary evolving life forms were of a very simple structure, and were but a degree above the crystals. They were composed of identically the same i S 8 GNANI YOGA. substance as the crystals, the only difference being that they displayed a greater degree of mind. For that matter, even the highest physical form known to us today is composed of simple chemical materials. And these chemical materials are obtained, either directly or indirectly, from the air, water, or earth. The prin- cipal materials composing the physical bodies of plants, animals, and man, are oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, with a still smaller proportion of sulphur and phosphorus, and traces of a few other elements. The material part of all living things is alike — the differ- ence lies in the degree of Mind controlling the matter in which it is embodied. Of these physical materials, carbon is the most im- portant to the living forms. It seems to possess prop- erties capable of drawing to it the other elements, and forcing them into service. From carbon proceeds what is called "protoplasm," the material of which the cells of animal and vegetable life is composed. From protoplasm the almost infinite varieties of living forms have been built up by the process of Evolution, work- ing gradually and by easy stages. Every living form is made up, or composed, of a multitude of single cells, and their combinations. And every form originates in a single cell which rapidly multiplies and repro- duces itself until the form of the amoeba; the plant; the animal; the man, is completed. All living forms are but a single cell multiplied. And every cell is composed of protoplasm. Therefore we must look for the beginning of life in the grade of matter called COSMIC EVOLUTION. 159 protoplasm. In this both modern Science and the Yogi Teachings agree fully. In investigating protoplasm we are made to realize the wonderful qualities of its principal constituent — Carbon. Carbon is the wonder worker of the ele- ments. Manifesting in various forms, as the diamond, graphite, coal, protoplasm — is it not entitled to respect ? The Yogi Teachings inform us that in Carbon we have that form of matter which was evolved as the physical basis of life. If any of you doubt that inor- ganic matter may be transformed into living forms, let us refer you to the plant life, in which you may see the plants building up cells every day from the inor- ganic, chemical or mineral substances, in the earth, air, and water. Nature performs every day the miracle of transforming chemicals and minerals into living plant cells. And when animal or man eats these plant cells, so produced, they become transformed into ani- mal cells of which the body is built up. What it took Nature ages to do in the beginning, is now performed in a few hours, or minutes. The Yogi Teachings, again on all-fours with mod- ern Science, inform us that living forms had their be- ginning in water. In the slimy bed of the polar seas the simple cell-forms appeared, having their origin in the transitional stages before mentioned. The first living forms were a lowly form of plant life, consist- ing of a single cell. From these forms were evolved forms composed of groups of cells, and so proceeded the work of evolution, from the lower form to the higher, ever in an upward path. 160 GNANI YOGA. As we have said, the single cell is the physical cen- tre, or parent, of every living form. It contains what is known as the nucleus, or kernel, which seems to be more highly organized than the rest of the material of the cell — it may be considered as the "brain" of the cell, if you wish to use your imagination a little. The single cell reproduces itself by growth and division, or separation. Each cell manifests the functions of life, whether it be a single-celled creature, or a cell which with billions of others, goes to make up a higher form. It feels, feeds, grows, and reproduces itself. In the single-celled creature, the one cell performs all of the functions, of course. But as the forms become more complex, the many cells composing a form per- form certain functions which are allotted to it, the division of labor resulting in a higher manifestation. This is true not only in the case of animal forms, but also in the case of plant forms. The cells in the bone, muscle, nerve-tissue and blood of the animal differ ac- cording to their offices; and the same is true in the cells in the sap, stem, root, leaf, seed and flower of the plant. As we have said, the cells multiply by division, after a period of growth.