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The same authority informs us that in the important feature of the deeper brain furrows, and intricate convolutions, the chasm between the highest civilized man and the lowest savage is far greater than between the lowest savage and the highest man-like ape. Dar- win, describing the Fuegians, who are among the very lowest forms of savages, says: "Their very signs and expressions are less intelligible to us than those of the domesticated animal. They are men who do not possess the instinct of those animals, nor yet ap- pear to boast of human reason, or at least of arts con- sequent upon that reason." Professor Clodd, in describing the "primitive man," says : "Doubtless he was lower than the lowest of the savages of today — a powerful, cunning biped, with keen sense organs always sharper, in virtue of con- stant exercise, in the savage than in the civilized man (who supplements them by science), strong in- stincts, uncontrolled and fitful emotions, small faculty of wonder, and nascent reasoning power; unable to forecast tomorrow, or to comprehend yesterday, living from hand to mouth on the wild products of Nature, clothed in skin and bark, or daubed with clay, and finding shelter in trees and caves ; ignorant of the sim- 200 GNANI YOGA. piest arts, save to chip a stone missle, and perhaps to produce fire; strong in his needs of life and vague sense of right to it and to what he could get, but slowly impelled by common perils and passions to form ties, loose and haphazard at the outset, with his kind, the power of combination with them depending on sounds, signs and gestures." Such was the ancestral man. Those who are inter- ested in him are referred to the two wonderful tales of the cave-man written in the form of stories by two great modern novelists. The books referred to are (i) "The Story of Ab," by Stanley Waterloo, and (2) "Before Adam," by Jack London. They may be ob- tained from any bookseller. Both are works of fiction, with the scientific facts cleverly interwoven into them. And now in conclusion before we pass on the sub- ject of "Spiritual Evolution," which will form the sub- ject of our next lesson, we would again call your at- tention to the vital difference between the Western and the Eastern Teachings. The Western holds to a mechanical theory of life, which works without the necessity of antecedent Mind, the latter appearing as a "product" at a certain stage. The Eastern holds that Mind is back of, under, and antecedent to all the work of Evolution — the cause, not the effect or product. The Western claims that Mind was produced by the struggle of Matter to produce higher forms of itself. The Eastern claims that the whole process of Evolu- THE ASCENT OF MAN. aoi Hon is caused by Mind striving, struggling and press- ing forward toward expressing itself more fully — to liberate itself from the confining and retarding Mat- ter — the struggle resulting in an Unfoldment which causes sheath after sheath of the confining material bonds to be thrown off and discarded, in the effort to release the confined Spirit which is behind even the Mind. The Yogi Teachings are that the Evolution- ary Urge is the pressure of the confined Spirit striv- ing to free itself from the fetters and bonds which sorely oppress it. The struggle and pain of Evolution is the parturi- tion-pangs of the Spiritual deliverance from the womb of Matter. Like all birth it is attended by pain and suffering, but the end justifies it all. And as the human mother forgets her past suffering in the joy of witnessing the face, and form, and life, of her loved child, so will the soul forget the pain of the Spiritual birth by reason of the beauty and nobility of that which will be born to and from it. Let us study well the story of Physical Evolution, but let us not lose ourselves in it, for it is but the preliminary to the story of the Unfoldment of the Soul. Let us not despise the tale of the Body of Man — for it is the story of the Temple of the Spirit which has been built up from the most humble beginnings, until it has reached the present high stage. And yet 202 GNANI YOGA. even this is but the beginning, for the work will go on, and on, and on, in the spirit of those beautiful lines of Holmes: "Build thee more stately mansions, oh, my soul! As the swift seasons roll! Leave thy low-vaulted pastl Let each new temple, nobler than the last, Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, Till thou at last art free, Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea." THE NINTH LESSON Metempsychosis. As we have said in our last lesson, while the Yogi Teachings throw an important light upon the Western theory of Evolution, still there is a vital difference between the Western scientific teachings on the subject and the Eastern theories and teachings. The Western idea is that the process is a mechanical, material one, and that "mind" is a "by-product" of Matter in its evolution. But the Eastern Teachings hold that Mind is under, back of, and antecedent to all the work of Evolution, and that Matter is a "by-product" of Mind, rather than the reverse. The Eastern Teachings hold that Evolution is caused by Mind striving, struggling, and pressing for- ward toward fuller and fuller expression, using Mat- ter as a material, and yet always struggling to free itself from the confining and retarding influence of the latter. The struggle results in an Unfoldment, caus- ing sheath after sheath of the confining material bonds to be thrown off and discarded, as the Spirit presses upon the Mind, and the Mind moulds and shapes the Matter. Evolution is but the process of birth of the Individualized Spirit, from the web of Matter in which it has been confined. And the pains and strug- gles are but incidents of the spiritual parturition. In this and following lessons we shall consider the "Spiritual Evolution, of the race — that is the Unfold- ment of Individualized Spirit — just as we did the subject Physical Evolution in the last two lessons. 203 204 GNANI YOGA We have seen that preceding Spiritual Evolution, there was a Spiritual Involution. The Yogi Philoso- phy holds that in the Beginning, the Absolute medi- tated upon the subject of Creation, and formed a Mental Image, or Thought-Form, of an Universal Mind — that is, of an Universal Principle of Mind. This Universal Principle of Mind is the Great Ocean of "Mind-Stuff" from which all the phenomenal Uni- verse is evolved. From this Universal Principle of Mind, proceeded the Universal Principle of Force or Energy. And from the latter, proceeded the Univer- sal Principle of Matter. The Universal Principle of Mind was bound by Laws imposed upon it by the mental-conception of the Absolute — the Cosmic Laws of Nature. And these laws were the compelling causes of the Great Involu- tion. For before Evolution was possible, Involution was necessary. We have explained that the word "involve" means "to wrap up ; to cover ; to hide, etc." Before a thing can be "evolved," that is "unfolded," it must first be "involved," that is "wrapped up." A thing must be put in, before it may be taken out. Following the laws of Involution imposed upon it, the Universal Mental Principle involved itself in the Universal Energy Principle ; and then in obedience to the same laws, the latter involved itself in the Uni' versal Material Principle. Each stage of Involution, or wrapping-up, created for itself (out of the higher principle which in being involved) the wrapper or sheath which is to be used to wrap-up the higher prin- METEMPSYCHOSIS 205 ciple. And the higher forms of the Material Princi- ple formed sheaths of lower forms, until forms of Matter were produced far more gross than any known to us now, for they have disappeared in the Evolu- tionary ascent. Down, down, down went the process of Involution, until the lowest point was reached. Then ensued a moment's pause, preceding the begin- ning of the Evolutionary Unfoldment. Then began the Great Evolution. But, as we have told you, the Upward movement was distinguished by the "Tendency toward Individualization." That is, while the Involuntary Process was accomplished by Principles as Principles, the Upward Movement was begun by a tendency toward "splitting up," and the creation of "individual forms," and the effort to per- fect them and build upon them higher and still higher succeeding forms, until a stage was reached in which the Temple of the Spirit was worthy of being occu- pied by Man, the self-conscious expression of the Spirit. For the coming of Man was the first step of a higher form of Evolution — the Spiritual Evolu- tion. Up to this time there had been simply an Evo- lution of Bodies, but now there came the Evolution of Souls. And this Evolution of Souls becomes possible only by the process of Metempsychosis (pronounced me- temp-si-ko-sis) which is more commonly known as Reincarnation, or Reembodiment. It becomes necessary at this point to call your at- tention to the general subject of Metempsychosis, for 204 GNANI YOGA We have seen that preceding Spiritual Evolution, there was a Spiritual Involution. The Yogi Philoso- phy holds that in the Beginning, the Absolute medi- tated upon the subject of Creation, and formed a Mental Image, or Thought-Form, of an Universal Mind — that is, of an Universal Principle of Mind. This Universal Principle of Mind is the Great Ocean of "Mind-Stuff" from which all the phenomenal Uni- verse is evolved. From this Universal Principle of Mind, proceeded the Universal Principle of Force or Energy. And from the latter, proceeded the Univer- sal Principle of Matter. The Universal Principle of Mind was bound by Laws imposed upon it by the mental-conception of the Absolute — the Cosmic Laws of Nature.