Lord Shiva, God of spiritual transformation, leading to enlightenment.
As new energies descend on Earth and condition all that is found on this planet, humanity has to adapt to them so as to benefit from them, and not be swept away through resisting them. This is a normal stage in the cycle of humanity’s development, as we leave the Dark Age of Kali Yuga where humanity is the furthest from God, to progressively enter the Golden Age — one of wisdom — or Satya Yuga. These energies progressively bring in a higher level of consciousness in a process known as 'Parivartan' (change), 'shift in consciousness', 'rise of global consciousness' etc., and adaptation is necessary. It has been said that you do not put new wine into old bottles : “Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: otherwise the bottles break, and the wine spills out, and the bottles are lost: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.” (Bible, Mat. 9:17 )
This illustrates a universal truth which can be observed in daily life: in nature — in the life of every living organism, and also in the life of any entity which has been created and develops with time, such as clubs, companies, nations etc. To put it differently, the outer form must change, evolve and become more complex in order to remain an effective support for what it contains, since what is inside continuously evolves and becomes more complex. If this is not the case, then the development of the entity — living or not — is greatly hampered, stifled then eventually stops.
One simple and striking example of this is the different forms which contain the young butterfly before it finally becomes an adult — the egg, the caterpillar, the chrysalis – which constantly change form to adapt to the development of the inner life – and then the final form: that of an adult butterfly.
A more important aspect of the adaptation of the outer form is the ability or necessity for this outer form to keep up with mental development. We see an aspect (exoteric aspects) of this in the domain of the evolution of species, for example how some animals adapt their bodies to be able to do new, more complex things which they have learnt to do, through the necessity of survival.
Adaptation of the Body in Man
In preceding articles, we have mentioned the fact that man is Spirit, and that he acquired a physical body because it is only on the Earth, in a physical body that he will be able to find the experiences which will allow him to evolve from the state a young, immature Spirit to that of a full-blown spiritual Being.
As consciousness expands in man, the outer form in which this consciousness is housed must be changed regularly so as to acquire new features which will enable this new consciousness to express itself and continue its development.
It is through the law of reincarnation that this adjustment is possible : not only is the physical body changed, but everything to do with the mental, emotional and spiritual structure of man is also modified, adapted to suit the new state of consciousness. The seeds of new features are sown in the present life, through what we eat, think and do in general. Then after a period of rest (death) when the body is worn out or the mission which the inner Being (man) had set for that life has been accomplished, this inner Being reincarnates in a new body in which the seeds sown in the past life now become characteristics of the present one.
Adapting to Spiritual Development
Man has now reached the stage where after physical development, his mental development has reached an advanced level: he is well on the way to being able to think for himself, and not just go along with the mainstream of thoughts from his community. The next step, brought about by the new energies now influencing the planet, is spiritual development or the blossoming of the soul, where the inner Self becomes more and more active, and the outer self led by the lower mind and the brain becomes less and less dominant. In other words, humanity will have to learn to live more through the heart than the lower mind (lower self). This also entails further adaptation not only of the physical body, but also the emotional and mental structure of man.
When this transformation is well underway, then the soul is allowed to express itself more and more (through the heart). However, in order to hear the whispers of the soul, and see with the eyes of the soul, in other words, to be able to develop and use psychic faculties, (the faculties of the soul), one’s physical body must become extremely refined so as to transmit the very high vibrations of the soul to the nervous system of the physical body. This is usually done over a long period of time mainly through meditation and the use of appropriate mantras awakened and given by a true spiritual Master. At the same time, meditation and appropriate techniques also build the bridge between the inner Self and the outer self, which is very necessary for communication between the soul and the brain. But the first step to all this is living through one’s heart, which everyone can do right now.
Adaptation of Man’s Surroundings to Suit His Expanding Consciousness
But with regards to the adaptation of the outer form, man’s body is not the only aspect concerned. The environment in which he lives also needs to progress, and keep up with his mental and spiritual development. One can hardly imagine modern man in the surroundings of Middle Age man. That type of life would not be challenging enough for him, and would not be conducive to the expansion of consciousness. For example he would need to read books (which did not exist for the masses) and pursue activities which are mentally challenging, while society at that time did not provide that type of activity. He would also need freedom of speech and the opportunity to use his free will in many more circumstances. So, instead of his consciousness expanding, it would be more likely to regress.
Today, just as it is good to foster the development of intelligence in children through educative games, to give them a better chance of fully developing their mental capacities, in the same way it is necessary for society to provide surroundings which are conducive to the mental and spiritual development of man so that he can have a better chance of becoming what he potentially is — a spiritual Being.
That is why every country in the world needs to develop all aspects of the society in order to provide suitable surroundings for the development of the consciousness of its citizens. First of all, people need jobs to be able to live decently in this modern world. Secondly, all citizens have a right to education. Not only is it a social necessity, but it is also a necessary cornerstone to hasten spiritual development. Mental development — including being able to think for oneself — is the stage before spiritual development where a being is guided by his soul, and no longer the mind. Each individual must be allowed to use his free will, in order to acquire wisdom and so be finally guided by his true nature, the inner Being, the Self. It can be observed that in every country, as people evolve, the society changes and follows this development. But what often happens, is that people change much more quickly than the institutions do in their country, and this gives rise to the feeling that there is not enough freedom.
The key to adapting to a new state of consciousness is the heart, which is the gateway to the soul. It is through the heart that the soul expresses itself. The heart expresses the inner voice of the soul which tells everyone what is right or wrong. So if everyone lives through their heart, humanity’s spiritual consciousness will develop more quickly, and will allow man to enter this coming era more easily and peacefully. Indeed, the incoming era belongs to those who live through their hearts and so harmonize themselves with the new energies of the day.
