In article
Post by DaleDarwin claims evolution is the "Origin of Species"
evolution MAY be the "Variation of Species" but not the
"Origin of Species"
abiogenesis, life from no life, might be the "Origin of
Species" if you are not a creationist
biogenesis, life from life, might be the "Origin of
Species" if you are a creationist
the word "Origin" fits more with beginning and genesis
than evolution
yes, this is a matter of semantics ...
The Secret Diary of Charles Darwin
By Palani, Sivasiva
Hinduism Today
hinduismtoday.com
May 1991
Evolution has never posed a grave philosophical problem
for Hindus. While others agonize over whether God created
life in the Garden of Eden or whether it emerged
fortuitously from a slurry of Primal Soup, Hindus smile
wryly and remain mute. They feel both sides have it wrong
- the apes-are-our-ancestors evolutionists by taking the
Divine out of the loop and the well-maybe-they-are-your-
ancestors creationists by insisting on a simplistic
interpretation of God's participation in this savagely
mysterious process.
Though our readers are among the best informed in the
Hindu world, I venture that if someone asked you "What do
Hindus believe about the theory of evolution?" you would
stammer affably and change the subject. I can say this
with confidence, since there is precious little known and
less written about the subject.
Here is the bottom line. Evolution in classical Indian
thought (and this includes Buddhism) is diametrically
opposed to Darwin's theory of evolution (TOE). While
Darwin spoke of the ascent of man from lesser life forms,
our rishis spoke of the descent of God. I call this the
theory of descent and decline (TODD). Our scriptures
declare that the Divine descends into the world, and
first becomes man, purusha. Humankind is the highest
biological form not because he slowly crept up the ladder
to that jealous place, but because God willed to become
him first. The urge to manifest gradually moves down and
down through the tattvas and the lower forms of life.
Then, that same One moves up and up through the process
of transmigration, finally transcending the need for a
physical birth on this plane.
If one wastes human years in instinctive gratification,
some scriptures state, one may migrate in the next life
to the body of an animal. Thus the soul can inhabit
bodies in a non-evolutionary sequence, depending on
karmas, on how we live and think, on what experiences we
need to progress. Though it seems a regression, such
going back is part of a greater moving forward. Darwin
does not conceive of the soul or its elevation to higher,
spiritual planes of being.
In modern times, Shri Aurobindo and Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
crafted theories of spiritual-physical evolution. While
differing radically from the classical TODD stated above,
both men spiritualize Darwin's concepts. Behind the
physical evolution that biologists study, they saw a
movement of spirit. The universe is a progressive
becoming. For both, the world process is viewed as
essentially an evolution of consciousness, not of matter
and force.
Aurobindo said, "The dead mechanism of stones, the
unconscious life of plants, the conscious life of animals
and the self-conscious life of men are all parts of the
Absolute and its expression at different stages. The same
Absolute reveals itself in all these. The Ultimate
Reality sleeps in the stone, breathes in the plants,
feels in the animals and awakes to self-consciousness in
man. It progressively manifests itself in and through
these particulars."
Is Aurobindo's modern theory right, or is the ancient
Hindu view? Is the world not evolving at all, but
devolving? Seeking answers to these queries, I stumbled
upon Charles Darwin's lost chronicles and discovered, to
my utter astonishment, validation of the Indian TODD
theory and a verdict against the TOE. Here then, is an
excerpt from the authentically spurious and chimerical
diary of the father of the theory of evolution.
Charles wrote: "It is a muggy April first day in 1835.
This morning the HMS Beagle's prow turned out of Calcutta
on a heading for London. I am sore beset this day. All we
thought true on the Galapagos Islands has been shattered
here in India, like a delicate porcelain doll on a dull
stone.
"I am duty-bound to record here what I learned at the
feet of a nearly-naked Holy Man. I now see it all so
rightly. Everything tells me that biological evolution is
wrong. One has only to look about to see that the world
is running down, entropy is the fact that urges herself
on us so convincingly. Life decays. Energy is lost. Who
dares think of the petty probability that all this
elegant beauty, all this efficient complexity, might have
fickle chance and unmerciful competition as her parents?
Not I. Not any reasonable man.
"I have no doubt that species do adapt and change, and by
a force of natural selection become established if strong
and wither if weak. But one species transformed into
another?
When did human eyes last see a new species originate? And
to create 10 billion of them? I fear known time is
insufficient.
"Upon my word, that pundit opened these benighted eyes.
Who are the great artisans of your civilization?' he
asked. I told him of Bach and Mozart, of da Vinci and
Michelangelo, of Shakespeare and Plato. And when did they
live?' he inquired. Centuries ago. I confided. And what
of today's philosophers, artists, architects and
composers? Are they not as competent?' Not nearly so, I
offered.
"The pundit then spoke at length of the Egyptian pyramids
and many wonders of the world and how even today they
could hardly be equaled. He told of his own culture, of
the wise men, the temple builders, the writers of the
Vedas and Upanishads whose achievements stand unrivaled
thousands of years later. You see,' his dulcet voice
drawing me toward the conclusion like a spider's prey,
'it is the same in all cultures. The masters went before
to heights not yet reached.
The purest ages went before, and the darker ages are
following. Look about you. Knowledge and skills once
common are now lost. Refinement of living once cherished
is now scorned. Values our grandfathers fought for have
been forsaken, even forgotten. It is clear that the
notion of progressive evolution, whether in biology, art,
philosophy, language or culture, must be scrutinized with
caution and distrust. The Vedic vision accords more with
simple observation, and that must be the test of every
theory, including your own, which, may I say, is entirely
too materialistic.'
"What of science and medicine? I asked. Are these not
going forward as never before? 'Yes, there is progress.
But let us wait a few centuries before we deem it the
best path. Let us first see what consequences science and
medicine bring in their wake, be assured that their
knowledge is not turned toward destruction and inequity.
Remember karma. Every action has its reaction. The
reaction to better railroads or less disease may not be
less sorrow in the world.
"I must have appeared ashen, for the pundit assured me,
'Do not fret, Charles. The future is good. The cosmic
cycle is leading us to God, each and every one. Though
the body may be growing old and weak, the spirit dwelling
therein is growing ever stronger. So it is with this
world. It dawns, it decays, it disappears. That is the
natural cycle. All the while God is nearer than your
breath, closer than your hands and feet. All the while
Love is lighting your path.'
"I have not slept this night, but mused that if I publish
this knowledge in England my career will sink like a
capsized brig. Alas, I have determined to publish the
evolution idea instead. Britishers are not ready for
more, and. I dare not give them less. I trust God, if He
exists, to forgive us all."
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1991/05/1991-05-06.shtml
More at:
Hinduism Today
http://www.hinduismtoday.com
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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