CHAPTER VII
THE EVOLUTION OF ANIMALS
When we survey nature, we can readily see
that by far the greater number of living organisms are to be found not in the
human kingdom, but in the vegetable and animal kingdoms. The theories of modern science tell us
that there is a bridge in the evolution of forms
from the vegetable to the animal, and from
the animal to man; therefore it is evident that,
since man is the highest so far in evolution, all
forms lower than man must be tending towards
his type. The highest type in the animal
kingdom, which is nearest to man, is the "missing link"; and the anthropoid apes are the
forms now existing which are nearest to this
"missing link". On the side of the physical
form, we can see clearly enough the transition
from the anthropoid apes to man; but when
we consider intelligence in the animal kingdom, there is a serious gap in the scientific
conception of evolution. We have certain
...
- 170 -
domestic animals, like dogs, cats and horses, in
whom distinctly human characteristics of intelligence and emotion appear; many a dog in
his inner nature is nearer to man than the anthropoid ape. It is obvious that there is no
possible transition, on the side of form, from the
dog to man; inevitably, therefore, the high
human attributes developed in our domestic
pets must be practically wasted, if evolution
proceeds rigidly according to the ladder of
forms enunciated by science. (Fig. 5.)
In order to understand more thoroughly
nature at her work, we must supplement the
conception of the evolution of form in the
animal kingdom with that of the evolution of
its life. Only this latter conception will enable
us fully to understand the role which the animal
kingdom plays in evolutionary processes.
All life whatsoever, whether in mineral,
plant, animal or, man, is fundamentally the
One Life, which is an expression of the nature
and action of the Logos; but this Life reveals
its attributes more fully, or less fully, according
to the amount of limitation which it has surmounted in evolution. The limitations to its
manifestation are greatest in the mineral, but
they become by degrees less in the plant, the
animal and man. In the evolution of its
...
- 171 -
attributes, the Life undergoes these limitations
in succession; after enduring the limitation or
mineral matter, and there having learned to
express itself in the building of geometrical
forms through crystallization, it next passes
on to become the life of the vegetable kingdom.
Retaining all the capacities which the Life
learned through mineral matter, it now adds
new capacities as the plant, and discovers
new ways of self-revelation. When sufficient
...
- 172 -
evolutionary work has been done in the vegetable kingdom, this Life, with all the experiences
gained as the mineral and as the plant, builds
organisms in the animal kingdom, in order to
reveal more of its hidden attributes through the
more complex and more pliant forms of animal
life. When its evolutionary work is over in
the animal kingdom, its next stage of self-revelation is in the human kingdom.
Through all these great stages, as the mineral, the vegetable, the animal and the human,
it is the One Life which is at work, building
and unbuilding and rebuilding, ever at work
to build higher and higher forms. This One
Life, long before it begins its work in mineral
matter, differentiates itself into seven great
streams, each of which has its own special and
unchanging characteristics. (Fig. 56.)
|
|
The One Source of Life is symbolized in the diagram by the triangle within the circle. Each
of these seven streams differentiates itself into
seven modifications. If we represent the
seven great streams by the figures 1, 2, 3,4, 5,
6, 7, then the modifications of each are as in
the following table.
It will now be apparent how the first type or
life has seven variants, in the first of which its
own special characteristic is doubly emphasized
...
- 173 -
(11), but in its 2nd to 7th variants its
own special characteristic is modified by the
characteristics of the six other fundamental
types l.2 l.3 l.4 l.5 l.6 l.7 .
The same
principle holds good with reference to the six
other fundamental types also, as will be seen
from the table. These types are known as the "Rays".
|
|
Each of the forty-nine variants of the One
Life follows its own characteristic development
through all the great kingdoms of life, the
mineral, the vegetable, the animal and the
human. The type of life, which in the animal
Kingdom belongs to the 3.2 variety, passes from
the mineral kingdom to the vegetable kingdom
along its own special channel, and is the 3.2 life
of the vegetable kingdom; when the time comes
for it to pass into the animal kingdom, it
appears there still as 3.2 animal life, and
...
- 174 -
through animal forms which are exclusively
reserved for the development of this type or
life. When this animal life comes to the stage
of passing into the human, it will build an
individual of the 3.2 type of human being, and
not one of another type. These forty-nine
variants of the One Life-Stream follow their
forty-nine distinct channels through all the
great kingdoms, and there is no mingling of
one type of life with another type.
When the forty-nine life-streams in the
animal kingdom are ready to pass into the
human, each of the seven variants of each
fundamental type converges, in the highest
phases of its animal life, to a few predetermined animal forms. These animal forms
are arranged in the Divine Plan so as to come
into close touch with humanity as domestic
pets; and, under the influence of the care
lavished upon them, the animal life reveals its
hidden attributes, and develops them, and
"individualizes" into the human kingdom.
We have today certain animal types which
stand as the doors from the animal kingdom to
the human; such types are the dog, the cat, the
horse, the elephant, and probably also the
monkey. The transition from the animal to
the human can take place through these doors,
...
- 175 -
provided the proper influences are brought to
bear on the animal by the action of man.
While the life in dogs and cats is of the highest
type along their two "Rays", yet the transition will take place only when an individual
dog or cat has developed his intelligence and
affection by the direct action of a human
being.
Our domestic animals have been developed
out of earlier and more savage types of animal
life; the dog is the descendant of the wolf, and
the cat of various cat-like creatures, like the
panther, the tiger, etc. At the present stage,
the life-streams manifesting in the dog-streams
of life, the Canine, all converge upon the domesticated dog for the purpose of entering the
human kingdom; and similarly the Feline
types of life converge today upon the domesticated cat. In future ages we shall have other
"domesticated animals, who also will be among
the forms making the seven doors to humanity.
In the understanding of the evolution of the
animals, it is necessary to grasp clearly what is
the animal group-soul. Just as, from the
Theosophical standpoint, the individual man
is not the physical body, but an invisible spiritual entity possessing a physical body, so too
is the animal. The true animal is not the
...
- 176 -
body; he is an invisible life which acts on the
animal form as does the soul of man on man's
body. This invisible life, which energizes the
animal forms, is called the Group-Soul.
The group-soul is a certain definite quantity
of mental matter charged with the energy of the
Logos. This mental matter contains a definite
life at the animal grade of evolution, and in that
life are retained all the possible developments of
animal consciousness and activity. This
animal group-soul was, in previous cycles, the
vegetable group-soul; and in earlier cycles
still, it was the mineral group-soul. So that
now, at the stage we are considering, the
animal group-soul is already highly specialized,
as the result of its experiences in vegetable and
mineral matter. At the present stage of evolution, there is no one animal group-soul for the
animal kingdom, just as there is no one physical type for all animals; and just as in the
evolution of forms we have today their division into kingdom, sub-kingdom, group, class,
order, family, genus and species, so have we
similar divisions in the animal group-soul.
Our next diagram, Fig. 57, will give us an
idea of the way that the group-soul works.
|
|
Let us presume that there exists, on the mental
plane, the group-soul of some species of animal
...
- 177 -
life; this group-soul will repeatedly reincarnate
on earth through its animal representatives.
The life of two animals of this group-soul will
be quite distinct so long as they are alive; but
when they die, the life of each returns to the
group-soul, and is mingled with all other such
returning lives which form the group-soul of
that species. Looking at our diagram, if we
consider that A and B are two representatives
...
- 178 -
of the group-soul on the physical plane, then,
when they give birth to offspring — A to a, b, c,
d, and e, and B to f and g — the life ensouling the
bodies of the new generation comes direct from
the group-soul on the mental plane. Let us
presume that, in the litter of A, the young
animals represented by a, d and e, die young
through feebleness, or get destroyed by the
enemies of the species; and also that one offspring of B, denoted by g, suffers a similar fate.
When these animals die, their life returns
direct to the group-soul, and contributes to its
stock of experiences such few experiences as
they gained before death. Now we see, according to the diagram, that b gives rise to offspring
h, i and j, and c to offspring k and l, and
f to offspring m, and o. The life ensouling
the bodies of the third generation also comes
direct from the group-soul, but it will have impressed upon it such experiences as have been
gathered by those of earlier generations who
had died before the third generation was conceived. As each animal dies, the life which
ensouled that animal form is poured back into
the group-soul; and this life, as it returns to
the group-soul, adds as innate memories the
experiences it gained in its various physical
environmentS. It is the memory of these past
...
- 179 -
experiences which expresses itself as instinct
in animals; and the consciousness of the group-soul is slowly changing,
according to the contributions received by it from its representatives on earth after their return.
It will be evident that b, c and f survived
only because they were able to adapt themselves to the environment of nature, which is
constantly changing around them; and a, d, e
and g died because they were not strong enough
to adapt themselves to that environment. The
former survived because they were the strongest
and the fittest, in an environment full of struggle and competition; and being the fittest to
survive, they become the channels of the evolving life of the group-soul; they then produce
descendants who possess this quality of fitness
to survive which had been developed for a
giyen environment.
In this action by nature of selecting the forms
best fitted to survive, an important role is played by certain entities in the invisible worlds
who are called, in our diagram, the "Builders".
These Intelligences belong to a kingdom higher
than the human, and are known as Devas or
Angels. One department of these "Shining
Ones" has as its work that of guiding the processes of life in nature; it is they who guide the
...
- 180 -
Struggle for existence, and watch for the development in their charges of those characteristics
which are tending towards the ideal forms of
the species. They combine the Mendelian
genes which are so intimately connected with
the revelation of the latent characteristics of
the life dwelling in the form. These Builders
have before them certain ideal Types which
have to be developed in nature, so as to serve
best the purposes of the Life; with these Archetypes before them, they watch and mould
organisms from the unseen worlds, so as to
bring about that arrival of the fittest which is
difficult to explain with the ordinary evolutionary theories.
Present-day theories of biology are not sufficient to explain the "three major problems of
evolution" — the origin of species, the origin of
adaptations, and the maintenance of long range
trends. That "blind nature" can work so
purposefully with a purely mechanical method
of trial and error is not convincing. The
adaptations are towards a definite end in the
long run. The conception of the group-soul,
and of the operations of the Deva Builders,
provide a resonable explanation. It is the
Builders who use trial and error as their method in their long range operations throughout
...
- 181 -
the ages, but the final type is before them from
the beginning.
The struggle for existence is the method
adopted by the Builders to the living
organisms, in order to find out which of them
will develop, in that struggle, those adaptations which build types
that steadily approximate to the Archetypes. It must be remembered that, in the death of any organism, its
life is not dissipated into nothing; that life,
with its experiences, returns to its group-soul,
and thence issues later to dwell in another
form. Therefore, when we see that out of one
hundred seeds perhaps only one finds soil in
which to grow, and ninety-nine are wasted,
the waste is only apparent, since the life of the
"unfit" ninety-nine appears in a later generation as the descendants of the one "fit" seed.
With this principle before them of the indestructibility of Life, the Builders arrange for a
keen struggle for existence in the vegetable
and animal kingdoms. This method, which
brings about a fierce brutality in visible nature,
yet has on its unseen side a most amicable cooperation among the Builders who are
directing the growth of rival forms. They all have
but one aim, which is ,to carry out the Divine
Will, which places before them the Archetypes
...
- 182 -
which must be reproduced in the evolution of forms.
We must now understand how the animal
life differentiates itself in its progress to
individualization. If we consider any group-soul,
such as, for instance, the Canine (Fig. 58), we
shall first note that its group-soul exists on the
mental plane.
|
|
Let us presume that it puts
out expressions of itself in Canine forms
in different parts of the world. The differences of
climate and other variations in environment
will draw out of the individuals differences of
response, according to the part of the world
...
- 183 -
where the life of each is manifest; each individual
in a country will, as it dies, take back to
the group-soul a particular type of experience
and tendency. As time passes and these experiences
accumulate, there will arise in the
group-soul different nuclei, each segregating
particular experiences and tendencies. If we
think of an experience as a rate of vibration in
the indwelling life, then, where in one mass
two rates of vibration are produced, there will
be a tendency for the mass to divide, just as a
glass cracks when boiling water is poured into
it, because the rate of vibration of the inner
particles is suddenly made more rapid than
that of the outer particles. Similarly we shall
find that, after several generations, the Canine
group-soul will subdivide into specialized group-souls
of wolves, foxes, dogs, jackals and other
varieties. Similarly, the Feline group-soul
(Fig. 58) will divide, following specializations
of experience, into smaller group-souls of lions)
tigers, cats, etc. In fact, just as genera subdivide into families, so too does the group-soul
slowly divide itself into smaller and smaller
group-souls containing more and more specialized characteristics and tendencies.
In this process of the subdivision of the group-soul, we shall come to a point when a
...
- 184 -
highly specialized small group-soul will be the
indwelling life of only a small number of physical forms; when this happens, and when the
forms can be brought under the influence of
man, the transition from the animal to the
human becomes possible, and individualization is near.
If, for instance, we consider the original
Feline group-soul, we shall, in the course of
time, have a small group-soul which energizes
one highly specialized breed of domestic cats (Fig. 58);
at this stage individualization is
possible. If we consider two cats, No. 1 and
No. 2, we may presume that their experiences
will vary; we will presume that cat No.1 finds
a home where he is appreciated and much
interest and affection are lavished upon him,
and that cat No.2 is born in another home
where he is relegated to the kitchen and banished from the drawing-room. Cat No.1, in his
favorable environment, will begin to respond
to the high rates of vibration impinging upon
him from the thoughts and feelings of his master or mistress; and even before his death, this
will bring about such a specialization in the
little group-soul that that part of the group-soul which stands as the soul of Cat No.1 will
break off from the rest of the group-soul. In
...
- 185 -
the case of Cat No. 2, the life in him, when he dies, will return to the group-soul, there to
mingle with all the other returning lives.
When Cat No. 1 has so separated himself
during life from his group-soul, the further
stages of individualization can be understood
from the next diagram (Fig. 59).
|
|
The animal
taken into consideration is, however, not a cat,
but a dog, "Jack". Jack was a fox terrier of
pedigree who was most devoted to his master
and mistress, and also a great friend of the
writer. If we look at our diagram and imagine
the group-soul, with Jack in it before he came
to his master, as a rectangle, then the special
affection lavished on Jack will have the effect,
which is shown in the diagram, of drawing up
that part of the group-soul which is Jack into a
cone that rises upwards. The amount of
mental matter, which stands as the "Soul of
Jack", then slowly separates itself from the rest
of the mental matter making up the group-soul,
as shown in the third column of the diagram.
Now this specialization of Jack out of the
dog-group-soul is due, not only to the higher
vibrations sent towards him from Jack's master, mistress and friends, but also to the fact
that a Monad, "a Fragment of Divinity", is
seeking to form an Ego or Soul in order to
...
- 186 -
begin his human pilgrimage. This Monad
long ago attached to himself an atom of each
of the planes as a center on that plane, as an
"earnest" deposited in advance with a view to his future work. These "permanent atoms"
...
- 187 -
of his were sent out into the elemental, mineral,
vegetable and animal group-souls in succession, there to receive whatever experiences
they could. When the "permanent atoms
find themselves in touch with a highly specialized part of the animal group-soul, like the
"soul of Jack", then the Monad sends down
from his high plane certain influences, in
response to the outer work done for the "soul
of Jack" by his human friends. These influences are symbolized in our diagram as the
force from the Monad sprayed on the "soul
of Jack". The Monad is symbolized in the
diagram as the upper inverted cone, and each
star in that cone represents the quality which
the Monad is manifesting on each of the planes
of his activity.
When the "soul of Jack", as a result of the
stronger and more divine radiations from the
Monad, breaks off from the group-soul, Jack is
still a dog to outer appearance, but he is really
at an intermediate stage, as he certainly is not
dog nor yet man. This stage is illustrated in
the third column of the diagram. The next
stage, illustrated in the last column of the
diagram, is when, as a result of the increased
outpouring from the higher planes by the
Monad, the Causal Body is made.
- 188 -
What happens can only be described by a
simile; if we imagine that the "soul of Jack"
which in the third column is represented by
the lower cone, is like a volume of watery
vapor of no precise shape or coherence; if
we then think of all this vapor as being condensed into a drop; if we then imagine that
into the drop air is blown and a bubble is
created; then this is something like what
happens to the "soul of Jack" when the Monad
descends and creates a causal body. A divine
afflatus, which is the energy of the Monad,
pours into the mental matter which has stood
to Jack as his little soul. The mental matter
rearranges itself into a causal body, to become
the vehicle of this "Son in the Bosom of the
Father" who has descended to become a
human soul.
It should here be clearly noted that, in this
process of individualization, the animal does
not become the human in the same way that
the vegetable evolves into the animal; at individualization, all that has been for ages the
animal becomes now the vehicle to hold a fragment of Divinity, the Monad, who has
descended from above. This Monad cannot
make an Ego with a Causal Body until all
the previous stages have been achieved, of
...
- 189 -
experience in the animal and preceding kingdoms; but, while he utilizes what the animal
kingdom has prepared for him, he is in reality
an utterly different stream of energy and conciousness of the Divine Life from what is
found in kingdoms lower than man. That
is why there is an infinite gap in evolution
between the highest anthropoid ape and the
youngest individualized soul; in the latter is
the life of a Monad, in the former we have as
yet only the higher manifestations of animal
life.
From the time that the "soul of Jack" separates itself from his dog-group-soul, he has in
reality ceased to be a dog, though he still has a
dog's form. From this point of separation up
to the actual formation of the causal body,
there are several stages of transformation.
These stages can be hastened by the proper
understanding by men of the process of individualization, so that our animal friends may
pass swiftly to the reception of that Divine
Outpouring which makes of each a Soul of
Man.
One of the greatest privileges in life which
men have is to cooperate with the Divine Plan
in hastening the individualization of the higher
animals; but it is a privilege which, through
...
- 190 -
ignorance, only a few are ready to accept today. Most people now take for granted that
animals exist only to serve men's purposes;
though animals are indeed intended to give us
their strength and intelligence to help us in the
development of our civilizations, yet they exist
not primarily for men, but to fulfil their own
purposes in the Divine Plan. In our dealings
with animals, we have to remember that, while
they give us their strength, yet our first duty
is to see that they develop in such ways as
hasten their individualization. In these days,
we train the intelligence of horses to take pride
in speed, that of dogs to develop their cunning
in hunting, that of cats to be "good mousers".
All this is utterly wrong, for the animals are
brought into touch with man to have their
savage instincts weaned out of them, and to
have the higher human attributes called out
of them. Each action of man, which utilizes
the mere cunning of the animal to gratify
man's desires, is so much injury done to the
evolving animal life. We have yet to learn
that, while our superior intelligence and control of nature's forces give us a control of the
animal kingdom, yet that control has to be
exercised for the benefit of the animal kingdom, and not for our own.
- 191 -
|
|
