Evolution

          Earth and its solar system started to form around five billion years ago. Life came into existence soon after, first in the form of plants. The earliest living creature on Earth was a single-celled organism. For more than three billion years, there were only these single-celled marine organisms. Then more complex aquatic and land  animals appeared. The Indian subcontinent was formed from glaciers about forty million years ago. Where there are now the mighty Himalayas, there once were oceans—there is evidence of fish fossils in the rocks of the Himalayas.

          Man descended from apes around six million years ago. This is the time he started to walk on his two hind limbs; that is, he became a biped. The first appearance of man was in the Sahara region of the African continent. From there, man moved to the east, west, north, and south. Man is superior to other beings because of his highly developed brain. This organ has billions of specialized neurons and neurological pathways with which we think and can use our free will. Before this development, beings functioned only through instinct. The human brain, however, did not develop in one single step. The modern brain came into existence only forty thousand years ago. The main feature aspect that differentiates our brain from that of our early ancestors is its capacity to restrain our instinctive behavior—the activity of the lower brain—by its voluminous gray matter, which is much less developed in lower animals. The human brain has over fifteen billion nerve cells, called neurons. It is believed that only 10 to 20 percent of these are ever used. This in itself offers a great potential for further human development.

          Hindu Rishis seem to have acquired an intuitive knowledge of this evolutionary process. The first four incarnations of Lord Vishnu were in the forms of the matsya (fish) avatara, kurma (tortoise) avatara, varaha (boar) avatara, and nru-singha (half-lion and half-man) avatara. The next incarnation of the vamana (dwarf ) avatara also points to the short stature of man in the earlier periods. Many of God’s emissaries, or devtas, also have been depicted in other animal forms, such as cow (gaoo-mata), bull (nandi), cobra (naag), bird (garud), and monkey (Hanuman), etc. When understood in context, although it might have looked comical to an outsider, worshiping these animal gods is, in fact, pertinent and even rational. They are all our ancestors and forefathers in a way! More than that, this viewpoint that animals are our ancestors would pave the way for the Hindu philosophies of compassion, non-violence, vegetarianism, and ecological protection. In ancient times, Hindus did partake of animal meat—many Hindus still do. But over the course of time, an awakening evolved that considered animal killing as sinful. In fact, such a forceful surge erupted that a large section of society opted to follow the new faiths of Jainism and Buddhism to comply with these ideas and abolish the old rituals of animal sacrifice. A Hindu is taught to see God in all beings. As a symbolic gesture, he is asked to keep a portion of his food aside to be served to animals and birds every time he sits for his meals. Millions of Hindus perform this ritual religiously, even today. What appeared to be so awkward—to bow before a passing cow—now has earned a grand dignity. Hindu thought recognizes that all creatures have a sense of feeling.

          There are two main views in Hindu philosophy, the Advaita and the Dvaita. According to the Advaita philosophy, every being, human as well as non-human, is the manifestation of one Divine. There is unity among all beings and even non-beings. Thus, nothing and no one is the other person or the alien. According to the Dvaita philosophy, there also are no strangers, enemies, or aliens. In this philosophy, however, man is not the same as the Supreme God. He may consider himself as a wave of an ocean but not the ocean itself. There is a subtle difference, but the link of spirituality is maintained in both. In no case is there any feeling of vengeance, hatred, or malice. Violence may be a last resort, after exhausting all other avenues of correction, but even the violence needs to be perpetrated with compassion and good will. Our most respected modern saint, Dada Jashan Vaswani, says, “The twenty-first century belongs to these innocent, dumb animals. If we cannot take enough care of them and protect them from cruelty and violence, we ourselves are doomed.”  Indeed, this is a beautiful thought for mankind.

Hindu scriptures the Upanishads have emphasized the oneness of all creation. We cannot possibly stop wars in our world until we remove the feelings of duality and polarity toward other creatures. It may seem impractical or a tall order to think on these lines today, but tomorrow belongs to this sacred philosophy of cosmic unity. Human civilization has walked a long distance in order to accept women, the downtrodden, ethnic minorities, and exploited people on equal terms—an acceptance that would have seemed quite odd and impractical only a century ago. Now, it is the turn of these dumb beings.

Hindu scriptures have many sacred hymns in which God is worshipped for showering His bounty on all the beings of the universe.

 One such hymn reads:

Om Sarve Bhavanthu Sukhina

Sarve Santhu Nira Maya

Sarve Bhadrani Pashyanthu

Ma Kashchith Dukkha Bhaag Bhaveth

May all be happy

May all people be healthy

May all see only auspicious things

May none suffer

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