According to the theory of evolution, all life on Earth began with a single-cell organism, billions of years ago which eventually evolved into ape-like creatures over millions of years, who then evolved into human beings.
Regression in evolution, like for example humans reverting to ape-like creatures, metaphorically speaking, is not permitted, and yet, this is precisely what has happened.
Today, India is perhaps a hundred years or more behind the most advanced civilization. The article demonstrates that ancient Indians possessed knowledge that the most advanced civilizations do not yet possess, or they have acquired it only in recent years which means the theory of evolution is flawed.
The Bhagvad Geeta can accommodate this flaw. The tweaked theory of evolution is, “From time to time, civilizational evolution comes under siege due to a decline in emotional excellence that may last thousands of years. Thereafter, emotional excellence begins to rise again and the civilizational evolution continues.”
Not only does the tweaked theory conform to historical observations, it explains how the world can become more peaceful. This is because emotions can be measured and a shift from negative emotions toward positive emotions can be brought about with yoga known for thousands of years.
There is a consensus in the scientific community that all life on Earth has evolved from a single-cell organism several billion years ago and that humans have evolved from ape-like creatures over millions of years.
Studies also suggest that humans first evolved in Africa and later moved to other parts ofthe world. These studies are backed up by substantial evidence.
All of these studies suggest that human capabilities have continually improved over time,side-by-side with their evolutionary progress.
For example, as humans evolved and began to walk upright, they learned how to light a fire, to hunt, and to grow food all the way to the present time when humans have mastered the science and knowhow of how to build airplanes, send spacecraft to distant planets, build powerful computers, and self-driving automobiles, harness nuclear power, etc., etc.
This explanation of evolution implies that the most advanced civilization today has to be far more advanced than any civilization of the distant past. Just compare where humanity is today and where it was just a century ago.
In the process of evolution, the theory of evolution does not permit regression of evolutionary progress, as for example, humans regressing into ape-like creatures, metaphorically speaking, but this is exactly what has happened.
In the following paragraphs, I present several examples involving a civilization from the distant past which apparently possessed knowhow not known to the most advanced civilization today or it has been developed only in recent years, thus contradicting certain aspects of the current theory of evolution. Therefore, the theory needs to be tweaked.
- How the universe was created.
In her 2014 New York Times best-seller, “Trespassing on Einstein’s Lawn,” Amanda Gefter showed that the universe came out of nothing, a void. From that nothingness of the void evolved the energy phase of the big bang event, incredibly small (about the size of Plank length, 10 -33 cm in diameter), unbelievably hot, and immensely dense some 13.8 billion years ago, which then created the universe.
Later that year, Jim Kowall, MD (Neurology, Internal Medicine), PhD (Theoretical Physics),a friend and coauthor of an earlier book on the Nature of Ultimate Reality, published his finding that only something nonphysical must have been present in the nothingness of the void and that nonphysical entity cannot be anything else but undifferentiated consciousness. That is, undifferentiated consciousness produced the energy phase of the big bang event by its own desire, which then created the universe.
Physics can explain how the energy phase of the big bang event created the universe but cannot explain how “nothing” can create “something,” the energy phase of the big bang event.
Ancient Puranic stories assert that creation requires two things: Shiva (Undifferentiated consciousness) and Parvati-Adyashakti (primordial energy). Says Shiva, Adyashakti is incomplete without me, and I am like a corpse without her. Shiva is also known by several other names: Shunya-zero, Ardhanareshwara – half-male half female.
How life was created
The Saamkhya hypothesis states that all creation, including life here on Earth, comprises of five principal elements: Prithvi (matter), Jal (water), Agni (fire, heat), Air (oxygen) and Space, which, in turn, comprises of consciousness and energy.
Saamkhya hypothesis was probably developed sometime between the Vedic period and the time of the Bhagvad Geeta which has a chapter on Saamkhya Yoga.
Successive generations of human beings have procured their consciousness and energy from their mothers, or from the cosmos, when they were born and inhaled for the first time, but from where did the first single-cell organism get its consciousness and energy? It must have been from the cosmos just as the Saamkhya hypothesis proposes.
The theory of evolution explains how humans evolved from the single-cell organism but cannot explain how the single-cell organism sprang to life.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama explains, “When an ordinary person dies, there is a dissolution of the five principal elements, but, when an accomplished meditator enters “thukdam,” his body can remain warm and free from decomposition for many days after clinical death implying that the Earth, Water, and Fire elements have remained.” He also tells us, the universe may end one day but consciousness will remain for consciousness is eternal. His Holiness received the Nobel Prize in Peace in 1989.
Inculcation of Intuition.
Intuition is instant cognition without the benefit of the five senses and the rational mind. Modern civilizations have no means to purposefully inculcate intuition. Yogic processes exist that can enhance intuition provided the training is given at a young age. This is consequential since intuition is important to leadership as leaders are often called upon to make split-second decisions at a moment’s notice.
Sanskrit Mantras Can Bring about Positive Changes in the Human organism
The Rig Veda is the most ancient storehouse of knowledge of humanity. Scholars have found gems of wisdom in the Vedas.
One such gem is Gayatri mantra, listed in the Rig Veda, Mandala 3.62.10. A Cambridge trained scientist specializing in nuclear magnetic resonance at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi has investigated the effect of Gayatri mantra and found that it removes the asymmetry in neurochemicals between the right-half and left-half hemispheres of the human brain.
An American researcher based in Spain who specializes in brain science has published an article in Scientific American showing on the basis of MRI scans that memorizing ancient Sanskrit mantras increases the size of the brain regions associated with cognitive function.
Ancient Indian seers developed a large number of mantras most of which remain to be scientifically investigated. They may hold the key to acquiring superhuman abilities.
CIA’s The Gateway Process
While communicating its report, “Analysis and Experience of Gateway Process” to the US Army in 1983, the Central Intelligence Agency acknowledged that the agency found it exceedingly difficult to understand why and how the process works.
The CIA report cited an ancient Indian example reflective of the profound wisdom. Said the report, “In the heaven of Indra there is said to be a network of pearls so arranged that if you look at one you see all the others reflected in it.” (The holographic principle).
The report writer continued, “I have cited this quotation because it shows that the concept of the universe which some physicists are coming to accept is identical in its essential aspects with the one known to the learned elite in selected civilizations and cultures of high attainment in the ancient world.”
The report acknowledged the choice of transcendental meditation and yogic processes as means to transcend the realm of reason for the purpose of solving problems and discussed the usefulness of audio tapes that it has developed to accelerate progress.
e =mc 2
In 1905, Albert Einstein realized that energy and matter are manifestations of the same thing. He proposed that they were related to each other through the famous equation e = mc 2 . Here, c represents velocity of light, 186,000 miles/sec. Since c is so large, a tiny amount of mass holds a tremendous amount of energy.
Since then, scientists have learned how to covert mass into energy (atom bomb) but most do not know how to transform e into m. One rare scientist who does, was the late W. A. “Bill” Tiller, renowned Professor Emeritus of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford, and a former Chair of that Department. Bill was in his nineties when he died in February 2022. He had liked my article, The Brahma Uncertainty Principle.
Indian seers have preserved the knowhow of how to transform m into e and e into m for millennia.
That said, humans can only transform one form of energy into another, but, they being creatures with differentiated consciousness, cannot create something from nothing. That privilege is reserved for the undifferentiated consciousness.
These examples are but a small sample of the accomplishments of Indians in ancient times. In contrast, modern day India is probably one hundred years behind the most modern culture.
The Bhagvad Geeta is the Missing Link
In the Bhagvad Geeta, Sri Krishna says, “All civilizations, no matter how great, eventually decline only to rise again some time later. The phenomenon of rise and decline is cyclical.” Rise and decline of civilizations occurs due to the corresponding rise and decline in emotional excellence.
Emotional excellence has nothing to do with race, religion, caste, gender or national origin.
After making profound contributions to human civilization, ancient India declined several thousand years ago, and it has only now begun to rise.
The Tweaked Theory of Evolution
The forgoing discussion leads to a tweaked theory of evolution:
“From time to time, civilizational evolution comes under siege due to a decline in emotional excellence that may last thousands of years. Thereafter, emotional excellence begins to rise again and the civilizational evolution continues.”
How the Tweaked Theory of Evolution Can Lead to a Better, More Harmonious World
The tweaked theory of evolution reveals that the X- factor for a more peaceful world is emotional excellence. Emotional excellence can be enhanced through meditation or, more generally, yoga, and since emotions can now be measured, progress can be audited. Appendices I and II shed additional light on this topic. Also, the articles listed in the References provide additional details.
The importance of emotional excellence is being recognized in America. Daniel Goleman’s book, Emotional Intelligence has sold 5 million copies and it has been translated into 45 languages. HBR says, Goleman’s articles on emotional intelligence are the most archived in their publication.
Emotional intelligence is the recognition of its importance in leadership and performance but the pursuit of emotional intelligence is not an intellectual exercise. Products of reason, such as sciences, laws and policies, are useful but they are inadequate. The required positive changes have to come about from within.
Acknowledgements
This article is written with the blessings of H. H. Guru Mahan, Founder, Universal Peace Foundation. Thirumurthi Hill, TN, India. Guru Mahan has been going into three weeks of meditation annually with no food for the past thirty-two years for world peace.
The author thanks Dr. Jim Kowall and Dr. Mohan Bhalodia for their review and comments on the article.
The editorial assistance of Tony Belak, former Ombudsman, University of Louisville, is gratefully acknowledged.
Further Reading
- Aha Dharana Program for Enhancing Intuition, Universal Peace Foundation, Thirumurthi Hills, TN, India, 2019 (https://youtu.be/lJQ48QMJNx0).
- Buddhist Monk Leaves Body Consciously in Six Minutes, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwlyYHGVwic&t=21s).
- Eleven-Year Old Girl Reads Blindfolded on Indian version of “Who wants to be a Millionaire” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9pRJO_TGtw&t=13s).
- Deshpande, Pradeep B., Scientific Spirituality, The Pulse.One, March 23, 2022.
- Deshpande, Pradeep B. and Kulkarni, B. D., The Brahma Uncertainty Principle, Journal of Consciousness & Research, 3, 2, 2012 (https://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/199).
- Deshpande, Pradeep B. and Kowall, James P., The Nature of Ultimate Reality and How It Can Transform Our World: Evidence from Modern Physics; Wisdom of YODA, 2015 (amazon). James P. Kowall is a physician trained in theoretical physics. He retired from private practice several years ago to spend time researching the nature of ultimate reality. Jim succeeded in his quest in 2014.
- Deshpande, Pradeep B., East Meets West: What It Will Take to Be Vishwa Guru, amazon,
2022. - Deshpande, Pradeep B., Scientific Framework for World Transformation, Dialogue and Alliance, a Publication of Universal Peace Federation, New York, 33, 1, June 2019. (Dialogue and Alliance is a publication of the Universal Peace Federation, a New York City- based international organization with consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Cultural Council).
- Hartzell, James, A Neuroscientist Explores the “Sanskrit Effect”, Scientific American,
January 2, 2018. - Jaisundar, Rama, Scientific Investigation of Gayatri Mantra, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1ZVnEc5sKc).
- Kasanoff, Bruce, How to Measure and Strengthen Your Intuition, Forbes.Com, November 26, 2020.
- Kowall, James P., The Physicist’s Dilemma: Ultimate Reality Non-physical nature of consciousness, Journal of Consciousness Exploration and Research, 5, 4, 2014.
- Kowall, James P. and Deshpande, Pradeep B., The Role Consciousness Plays in Creation,
The Pulse.One, November 24, 2021. - McDonnell, Wayne, Analysis and Assessment of Gateway Process, Central Intelligence
Agency Report, 9 June 1983. (https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-
00788R001700210016-5.pdf). - The Tiller Foundation: Intention (https://www.tillerfoundation.org/).
- What Does it Mean to Be Human, https://humanorigins.si.edu/education/introduction-
human-evolution.
Appendix I. Why Darwinian Evolution Derails. By James P. Kowall and Pradeep B. Deshpande
Emotions have to do with the nature of personal self-identification which is emotionally driven. At the level of the body, emotions are all about body survival. The primitive emotions of fear and desire, as in the desire to eat and the fear of being eaten, are about defending the survival of the body in a body-eat-body world. Even the social emotions of emotional attachments are about defending the survival of the body since the immature body of a child cannot fend for its own survival and is dependent on the care given by a caretaker. That caretaking always arises in an emotional attachment between the child and its caretaker. At the level of the body, the expression of all emotions is only about defending the survival of the body. Those emotional expressions have been selected for by natural selection (Darwinian evolution) in the sense that the bodies that are most likely to survive and reproduce themselves in the form of another body are the bodies that are best able to express survival emotions. Survival emotions are what are being selected for by natural selection (the survival of the fittest body). Fitness for survival is being selected for in terms of the expression of body survival emotions. At the level of the body and its survival and reproduction, that’s all that’s really going on here. That’s the essence of Darwin’s theory of evolution.
The big question is about what is going on at the level of consciousness. Whatever consciousness is, when consciousness identifies itself with the body (personal self-identification), consciousness feels compelled to defend the survival of the body as though its existence depends on it. That’s when survival emotions are expressed. That emotional expression leads to personal self-identification since consciousness feels emotionally self-limited to the emotionally animated form of the body as consciousness perceives that emotional expression. Personal self-identification is always emotionally driven as survival emotions are expressed, which leads to the expression of more survival emotions that perpetuate the vicious cycle of personal self-identification.
How can this vicious cycle be broken? Consciousness has to realize the true nature of what it is. When consciousness realizes the true nature of what it is and that its existence does not depend on the survival of the body, then there is no good reason to continue to express body survival emotions. That’s how consciousness breaks the vicious cycle of personal self-identification. That emotional energy is no longer wasted on defending the survival of the body. That energy is released and can be utilized in the pursuit of other endeavors, like the expression of creativity. In other words, when consciousness realizes the true nature of what it is and that its existence does not depend on the survival of the body, consciousness overcomes the expression of body survival emotions. That overcoming of body survival emotions is really nothing more than Darwinian evolution derailed. What the main article is describing is really nothing more than consciousness freeing itself from the emotional bondage of Darwinian evolution. Great civilizations have understood the true nature of consciousness all along.
Appendix II: Understanding the Limitations of Science and Reason
Progress toward a better, more peaceful world will require a clear understanding of when the use of science is appropriate, when products of reason will deliver success, and when it will become necessary to transcend reason.
Science is the appropriate body of knowledge to use when the fundamentals of a system under scrutiny are well understood, and when they are not, but measurements are available so data can be procured, then, data-driven strategies such as six sigma are appropriate. When system fundamentals are not well understood and measurements are not available, then, these two methods cease to be useful. Transcending reason by enhancing the focus of attention, as with meditation, will then remain the only route to solving problems and to make new discoveries.
Put it another way, sciences, six sigma, laws and policies are all products of reason. Often, they are sufficient to solve problems, but when they are not, it will become necessary to transcend reason to the domain of undifferentiated consciousness, and meditation is the way to do so.
Open-mindedness and a willingness to think outside the box are essential to progress. Ask not how and why the process works, but rather, validate the observations at a high level of confidence. Let the future generations of scientists and seers tackle the bigger mystery.
It is essential to remain steadfastly committed to relying on data (evidence) alone for decision- making at all times except at the time of meditation. Then, send your rational mind on a well- deserved vacation or else it will turn into your worst enemy.
The discoveries in the examples presented have occurred by transcending reason. Actually, all discoveries occur when the focus of attention Is enhanced, often unknowingly as the did to Albert Einstein. In 1905, the year that is touted as his miracle year, Einstein published four breakthrough papers, one of which earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics. Smoking a pipe, deeply engrossed in his famous thought experiments, Einstein must have enhanced his focus of attention and transcended reason and discoveries came to him.
The example of mathematical genius, S. Ramanujan is one where the discoveries came to him in prayer which too is beyond the realm of reason.
Ancient Indian seers recognized this method of discovery earns ago and capitalized on it. This route may well hold the promise to solve some of the intractable problems such as global warming, desalination, renewable energy and the like.