Yoga
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Sadhana
The Realisation of Life
By Rabindranath Tagore
An Introduction
to Yoga
by Annie Besant
- The Unfolding of Consciousness
- The Oneness of the Self
- The Quickening of the Process of Self-Unfoldment
- Yoga is a Science
- Man a Duality
- States of Mind
- Samadhi
- Some Definitions
- God Without and God Within
- Changes of Consciousness and Vibrations of Matter
- Stages of Mind
- Inward and Outward-turned Consciousness
- The Cloud
- Mind
- The Mental Body
- Methods of Yoga
- To the Self by the Self
- To the Self through the Not-Self
- Yoga and Morality
- Composition of States of the Mind
- Inhibition of States of Mind
- Meditation with and without Seed
- The Use of Mantras
- Obstacles to Yoga
- Capacities for Yoga
- Forthgoing and Returning
- Purification of Bodies
- Dwellers on the Threshold
- Preparation for Yoga
- The End
The Doctrine and Practice of Yoga
by Swami Mukerji
Jogi of the South India Order
Patanjali's
Yoga Sutras
Lessons in Gnani and Raja Yoga
The Yoga of Wisdom
by Yogi Ramacharaka
Acupressure
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Lessons in Gnani and Raja Yoga
The Yoga of Wisdom
by Yogi Ramacharaka
THE EIGHTH LESSON
THE ASCENT OF MAN.
In our last lesson we led you by successive steps from the beginnings
of Life in living forms up to the creatures closely resembling the
family of vertebrates--the highest family of living forms on this
planet. In this present lesson we take up the story of the "Ascent of
Man" from the lowly vertebrate forms.
The large sub-family of forms called "The Vertebrates" are
distinguished from the Invertebrates by reason of the former possessing
an internal bony skeleton, the most important feature of which is the
vertebra or spinal column. The vertebrates, be it remembered, possess
practically the same organs as the lower forms of life, but differ from
them most materially by the possession of the internal skeleton, the
lower forms having an external or outside skeleton, which latter is
merely a hardening of the skin.
The flexibility of the vertebra creates a wonderful strength of
structure, combined with an ease of movement peculiar to the
vertebrates, and which renders them the natural forms of life capable
of rapid development and evolution. By means of this strength, and
ease, these forms are enabled to move rapidly in pursuit of their prey,
and away from their pursuers, and also to resist outside pressure or
attack. They are protected in a way similar to the invertebrates having
shells, and yet have the additional advantage of easy movement.
Differing in shape and appearance as do the numerous members of the
sub-family of vertebrates, still their structure is easily seen to
spring from a single form--all are modifications of some common
pattern, the differences arising from the necessities of the life of
the animal, as manifested through the desire and necessities of the
species.
Science shows the direct relationship between the Vertebrates, and the
Invertebrates by means of several connecting-links, the most noticeable
of which is the Lancelot, a creature resembling the fish-form, and yet
also closely resembling the lower (invertebrate) forms of life. This
creature has no head, and but one eye. It is semi-transparent, and
possesses cilia for forcing in the water containing its food. It has
something like gills, and a gullet like the lower forms. It has no
heart, the blood being circulated by means of contracting vessels or
parts. Strictly speaking, it has no back-bone, or vertebra, but still
Science has been compelled to class it among the vertebrates because is
has a gristly cartilage where the back-bone is found in the higher
forms. This gristle may be called an "elementary spine." It has a
nervous system consisting of a single cord which spreads into a
broadened end near the creature's mouth, and which may therefore be
regarded as "something like a brain." This creature is really a
developed form of Invertebrate, shaped like a Vertebrate, and showing
signs of a rudimentary spine and nervous system of the latter. It is a
"connecting-link."
The lowest forms of the true Vertebrates are the great families of
Fishes. These Fish families include fishes of high and low degree, some
of the higher forms being as different from the lowest as they (the
highest) are different from the Reptile family. It is not necessary to
go into detail regarding the nature of the fish families, for every
student is more or less familiar with them.
Some peculiar forms of fish show a shading into the Reptile family, in
fact they seem to belong nearly as much to the latter as to their own
general family. Some species of fish known as the Dipnoi or
"double-breathers," have a remarkable dual system of breathing. That
is, they have gills for breathing while in the water, and also have a
primitive or elementary "lung" in the shape of an air-bladder, or
"sound," which they use for breathing on land. The Mud-fish of South
America, and also other forms in Australia and other places, have a
modification of fins which are practically "limbs," which they actually
use for traveling on land from pond to pond. Some of these fish have
been known to travel enormous distances in search of new pools of
water, or new streams, having been driven from their original homes by
droughts, or perhaps by instincts similar to the migrating instinct of
birds. Eels are fish (although many commonly forget this fact) and
many of their species are able to leave the water and travel on land
from pond to pond, their breathing being performed by a peculiar
modification of the gills. The climbing perch of India are able to live
out of water, and have modified gills for breathing purposes, and
modified fins for climbing and walking. So you see that without leaving
the fish family proper, we have examples of land living creatures which
are akin to "connecting links."
But there are real "connecting-links"' between the Fish and the
Reptiles. Passing over the many queer forms which serve as links
between the two families, we have but to consider our common frog's
history for a striking example. The Tadpole has gills, has no limbs,
uses its tail like a fish's fin, eats plants, etc. Passing through
several interesting stages the Tadpole reaches a stage in which it is a
frog with a tail--then it sheds its tail and is a full fledged Frog,
with four legs; web-feet; no tail; and feeding on animals. The Frog is
amphibious, that is, able to live on land or in water--and yet it is
compelled to come to the surface of the water for air to supply its
lungs. Some of the amphibious animals possess both lungs and gills,
even when matured; but the higher vertebrates living in the water
breathe through lungs which are evolved from the air-bladder of fishes,
which in turn have been evolved from the primitive gullet of the lower
forms. There are fishes known which are warm-blooded. Students will
kindly remember that the Whale is not a fish, but an aquatic animal--a
mammal, in fact, bringing forth its young alive, and suckling it from
its breasts.
So we readily see that it is but a step, and a short step at that,
between the land-traveling and climbing fishes and the lower forms of
Reptiles. The Frog shows us the process of evolution between the two
families, its life history reproducing the gradual evolution which may
have required ages to perfect in the case of the species. You will
remember that the embryo stages of all creatures reproduce the various
stages of evolution through which the species has passed--this is true
in Man as well as in the Frog.
We need not tarry long in considering the Reptile family of living
forms. In its varieties of serpents, lizards, crocodiles, turtles,
etc., we have studied and observed its forms. We see the limbless
snakes; the lizards with active limbs; the huge, clumsy, slow
crocodiles and alligators--the armor-bearing turtles and tortoises--all
belonging to the one great family of Reptiles, and nearly all of them
being degenerate descendants of the mighty Reptile forms of the
geological Age of Reptiles, in which flourished the mighty forms of the
giant reptiles--the monsters of land and water. Amidst the dense
vegetation of that pre-historic age, surrounded by the most favorable
conditions, these mighty creatures flourished and lived, their
fossilized skeleton forms evidencing to us how far their descendants
have fallen, owing to less favorable conditions, and the development of
other life-forms more in harmony with their changed environment.
Next comes the great family of Birds. The Birds ascended from the
Reptiles. This is the Eastern Teaching, and this is the teaching of
Western Science It was formerly taught in the text-books that the line
of ascent was along the family of winged reptiles which existed in the
Age of Reptiles, in the early days of the Earth. But the later writers
on the subject, in the Western world, have contradicted this. It is now
taught that these ancient winged-reptiles were featherless, and more
closely resembled the Bat family than birds. (You will remember that a
Bat is neither a reptile nor a bird--it is a mammal, bringing forth its
young alive, and suckling them at its breast. The Bat is more like a
mouse, and its wings are simply membrane stretched between its fingers,
its feet, and its tail.)
The line of ascent from Reptile to Bird was along the forms of the
Reptiles that walked on land. There are close anatomical and
physiological relations and correspondences between the two families
(Reptiles and Birds) which we need not refer to here. And, of course,
many modifications have occurred since the "branching-out." The scales
of the reptiles, and the feathers of the birds, are known to be but
modifications of the original outer skin, as are also the hair, claws,
hoofs, nails, etc., of all animals. Even teeth arose in this way,
strange as it may now seem--they are all secreted from the skin. What a
wonderful field for thought--this gradual evolution from the filmy
outer covering of the lowest living forms to the beautiful feathers,
beaks, and claws of the bird!
The evolving of wings meant much to the ascending forms of life. The
Reptiles were compelled to live in a narrow circle of territory, while
the Birds were able to travel over the earth in wide flights. And
travel always develops the faculties of observation, memory, etc., and
cultivates the senses of seeing, hearing, etc. And the creature is
compelled to exercise its evolving "thinking" faculties to a greater
extent. And so the Birds were compelled by necessity of their travels
to develop a greater degree of thinking organism. The result is that
among birds we find many instances of intelligent thought, which cannot
be dismissed as "mere instinct." Naturalists place the Crow at the head
of the family of Birds, in point of intelligence, and those who have
watched these creatures and studied the mental processes, will agree
that this is a just decision. It has been proven that Crows are capable
of counting up to several figures, and in other ways they display a
wonderful degree of almost human sagacity.
Next above the Bird family comes the highest form of all--the Mammals.
But before we begin our consideration of these high forms, let us take
a hasty glance at the "connecting-links" between the Birds and the
Mammals. The lowest forms of the Mammals resemble Birds in many ways.
Some of them are toothless, and many of them have the same primitive
intestinal arrangements possessed by the birds, from which arises their
name, Monotremes. These Monotremes may be called half-bird and
half-mammal. One of the most characteristic of their family is the
Ornithorhynchus, or Duck-bill, which the early naturalists first
thought was a fraud of the taxidermists, or bird-stuffers, and then,
when finally convinced, deemed it a "freak-of-nature." But it is not a
freak creature, but a "connecting-link" between the two great families
of creatures. This animal presents a startling appearance to the
observer who witnesses it for the first time. It resembles a beaver,
having a soft furry coat, but also has a horny, flat bill like a duck,
its feet being webbed, but also furnished with claws projecting over
the edge of the web-foot. It lays eggs in an underground nest--two eggs
at a time, which are like the eggs of birds, inasmuch as they contain
not only the protoplasm from which the embryo is formed, but also the
"yolk." on which the embryo feeds until hatched. After the young
Duck-bill is hatched, it feeds from teatless glands in the mother's
body, the milk being furnished by the mother by a peculiar process.
Consider this miracle--an animal which lays eggs and then when her
young are hatched nourishes them with milk. The milk-glands in the
mother are elementary "breasts."
The above-mentioned animal is found in Australia, the land of many
strange forms and "connecting-links," which have survived there while
in other parts of the globe they have vanished gradually from
existence, crowded out by the more perfectly evolved forms. Darwin has
called these surviving forms "living fossils." In that same land is
also found the Echidna or spiny ant-eater, which lays an egg and then
hatches it in her pouch, after which she nourishes it on milk, in a
manner similar to that of the Duck-bill. This animal, like the
Duck-bill, is a Monotreme.
Scientists are divided in theories as to whether the Monotremes are
actually descended directly from the Reptiles or Birds, or whether
there was a common ancestor from which Reptiles and Birds and Mammals
branched off. But this is not important, for the relationship between
Reptiles, Birds and Mammals is clearly proven. And the Monotremes are
certainly one of the surviving forms of the intermediate stages.
The next higher step in the ascent of Mammal life above the Monotreme
is occupied by the Marsupials, or milk-giving, pouched animals, of
which family the opossum and kangaroo are well known members. The
characteristic feature of this family of creatures is the possession of
an external pouch in the female, in which the young are kept and
nourished until they can take care of themselves as the young of other
animals are able to do. The young of the Marsupials are brought forth,
or born, in an imperfect condition, and undeveloped in size and
strength. There are fossil remains of Marsupials showing that in past
ages creatures of this kind existed which were as large as elephants.
In the more common form of Mammals the young are brought forth fully
formed, they having received "nourishment, before birth, from the
mother's body, through the placenta, the appendage which connects the
fetus with the parent. The Placental Mammals were the best equipped of
all the life-forms for survival and development, for the reason that
the young were nourished during their critical period, and the care
that the mammal must of necessity give to her young operated in the
direction of affording a special protection far superior to that of the
other forms. This and other causes acted to place the Placentals in the
"Royal line" from which Man was evolved.
The following families of Placental Mammals are recognized by Science,
each having its own structural peculiarities:
The Edentata, or Toothless creatures, among which are the sloths,
ant-eaters, armadillos, etc. These animals seem to be closer to the
Monotremes than they are to the Marsupials;
The Sirenia, so called by reason of their fanciful resemblance to the
sirens of mythology, among which are the sea-cows, manatees, dugongs,
etc., which are fish-like in structure and appearance, the fore-limbs
being shaped like paddles, or fins, and the hind-limbs being absent or
rudimentary;
The Cetacea, or Whale Family, including whales, Porpoises, dolphins,
etc., which are quite fish-like in appearance and structure, their
forms being adapted for life in the sea, although they are, of course,
Mammals, bringing forth matured young which are suckled at the breast;
The Ungulata, or Hoofed Animals, which comprise many varied forms,
such as the horse, the tapir, the rhinoceros, the swine, the
hippopotamus, the camel, the deer, the sheep, the cow, etc., etc.;
The Hyracoidea, which is a small family, the principal member of
which is the coney, or rock rabbit, which has teeth resembling those of
the hoofed animals, in some ways, and those of the gnawing animals in
the others.
The Proboscidea, or Trunked Animals, which family is represented in
this age only by the families of elephants, which have a peculiar
appendage called a "trunk," which they use as an additional limb;
The Carnivora, or Flesh-eaters, represented by numerous and various
forms, such as the seal, the bear, the weasel, the wolf, the dog, the
lion, the tiger, the leopard, etc. The wolf and similar forms belong to
the sub-family of dogs; while the lion, tiger, etc., belong to the
sub-family of cats;
The Rodentia, or Gnawers, comprising the rat, the hare, the beaver,
the squirrel, the mouse, etc., etc.;
The Insectivora, or Insect Feeders, comprising the mole, the shrew,
the hedgehog, etc.;
The Chiroptera, or Finger-Winged Animals, comprising the great family
of Bats, etc., which are very highly developed animals;
The Lemuroidea, or Lemurs, the name of which is derived from the
Latin word meaning a "ghost," by reason of the Lemur's habits of
roaming about at night. The Lemur is a nocturnal animal, somewhat
resembling the Monkey in general appearance, but with a long, bushy
tail and sharp muzzle like a fox. It is akin to a small fox having
hands and feet like a monkey, the feet being used to grasp like a hand,
as is the case with the true Monkey family. These creatures are classed
by some naturalists among the Monkeys by reason of being "four-handed,"
while others are disposed to consider as still more important their
marked relationship with, and affinity to, the marsupials, gnawers and
insect-feeders. On the whole, these creatures are strangely organized
and come very near to being a "connecting-link" between other forms.
One of the Lemurs is what is known as the colugo, or "flying lemur,"
which resembles a squirrel in many particulars, and yet has a
membranous web extending from its hands, which enables it to make
flying leaps over great distances. This last named variety seems to
furnish a link between the insect-feeders and the Primates;
The Primates, which is a large family comprising the various forms of
monkeys, baboons, man-apes, such as the gibbon, gorilla, chimpanzee,
orang-outang, etc., all of which have big jaws, small brains, and a
stooping posture. This family also includes MAN, with his big brain and
erect posture, and his many races depending upon shape of skull, color
of skin, character of hair, etc.
In considering the Ascent of Man (physical) from the lowly forms of the
Monera, etc., up to his present high position, the student is struck
with the continuity of the ascent, development and unfoldment. While
there are many "missing-links," owing to the disappearance of the forms
which formed the connection, still there is sufficient proof left in
the existing forms to satisfy the fair-minded inquirer. The facts of
embryology alone are sufficient proof of the ascent of Man from the
lowly forms. Each and every man today has passed through all the forms
of the ascent within a few months, from single cell to the new-born,
fully formed infant.
Embryology teaches us that the eggs from which all animal forms evolve
are all practically alike so far as one can ascertain by microscopic
examination, no matter how diverse may be the forms which will evolve
from them, and this resemblance is maintained even when the embryo of
the higher forms begins to manifest traces of its future form. Von
Baer, the German scientist, was the first to note this remarkable and
suggestive fact. He stated it in the following words: "In my possession
are two little embryos, preserved in alcohol, whose names I have
omitted to attach, and at present I am unable to state to what class
they belong. They may be lizards, or small birds, or very young