The Opus the Subplot

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In a message dated 2/18/2006 2:15:46 PM Pacific Standard Time,

Nisargadatta writes:

 

Pete S <pedsie4

The Opus the Subplot

 

Evolution is one of those words which flatter us,

and that comfort us. We love to think things are,

and will, get better. The motto, the signal word,

which embodies all the hopes of our culture

is " Progress. " Darwin gave that ball a mighty

kick, and even Christians, who hate the mere

sound of the word 'evolution,' love and swear

by its identical twin, " progress. "

 

But if you believe, think, or have apperceived

God, Self, the Absolute, or just a primordial

X, as an unchanging, immutable, and eternal It,

does the word evolution apply to the whole?

 

 

 

 

Phil: Yer right, it doesn't apply to the whole, but lets be honest here,

none of us gives a damn about the whole. We're just concerned with our

experience, and perhaps the experience of those around us. So, the only place

where

evolution needs to apply is right here in the experiential illusion.

 

 

 

 

 

Does not evolution imply change from

simplicity to complexity? And is the motion

toward complexity and multiplicity what we

seek? Or is it a return to simplicity and unity?

To think that the whole needs evolution is to

believe that it was, and is, somehow,

imperfect.

 

 

 

Phil: The universe is full of circles, as both symbols and processes. They

might be seen as spirals, since nothing really seems to return to exactly the

same place, and this is the force of evolution. Nature increases organization

and complexity until self awareness occurs, which makes it possible for human

consciousness to transcend itself, though not by it's own volition, for you

purists.

 

Simplicity is found in the transcending, which is the completion of the

spiral. This simplicity is attained through complexity.

 

 

 

 

Obviously, " Life " seems to evolve, to have a

purpose. The purpose of Life seems to be to

survive, to become ever more conscious, but life

is only a minor theme, a subplot, and not the Opus.

 

 

 

Phil: Survival as purpose makes no sense. Why would that which cannot fail

to survive step into a world where it cannot fail to die? In this context, the

purpose is for radical subjectivity to experience Self.

 

 

 

 

 

We could as well say life is not evolving, but

degenerating into hellish complexity. Billions

of years ago, when life began at the unicellular

level it was very simple and free from pain and

suffering. Since reproduction was only a

matter of a cell splitting in two, cellular life had

only growth without death. So in that sense,

what we call evolution, could be seen as a

degeneration.

 

 

 

 

Phil: If the purpose is to avoid suffering, that would be correct. If the

purpose is experiential, evolution has clearly occurred. Life as a cell is not

really all that experientially rich, though I can't speak from personal

experience.

 

 

Phil