Daily Theosophy

In a few seconds the image disappeared from her mind, but it left a good feeling – despite the nightmare she had just finished, but now forgotten.

Praja was now with her parents again. She felt happy and her parents smiled and nodded their heads – as if they knew everything of her dream she herself had already blissfully forgotten.

(21)

(The third dream of adi)

The Mind

Chapter 6

The Third Dream of Adi: Myalba

The mind

Perhaps I should have called this third dream: “Nightmare Earth.” It is playing in many lands, which are not specified in this story. But let’s give it the general name of Myalba. In the beginning it the dream seemed nice, but Adi was to face the worst and gloomiest side of Human Mind. The depths of misery. But there is always hope. Even the worst misery will be overcome. The third and last dream of Adi started in the same way as his first dream. The big square, the very tall clock tower, the elevator and the big clock. It went all very quickly, and in passing he noticed that 3 hours and more than 23 minutes had passed since the beginning of his first dream. What he did not know was that his third dream began almost at the same time as where Praja’s second dream ended.

He was very deep in thought now, in the beginning of his third dream. He felt that it was his task to give an intelligent mind to all those big beings in the world who could not think but felt deep within their hearts the wish to understand.

How to do that, was Adi’s big challenge now. Of course he himself had a very good mind, but on earth nobody had a real mind. Because Adi knew how his own mind was working, he also knew how dangerous it is to have a mind. Once creatures have a mind they can think of very bad things or very good things. They can use their mind to understand things and to make things. But a mind can also become confused, and, out of ignorance, become selfish, egoistic. Such creatures can also make things that cause pain to others. Like weapons. Or hatred. Or both. It was really a very big problem for Adi. If he could give some of his own mind to these beings who kind of looked like apes, but had more transparent bodies than people and apes have nowadays, they would suddenly become very powerful. They would no longer be animals like other animals, but they would become humans, people. You know, only humans (and some types of invisible beings) can think for themselves, and can invent things such as tools. Good tools and bad tools. Tools can be used to construct things like houses to live in, or pots and pans to cook in. The mind of the people can also understand how to use these tools, for example they can find out how to cook food or how to construct a house according to their own design. No (other) animal knows how to make pots and pans and how to cook food or design houses. Only people can do such things. But people can make bombs and weapons as well, and they can say evil things so that other people get bad feelings. A mind can think the most idiot things, crazy things, like some computer games. This is why Adi in his third dream was thinking so deeply about what to do. Only if he gave a mind to the best of all mindless beings they could become real humans, and then ask themselves: “Who am I?” (A dog or a horse or a cockroach never think that). And this question was the same big and ultimate question of Adi himself. As you remember, all things that exist, were originally questions of Adi’s own mind. And now these questions could only answer themselves if they themselves got a mind. All these questions must have all the things that Adi also has. Otherwise they would never be able to ask and answer the Big Question for themselves.

So Adi had to solve three problems:

(1) To whom would he want to give a mind?

(2) How could he give them a mind?

(3) How could he teach them to use their mind in the proper way?

These were the three problems Adi was thinking about so deeply in the beginning of his third dream. He also understood that the third problem was the biggest problem: because as soon as they would have a mind of themselves they might decide not to listen to him anymore, and just follow their own minds for good or for evil. Therefore you understand (I hope) why a mind is the most dangerous thing in the whole universe. The mind is much more dangerous than even an atom bomb or the latest fighter planes. Because the mind invents atom bombs and fighter planes. But, luckily, the mind can also be used to make beautiful things, like fine medical instruments, or beautiful art and music, and to write good books that help other people to understand things better.

(1) To whom should I give a mind?

Let’s now see how Adi solved this first problem in this dream.

Looking at them, all beings seemed to be rather careless and seemed to play rather than to worry. When something unpleasant happened many would be afraid and defend themselves, and in this way they learned something new all the time, but as soon as the danger was gone their worries were over, and they continued to play. Millions and billions and trillions of beings which move in and on and above the earth and are invisible for most people today (though in the far past many people knew some of them and even gave them names, such as gnomes and elves and nymphs and salamanders of fire, and a long list of other names). These beings were never afraid and they could not even really die, even though they could change their shape and color completely within a split second and look like another being, so that you would think that one had died and another was born. Others, such as rocks or mountains, may die after a very long period. Plants also don’t worry in general. Some plants who have had a lot of bad experience developed spikes and needles or become poisonous to protect themselves. But they never do that on their own, but in groups together, because all related plants share their feelings together, and therefore also their strategies. But worrying, or asking real questions – no – that plants never do. How could they, without a mind? They are simply adding feeling upon feeling, experience upon experience. And doing so for millions of years they move to other types of feelings, and then another type, so that finally they have had all feelings and experiences that plants can have. Beings like mushrooms have different feelings than green plants, and so have lichens and germs. But none of them has real animal feelings (though some of them may come close to that), let alone human feelings and human thoughts. So plants are rarely afraid, and they don’t worry, and they suffer only occasionally, mostly when humans inflict them pain by cutting them or picking their leaves or flowers. And even then they don’t defend themselves or get angry, but except it as it is and forget – even though the heart of the human person who does it never forgets it, even when his mind does.

With animals this is different. When they are threatened they run or jump or glide or fly or swim away. Even then, mammals and birds seem to be much more worried than insects and worms, who serve often as food for other animals. Besides being afraid of otheranimals (and of humans), many animals themselves attack each other because they have to eat; and because they can be attacked by others who want to eat them, they also have to defend themselves. Therefore animals suffer almost every day of fear, of pain, or may meet violent death. Luckily, as soon as the threat is over, the fear disappears and changes into alertness, which is a very conscious, but not an unpleasant feeling, and they go on playing.

They never have consideration for each other, except when these others are their own children, or their own group-mates. Not because they can think about that, but from their heart many animals have a feeling, called instinct, of love and care for their children like humans do. But there are also many animals who do not care for their young at all. Like sea turtles. They dig a hole on the beach, lay a lot of eggs in that hole, may be dozens of eggs at once, fill the hole with sand on top of the eggs, and that walk back to the sea and swim off, never to return and never even have any thought or feeling regarding their children.

So why do animals hunt and suffer and kill, whereas almost no plants (except a few meat eating plants) never kill animals or each other purposely? Exactly: The secret is in the word purposely: Animals have a conscious purpose, like humans, and they want to reach that purpose. Plants also have a purpose, namely to grow and produce flowers and seeds, or spores, and to provide food and clean air and water for animals and humans, but they themselves are not aware of their task. They are unconscious of their task. Herbs and trees and scrubs and ferns and mosses can feel and can be happy, but they don’t know what for. That is why plants have feelings and emotions, but no conscious desires of the type that have to be fulfilled immediately. Animals have conscious desires, but no consideration for others except their own children and friends. It can not be denied that, even though many animals live in peace and happiness most of the time, there is also ongoing warfare among them. Some animals, such as dogs and monkeys for example also can be jealous and really angry.

Adi saw that most animals, even if they would have a mind, would not care to use it. They would rather play than think, so what would be the sense of giving them a mind? Also they did not have enough brains to contain a mind. But some animals seemed to have more brains and seemed to be really worried about things. They did not understand anything, but nevertheless they desired to understand things. Their hearts had been inside every kind of animal in the past, and had had all their animal desires fulfilled. In this way that particular part of the Great Question “Who am I?” which is phrased as “What is desire?” had been greatly answered. But to understand even that completely, they needed a mind, and they felt that and wanted that. It is just like in schools classes or even whole schools or whole countries where some boys and girls seem to be always ahead of others (because they had really done their best in their lives in the past), and they want to know more. So it was from among the best of the mindless creatures which Adi choose to give a mind first.

(22)

(How to give them a mind?)

(2) How could he give them a mind?

Adi himself had a very great mind. He was super-intelligent.