Daily Theosophy

Now you already know that there are no beings in our universe which are more compassionate than Adi and Praja – it is the very nature of ‘his’ and ‘her’ heart. So this compassion is everywhere, because everything came from it. This whole process of absorption and interchange is permeated by compassion. If animals kill it is no mental cruelty from their side, and it serves a most important necessity of nature. Still pain is inflicted, great pain sometimes, physical and psychological pain (such as fear) and that is not compassion. I suppose it happens only in our world, which is, from a spiritual point of view, the very lowest of all worlds. If humans kill, it is conscious cruelty, and damages the human soul more than the soul of the one who is killed. Humans spin threads of cause and effect from present to the future – ‘history threads.’ Humans can choose for active consideration and compassion, and there is no greater sin than abandoning or ignoring an impulse of compassion. If mineral souls or plant souls collect coarse matter around them, this serves not only themselves, but also the atoms and molecules which are absorbed. During the embodiment (or ‘incarnation’) of the mineral or plant, their atoms receive the beneficial influence of the souls of these minerals and plants all the time. The same applies to animals. It is a most fortunate event for an atom to be part of the body of a mineral, plant, animal or human – and in the latter case we humans, because we can be conscious of it, and because only we can do evil, no doubt have a responsibility for the atoms of our bodies through the way we use our mind, body and energy.

(13)

(All beings are there to help each other)

The higher always helps the lower, and – in the case of humans, the gods, the next higher kingdom of nature above the human kingdom, help us continuously, and self-consciously, by giving us higher mental exercises in the form of impulses to science, philosophy and culture and in other fields. But at the same time they help us in aspects of our being where our individual consciousness is not focused, to prepare the ground for our future inner evolution. And we help the gods by giving and dedicating or sacrificing the best of our thoughts, impulses, and our selves to their purposes: our mind and upward noble endeavor – what is called real devotion.

We have now talked of ‘eating’ as far as invisibles, minerals, plants are involved, i.e. the first, second and third kingdom (out of seven) of nature. There seems no suffering involved. But what about the animals? Animals have left the kind ways of plants and minerals and invisible beings, and these kind ways will only return with the best of humans, and, in higher forms, with the gods – the next stage of evolution after humankind – who do no longer need to use physical bodies.

But if everything comes from and is part of Adi, then the animals, and the humans still behaving like animals, are also part of him. And as you know from daily life, from your own life perhaps, and that of many others, suffering exists, sometimes in horrible forms. Why that? Could Adi not have prevented that? Why is ‘suffering’ inherent in Nature? Are there also planets in the universe where there is no suffering? (And then – why are we here, on this planet?).

Animals always take matter, in the form of ready-made substances called food, made by others for them. No animal just absorbs molecules and light like plants do, at least not on this planet. Actually, the animal kingdom is the down-most phase of the whole process of evolution. They animal kingdom is sometimes called the fourth kingdom, and the number 4 stands for the coarsest and deepest phase of evolution, the farthest away from the pristine purity of Adi’s heart:  it is the kingdom of personal desire. Desire without a mind to think of others. Animals are completely absorbed in their egoness, can serve only their own ego (that is their only feeling, apart from instincts which are part of them, given to them, to take care of their young etc. But instincts are not intelligent, compassionate decisions of the animals themselves. Instincts do not come from their own minds. They don’t come from their own conscious decisions, while humans do make conscious decisions. But unknowingly they serve the same compassionate universal purpose of absorption of matter and interchange of information as plants and minerals and other creatures do. It is the duty and task of animals to develop personal desire, their ‘fourth principle’ as it is called, as a preparation of humanhood in what for animals is the future.

Many animals, especially the small ones, like insects, do not seem to suffer so much as higher animals when being hunted – but we never know for sure of course. Higher, still coarser animals, like mammals, have very intense consciousness of fear. At all cost they want to prevent pain and death for themselves and, instinctively, for their progeny. Whereas, at the same time they inflict the same suffering on others continuously – at least the meat-eaters (not so much the herbivores and scavengers). Animal souls being reborn into different species subsequently, experience what they have caused. In that sense they are not innocent. From experience they remember what pain is. They also have a strong instinct to preserve their life – if not they would be constantly victimized, and would hardly get an opportunity for individual inner evolution. This instinct of preservation naturally translates into physical and psychological reaction, and this last thing is what we call fear. It is a most useful provision of nature. It is the impulse to escape death and to help them fulfill their evolutionary duty as long as possible in their present body. It takes a lot to build a new body for a complex and big animal. But luckily, animals can not think of horrid possibilities that might happen, but never happen actually, and humans do that all the time. So animals only experience fear when there is something to fear. Or when they associate something with fear, but that is usually only momentarily, for a short while. Fear exists in animals only at the moment when danger presents itself. Then they forget it until the moment a comparable situation occurs – then only memory comes back, and they can use their experience for a more skillful escape. Careful and attentive behavior, like rabbits and mice fleeing into their holes, is not real suffering.

Even though they themselves don’t know consciously, all animals have something of the heart of Adi, and deep within they know that they are sacrificing themselves for a higher purpose. So, suffering in animals is mostly temporary, unless they are continuously misused or tortured by people. And that is done on a very large scale just for satisfaction of the human tongue, stomach and economy. So humans, though higher in evolution than animals, are the only real evil creatures on earth (not all of them of course.) But we have the power to become the real best creatures on earth. It is therefore clear that people should never eat meat or hunt or torture animals for pharmaceutical purposes, and even less torture and kill each other for purposes of war, but should be as harmless, non-violent, tolerant, considerate as they can, and should, apart from living according these ideas themselves, always propagate and defend them – most of all by their own example. Then almost all suffering in the animals and human kingdoms, and in Mother Earth herself, will fade away like snow in the warm and kind sun.

Real, self-conscious and long-lasting suffering occurs only in humans. The human kingdom, the fifth kingdom, is, in its lower stages, still much an animal, with all the animal instincts. At the same time humans have a mind, and thus can form ideas about suffering. His mind his suffering even when there is no reason to suffer at all. And because we are self-conscious – we know that we exist and can philosophize about it – we can be afraid of what might happen tomorrow or next week, or perhaps never at all. We can be afraid of getting a disease later in life, or an accident, or a great disappointment in the future. Animals cannot do that; they live in the moment only – or at most in expectation for his ‘boss’ to give him food. Perhaps the very highest of animals, like elephants and dogs, and dolphins and monkeys and a few more species can have a beginning of lasting concern, but it is still a very soft feeling compared to what humans can experience due to their mental speculations. Still, humanity as a whole is on the way up. More developed people will inflict no harm on any other creature, and as a karmic result, will suffer less in future incarnations.

Then why do humans have a mind? Of course Adi has mind. Mind is everywhere in nature, molding universal intelligence into concentrated, seemingly isolated objects for experience and learning – a necessity for answering the Great Question. Mind is what creates all existing things. It is our inherent, innate desire and duty to understand ourselves and all that exists. Pleasure and happiness point us the way to follow – as long as our imperfect mind doesn’t meddle with it and combined with old desires urges us to return to the physical and simple psychological pleasures of animals. It is our mind which gives us freedom of choice. We can choose to sink back in evolution and cause suffering, or to progress in evolution and develop kind intuition, a stainless mind, high culture, harmlessness, helpfulness – in other words universal compassion. That is how humans become gods (the sixth kingdom). And that is how humans, gods, and still higher beings finally recognize and reach back to Adi’s Heart, and it is the way in which Adi, who is ourselves, gets his answer on his question who he is, who we all are. Only when that is accomplished, Adi himself (and Praja) can take rest – not for ever, but until a new quest urges them arises which is beyond our comprehension to start a new pilgrimage of adventure.

So, concluding, interchange of matter and energies and information of different phases is part of compassion, and suffering is a necessary illusion, a stimulus, to learn something like the fear for an exam, or created fear for not accomplishing what our mind has deemed important.

So eating and being eaten (or absorbed) is a universal process of movement which applies to all life, even to comets and galaxies and atoms. And ‘suffering’ is no real suffering, but a helping force for the soul to learn and expand.

Well, you see, a question so seemingly simple as ‘why do eating and being eaten (and the related suffering) exist,’ makes a very difficult and complex answer. If you don’t understand anything of it, don’t worry – just follow the best of your heart and let it guide your mind – and suffering in the world will be reduced to a trifle of what it is now. If you do understand, chances are that you are really intelligent. We live in a really dark age compared to many other ages we have gone through and will go through, we are in a very difficult ‘year’ in the school of life – but one day that age will be over, and our mind can take some holiday.

Let’s now return to the main story – which is easier to follow.

(14)

(The earth grows tired and wants to sleep)

 Adi saw how he, the heart that was once in the body of a cockroach – learned and grew more knowledgeable. And wise.