Chapter 8 - Divine Principle In Man

‘There is in this body a higher Soul, the Looker-on and the Sanctioner, the Sustainer and Experiences, the Mighty Lord, who is also designated the Supreme Spirit.’
     —Bhagavad Gita, XIII, 22.

‘He who is the Omniscient Knower of all, whose glory is manifested in the universe, dwells in the heart and assuming the nature of the mind, becomes the guide of the body and of the senses. The wise who understand this, realize the Self-effulgent, Immortal, and Blissful One.’
     —Mundaka Upanishad, II, 2 Kh. 7.

The study of human nature is the most interesting and the most beneficial of all studies. The more we study ourselves, the better we can understand the universe, its laws, and the truth that underlies its phenomena. It is said, ‘man is the epitome of the universe; whatever exists in the world is to be found in the body of man’. As, on the one hand, we find in man all those tendencies and propensities which characterize the lower animals, so on the other, we see him manifesting through the actions of his life all those noble qualities that adorn the character of One, whom we honour, respect, and worship as the divine Being. Human nature seems to be a most wonderful blending of that which is animal with that which is called divine. It is like the twilight before daybreak, through which the darkness of the night of the animal nature passes into the glorious sunshine of the supreme wisdom. Human nature may be called the state of transition from the animal into the divine. The animal nature includes the love of self or the attachment of one’s self to one’s body and to everything related to the body and the senses, desire for sense pleasures and enjoyments, the clinging to earthly life, fear of death and the struggle for existence. Each of these qualities or tendencies is to be found in the lower animals as well as in human beings, the difference being only in degree and not in kind.

The savage man who lives like a wild beast in a cave or under trees and does not know how to build a house or cultivate the ground, but who sustains life by depending entirely upon fruits, roots, wild berries, or upon the birds and beasts that he can trap, expresses in all the actions of his life nothing more than what we have described as animal tendencies and animal propensities. If the Darwinian theory be true, then we can easily explain why there should be so little difference between primitive man and his distant ancestor, the chimpanzee, or some other member of the anthropoid species. When, however, the same wild man become partially civilized by learning to cultivate the land, to raise food and cook it, to build houses and live in communities, he no longer manifests these animal tendencies in their simpler and more savage forms. He gradually adopts more artful methods to accomplish his purposes. For instance, the struggle for, existence depends chiefly upon physical force among savage tribes as well as among animals, while among civilized people in civilized countries a similar result in the form of the survival of the fittest is obtained, not by the display of brute force, but by art, skill, diplomacy, policy, lying, strategy, and hypocrisy. These are the offensive and defensive weapons of the so-called ‘civilized man’.

All the vicious qualities and wicked deeds, such as murder, theft, robbery, and other crimes, which are to be found in civilized communities, are nothing but the expressions of the animal tendencies of man, working under the heavy pressure of the rigid laws of society, state, and government. They proceed from love of self or extreme attachment to the animal nature. Being guided by these lower tendencies, man becomes extremely selfish, and does not recognize the rights or comforts of his fellow-beings. On the contrary, he does everything to satisfy the cravings of his body and senses at the expense of his neighbours. But the moment that this savage man, or the man who lives like a lower animal begins to see the rights of others, learns to love and care for his fellow-beings in the same way that he loves his own dear self and cares for his own belongings, from that time he rises a step higher than the absolutely animal plane; he becomes truly human and gradually manifests the other qualities and tendencies that accompany this fundamental moral principle—to love one’s neighbour as one’s self.

Upon this foundation has been built the whole structure of ethics among all nations. The virtuous qualities such as disinterested love for humanity, mercy, justice, kindness towards others, forgiveness, self-sacrifice, all these help the animal man to expand the range of his love of self and to subdue all that proceeds from purely selfish attachment to his own body and senses. The higher we rise above the animal plane, the wider becomes the circle of self-love, and instead of being confined to the body and senses of the individual, it becomes general, covering the selves, not merely of dearest relatives and nearest friends, but of neighbours, countrymen, and at last, of all humanity. Thus, the more universal our love of self becomes, the nearer we approach the Divinity, because the divine principle is the universal Being, whose love flows equally towards all living creatures, as the sun shines equally upon the heads of the virtuous and the wicked.

Anything that is done, not with a motive confined to some particular person, community, or nation, but through love for all humanity, nay, with a feeling that seeks the benefit of all living creatures, is unselfish; consequently, it is guided by the universal or divine principle. The tendency of the individual self of each man is not to remain confined within one narrow circle, but to go beyond the boundary of the circle of the animal nature, beyond human nature, and ultimately to become universal. All charitable acts and philanthropic deeds are but steps towards that one goal. Well has it been said by Ralph Waldo Emerson that, ‘the life of man is a self-evolving circle, which from a ring imperceptibly small rushes on all sides outwards to new and larger circles, and that without end.’

Indeed the self of man has the constant tendency to break down all limitations, to transcend all boundaries, and to become one with the Self of the universe. A human being cannot rest contented, cannot remain perfectly satisfied while living within the limitations of his animal nature. He may appear to be contented for a time, or he may delude himself by thinking that he is perfectly happy and satisfied under these conditions, but the moment is sure to come when, being forced from within, he will give vent to the natural tendency to expand by struggling hard to reach out from the animal self and be united with the universal Self. This tendency is inherent in the very nature of man and its expression will force him to control the lower animal desires and propensities, to become the absolute master of them, and will gradually lead him to live a moral and spiritual life.

The awakening may come at any time and under any circumstances. One may be suddenly awakened in the midst of all the comforts, luxuries, and pleasures of the earthly life. No one can tell when or how such an awakening will come to the individual soul. There have been many instances in India, and in other countries, of this sudden awakening of the higher tendency of the soul. Buddha was suddenly awakened, when he was enjoying all the pleasures and luxuries of a princely life, and when his mind was deeply absorbed in every enjoyment that a human being can possibly have. This awakening, which made Buddha one of the Saviours of the world and which has made others live on this earth like embodiments of Divinity, is not the result of some animal force or some lower tendency to be found in lower animals or in those who live like slaves of passion and desire, but it is the expression of a higher power. It is not love of the body or desire of the senses, not attachment to the pleasures and comforts of the animal self; it is just the opposite. It is love for humanity which makes one forget one’s self. It is not a desire to gain something for one’s own comfort, but it is a desire to help mankind, to remove their grievances, their sorrows and sufferings and to make them happy. It is not a clinging to earthly existence, but on the contrary, it is the expression of the desire to sacrifice one’s own life for the sake of others without having the slightest fear of death. It is not a struggle for existence or the survival of the fittest at the expense of others, but it is the cessation of all gladiatorial fights, struggles, and competitions, and the attainment of peace, tranquillity, and happiness. It is making the weak to survive and the strong to be kind and merciful towards those who are about to be crushed by social competition. Are not these powers and tendencies diametrically opposed to those which characterize the animal man?

These higher powers and tendencies have been manifested again and again by different individuals at different times in different countries. The religious history of the world stands as a living witness of this fact. But the question arises, how do we happen to possess these higher tendencies and higher powers? Did we inherit them from our anthropoid ancestors? Not indeed, because animal nature cannot produce anything that is not entirely animal. The believers in the Darwinian theory cannot explain the origin of these super-animal or rather superhuman tendencies. Have they been super-added to our animal nature from outside by the grace of some extra-cosmic Being, as it is supposed by the dualistic and monotheistic believers of Christianity and other religions? No, such a statement cannot be supported either by reason or by scientific investigation. No one has ever succeeded in proving when and how these powers and higher tendencies were super-added to the human soul. The most rational explanation lies in the statement in the book of Genesis: ‘So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him.’

Let us understand clearly the meaning of this passage. We are familiar with the popular meaning which seems absurd, when we examine it in the light of modem scientific knowledge. In the first place the creation of man out of nothing six thousand years ago, does not bear the test of modem geological research and discoveries. On the contrary, we are aware of the fact that man existed in the Tertiary period, several thousand years before this Biblical creation of man was supposed to have taken place. Secondly, we know that this word ‘image’ does not mean the physical form of man, nor does it refer to the first man Adam, who was supposed to have been the perfect image of God, before the Satanic temptation, and who, after the fall, lost that image and became imperfect, because of which it is said that, all human beings have since been born in sin. We cannot believe that all of us were born in sin and iniquity, and, having lost the divine image within us, thus became the sons of Satan or the Devil. If man was created in the image of God, it could not possibly mean that one particular man of a particular nation at a special time possessed His image, but it was meant for all human beings, irrespective of their caste, creed, or nationality.

We must remember that there are no exceptions in the laws of nature. That which we take for an exception refers to some hidden universal law or truth, whether we see or understand it or not, and that explanation is correct which har-monizes with universal law and points out universal truth. If we admit the existence of the divine image in one man, we shall have to admit it in all human beings; otherwise, it will be an exceptional case, which cannot be true. As, by discovering the cause of the fall of one apple from one tree, we learn the universal law of gravitation, which explains that all apples under those circumstances will fall, so by knowing that one man was made in God’s image, we understand the universal truth that all men, women, and children of all countries and of all times have been made in the divine image, whether or not they have felt it, realized it, or manifested it in their actions.

If, on the other hand, it were true that all of us were born in sin and iniquity or under Satanic influence, it would have been absolutely impossible for any man, at any time, to manifest any of those tendencies and powers, which we call divine, and we should be unable to explain, why the great sages and spiritual leaders of mankind, who flourished in India and in other countries, both before and after the Christian era, could show all the divine powers and qualities that characterized the only begotten Son of God. Their lives show that everyone of them manifested divinity in the actions of their daily life. Therefore, we must lay aside the mythical meaning of that scriptural passage, and understand it in its universal sense. Furthermore, this universal meaning of the divine image in man was most strongly emphasized by the great seers of truth in India from the very ancient times and centuries before the book of Genesis was written or thought of. The same universal idea is the foundation of the philosophy and religion of Vedanta.

Vedanta teaches that when we speak of a man or woman as the image of God, we do not mean his or her physical form, but we mean the individual ego or the soul. If the divine Being or God be this universal spirit, then His image cannot be the physical form of man; this does not convey any. idea or meaning at all. The ego or the soul of each individual man or woman is the image of Divinity. This idea has been beautifully expressed in Vedanta: ‘In the cave of the heart have entered the two, the one is the eternal, absolute, real, perfect, and self-effulgent like the sun, and the other the individual ego or soul, is like its reflection, or shadow, or image. The one is like the fountain-head of the blessed qualities and the infinite source of all divine powers, while the other contains the partial reflection of those qualities and powers.’

Thus, according to Vedanta, every individual soul, whether it be more or less animal in its thoughts and actions, possesses the divine image and is no other than the image of the divine principle or Being. The divine Being is one and universal, but its reflections or images are many. As the image of the sun, falling upon the dull and unpolished surface of a piece of metal, does not properly reflect the grandeur and power of that self-luminous body, but appears dull and imperfect, so the divine image, falling upon the dull surface of the animal nature, cannot reflect all the blessed qualities; cannot manifest all the divine powers, but, on the contrary, appears animal in its tendencies and propensities. As the same image of the sun will shine forth, brighter and more effulgent when the surface of the metal is polished, so the individual soul will show its brighter and more effulgent aspect and will more fully reflect the divine qualities, when the heart which contains the image is polished and made free from the dirt of animal desires and animal tendencies; then and then alone, this same individual soul will begin to manifest all the blessed qualities like justice, mercy, kindness, and disinterested love for all humanity. These powers are latent in all individuals, but they will be expressed when the heart is purified. ‘Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God’, said Jesus of Nazareth.

The perfect manifestation of these divine powers depends entirely upon the removal of all obstructions like desire for earthly pleasure, for the enjoyments and comforts of earthly life, attachment to the gross physical body and to the senses, which force the individual soul to remain on the animal plane. Yet, however animal the expression of the nature of an ordinary man of the world may be, his soul is still the image of the Divinity which holds potentially in its bosom all divine powers and all blessed qualities. Nay, even the souls of lower animals are potentially divine, according to Vedanta.. The evolution of nature is required to bring out these potential tendencies, powers, and qualities into their actual or real’ mani-testations. Climbing the ladder of the evolution of nature, each individual soul or germ of life expresses its latent powers, first, through the limitations of the animal nature as animal tendencies and animal desires, and lastly, as spiritual powers by rising above all limitations, by transcending the boundaries of the various circles of animal, moral and spiritual nature, and approaching the abode of the infinite divine principle. At that time, the individual soul becomes absolutely free from the bondage of nature, enjoys the supreme Bliss which is divine, and manifests all the blessed qualities. In passing through these various stages the individual ego studies its own powers, gains experience and realizes all the powers that are lying dormant within the soul.

Many people ask the question, ‘Why is it necessary for the individual soul to gain experience, when it is potentially divine?’ The very fact that creation or projection means the manifestation of the potential energy as kinetic or as actual reality, forces the soul to objectify and project the dormant activities on to the plane of consciousness; otherwise, how can the soul learn its own powers when they are on the subconscious plane? Take as illustration the deep sleep state: when all the sense-powers, such as the power of walking, moving, talking, and all the mental and intellectual functions become unmanifested, do we know in that state what powers we possess? No, certainly not. We can only know their existence, when they are brought out on the conscious plane, when they are awakened. Is not this awakening of the dormant powers that lie buried on the subconscious plane, the same thing as the gaining of experience?

If, for a moment, all the individual souls that exist in the universe should cease to manifest their dormant powers, instantly the relative existence of phenomenal activity would vanish and the whole world would go back to its primordial, undifferentiated condition of nescience, which is almost similar to the unmanifested state of deep sleep, when we do not dream. Therefore, each individual soul is bound to gain experience after experience in the process of this manifestation of its latent powers and potential energy. Having experienced the powers and actions of the animal nature with their results, the soul longs for higher manifestations, tries to rise above that plane, and, after realizing the effects of the moral and spiritual nature, it reaches perfection. In this state the soul becomes absolutely happy and contented, and, transcending the limitations of sense-powers, self-love and selfishness, it manifests the blessed qualities in the actions of its everyday life.

This idea was illustrated by an ancient sage in India thus: ‘Two birds of the most beautiful plumage dwell upon the tree of life, they are bound together by the tie of closest friendship. The one sits calm, serene, contented, peaceful and happy, and constantly watches the movements of his friend like a witness; while the other bird flies and hops from branch to branch, being attracted by the sight of the sweet and inviting fruits which the tree of life bears. When he is drawn toward a fruit, he tastes it and enjoys the sensation; then he tries another which appears more attractive, but unfortunately, when he tastes it, he finds it extremely bitter and does not like it. (We must remember here that the tree of life is not like an ordinary tree; it bears all kinds of fruits from the sweetest to the bitterest). Having tried the various fruits according to his desires, the bird happens to come to one that is exceedingly bitter, and having tasted it, he suffers intensely, and unhappy and dis tressed, he remembers his friend, whom he had forgotten for the time being. He looks for him and at last finds him seated on the top of the tree, calm, peaceful, and perfectly contented. He envies his peace, happiness, and contentment, and slowly approaches him. As he comes nearer and nearer, lo! he is forcibly drawn into the perfect being of that witness-like friend, for he was his reflection or image.’

The bird which flies from branch to branch, which enjoys and suffers, is the individual ego or the living soul of man. The fruits of this tree of life are nothing but the results of all the good and bad acts which the ego performs; and the witness-like friend is the perfect divine Being, whose image the individual soul is. Thus, having experienced all the fruits of our good and bad deeds, when we become discontented and unhappy, we seek our true eternal friend, admire him, aspire to attain to his peace and happiness, go nearer and nearer, and ultimately become one with him. It is then that we feel happy and contented, it is then that true peace and happiness come.

As the image or reflection of the sun cannot exist for a second independent of that self-luminous heavenly body, so the individual soul, being the image of God, cannot exist even for a moment without depending upon the divine principle. The individual ego owes its life, its intelligence, its intellect, mind and all other mental and physical powers to that infinite source of all powers, all knowledge, all love, and everlasting happiness. In fact the individual soul does not possess anything. All these powers and forces that we are expressing in our daily life, whether animal, moral, or spiritual, do not belong to us, but proceed from that one inexhaustible source.

Nor is the divine principle far from us; He is the soul of our soul, the life of our life, and the omnipotent essence of our being.

'The divine principle is smaller than the smallest and larger than the largest; it pervades the infinite space and also dwells in the minutest atom of atoms; it resides in the innermost sanctuary of the soul of every man and woman; whosoever realizes that omnipresent Divinity, whose image the individual soul is, unto him come eternal peace and perpetual bliss, unto none else, unto none else’.