Diversity

In the previous page we looked at how Duality came to life, and we dwelt a bit on its main function. Now we may look closer at this duality, or diversity - for that is a better word.

In the book, “The God Principle”, we discussed the notion of “evolution”. Now evolution is a highly loaded term. It means different things to different people and the very mention of the word helps to bring out instant reactions in the minds of many.

Let’s not however confuse the word “evolution” with Darwinism, at least in the context of our discussion. Though our book did show clearly that Darwinian evolution is a proper reflection of a higher spiritual evolution, Darwinian evolution by itself is a very restricted interpretation of evolution per se. Mainly because it discounts intelligence and Being from the process, and thereby limits itself to a much smaller scope of understanding of evolutionary processes.

But why are we talking about evolution? Does it have any bearing in the expression and discovery of Being? Turns out that it has indeed.

First, there is the creation of diversity or variation. Diversity is fundamental to the Prime Directive (Darwinian evolution recognizes genetic mutation and cross-over as sources of diversity). It represents the ability to create and explore different possibilities, and thus navigate a totality of “possibility space”. The importance of this process cannot be overstated - for it is fundamental to the exploration of Being, of all its possibilities and potential. Note that we are not discussing just physical diversity, but diversity of expression of Being at all levels. Without the creation of diversity, life becomes insipid, repetitive and devoid of possibilities. This creation of diversity is a very essential part of the expression of Being - and we may call it the Creative Principle. The Creative Principle is really an expression of the Prime Directive we discussed earlier, viz. “Being, Know Thyself!”.

In that book we also introduced the concept of ‘spiritual genes’, and pointed out that except for terminology, it is not really a new novel concept, but one that already exists in ancient spiritual lore. The basic notion here is that Being is latent with possibilities - in terms of attributes, aspirations, ideas, feelings and emotions, sensations and so on, and they exist in seed forms. Many of these are also remnants from prior expressions. These ‘seeds’ take expression in matter. The reader is referred to the book for a more comprehensive coverage of this notion (see chapters Tree of Life, and Path), but lets take this concept for granted for the purpose of this discussion. That is, various attributes of Being take expression in diverse forms, analogous to a genetic blueprint expressing itself in physical forms.

A point to be stressed here is that the diversity which results from the Creative Principle is not, and cannot be restricted to purely what human beings would call as ‘good’. In the process of discovery of Being and the expression of the Creative Principle, all possible modes and expressions are created and explored - otherwise the totality of understanding and experience available to Being is seriously curtailed. Here we take our first important step toward understanding the title of this work.

But are we saying that anything goes? That no holds are barred? Not quite. This brings us to the second important aspect to this exploration, which is selection. This is the ability to explore an aspect of being, experience and understand it, and then discard it at some point if it seriously inhibits moving forward. This is essentially picking one’s way through the enormous “possibility space”, as Being explores diversity.

In Darwinian evolution, there is a process of selection which has been unceremoniously called “the survival of the fittest”. A better term would have been “the removal of the unfit”, for it is not simply the “fittest” only that survive. In Nature it is well known that wolves, lions and other predators attack the weak and the sick of a herd, thus weeding those out. This helps ensure that the rest of the herd (not simply the fittest in the superlative sense) remain a strong biological unit that reproduces. Let’s draw attention to this subtle distinction in the use of the term, for it has a bearing on how the process is perceived positively or negatively by most minds.

Is there a selection mechanism at work on expressions of Being? The Creative Principle proposes, but is there some principle or mechanism that disposes?

Indeed there is, and it is very fundamental to all expressions of Being. It is an overarching force of selection that spans from the least expressions of Being to its greatest. We are talking about a force or law that is known by many names such as ‘the law of consequences’, ‘the law of sowing and reaping’, ‘the law of retribution’, ‘the law of action and reaction’ and so on. While these are some ‘religious’ ways of expressing this law, there is more to this principle than is generally known, and we shall later devote an entire section to its discussion. But for now let us take for granted that there is a selection process at work across all expressions of Being, which accelerates that which is fit and destroys that which is unfit.

The third important aspect of evolution is, surprisingly, Time. We’ll discuss this more in the next section.