etc., perfectly, just as the higher forms of life--but it has no organs
for the functions, and performs them severally, and collectively with
any, or all parts of its body. What the higher animals perform with
intricate organs and parts--heart, stomach, lungs, liver, kidneys,
etc., etc.--this tiny creature performs _without organs_, and with its
entire body, or any part thereof. The function of reproduction is
startlingly simple in the case of the Moneron. It simply divides itself
in two parts, and that is all there is to it. There is no male or
female sex in its case--it combines both within itself. The
reproductive process is even far more simple than the "budding" of
plants. You may turn one of these wonderful creatures inside out, and
still it goes on the even tenor of its way, in no manner disturbed or
affected. It is simply a "living drop of glue," which eats, digests,
receives impressions and responds thereto, and reproduces itself. This
tiny glue-drop performs virtually the same life functions as do the
higher complex forms of living things. Which is the greater
"miracle"--the Moneron or Man?
A slight step upward from the Moneron brings us to the _Amoeba_. The
name of this new creature is derived from the Greek word meaning
"change," and has been bestowed because the creature is constantly
changing its shape. This continual change of shape is caused by a
continuous prolongation and drawing-in of its pseudopods, or
"false-feet," which also gives the creature the appearance of a
"many-fingered" organism. This creature shows the first step toward
"parts," for it has something like a membrane or "skin" at its surface,
and a "nucleus" at its centre, and also an expanding and contracting
cavity within its substance, which it uses for holding, digesting and
distributing its food, and also for storing and distributing its
oxygen--an elementary combination of stomach and lungs! So you see that
the amoeba has taken a step upward from the moneron, and is beginning
to appreciate the convenience of parts and organs. It is interesting to
note, in this connection, that while the ordinary cells of the higher
animal body resemble the _monera_ in many ways, still the white
corpuscles in the blood of man and the animals bear a startling
resemblance to the _amoebae_ so far as regards size, general structure,
and movements, and are in fact known to Science as "amoeboids." The
white corpuscles change their shape, take in food in an intelligent
manner, and live a comparatively independent life, their movements
showing independent "thought" and "will."
Some of the amoebae (the diatoms, for instance) secrete solid matter
from the water, and build therefrom shells or houses, which serve to
protect them from their enemies. These shells are full of tiny holes,
through which the pseudopods are extended in their search for food, and
for purposes of movement. Some of these shells are composed of secreted
lime, and others of a flinty substance, the "selection" of these
substances from the ether mineral particles in the water, evidencing a
degree cf "thought," and mind, even in these lowly creatures. The
skeletons of these tiny creatures form vast deposits of chalk and
similar substances.
Next higher in the scale are the _Infusoria_. These creatures differ
from the amoebae inasmuch as instead of pseudopods, they have developed
tiny vibrating filaments, or thread-like appendages, which are used for
drawing in their prey and for moving about. These filaments are
permanent, and are not temporary like the pseudopods of the monera or
amoebae--they are the _first signs of permanent hands and feet_. These
creatures have also discovered the possibilities of organs and parts,
to a still greater degree than have their cousins the amoebae, and have
evolved something like a mouth-opening (very rudimentary) and also a
short gullet through which they pass their food and oxygen--_they have
developed the first signs of a throat, wind-pipe and food-passage_.
Next come the family of Sponges, the soft skeletons of which form the
useful article of everyday use. There are many forms who weave a home
of far more delicacy and beauty than their more familiar and homely
brothers. The sponge creature itself is a slimy, soft creature, which
fills in the spaces in its spongy skeleton. It is fastened to one spot,
and gathers in its food from the water around it (and oxygen as well),
by means of numerous whip-like filaments called _cilia_, which flash
through the water driving in the food and oxygen to the inner positions
of its body. The water thus drawn in, as well as the refuse from the
food, is then driven out in the same manner. It is interesting to note
that in the organisms of the higher animals, including man, there are
numerous _cilia_ performing offices in connection with nutrition, etc.
When Nature perfects an instrument, it is very apt to retain it, even
in the higher forms, although in the latter its importance may be
dwarfed by higher ones.
The next step in the ascending scale of life-forms is occupied by the
_polyps_, which are found in water, fastened to floating matter. The
polyps fasten themselves to this floating matter, with their mouths
downward, from the latter dangling certain tentacles, or thin, long
arms. These tentacles contain small thread-like coils in contact with a
poisonous fluid, and enclosed in a cell. When the tentacles come in
contact with the prey of the creature, or with anything that is sensed
as a possible enemy, they contract around the object and the little
cells burst and the tiny thread-like coils are released and twist
themselves like a loop around the object, poisoning it with the
secreted fluid. Some of the polyps secrete flint-like tubes, which they
inhabit, and from the ends of which they emerge like flowers. From
these parent polyps emerge clusters of young, resembling buds. These
bud-like young afterwards become what are known as jelly-fishes, etc.,
which in turn reproduce themselves--but here is a wonder--the
jelly-fish lay eggs, which when hatched produce stationary polyps like
their grandparent, and not moving creatures like their parents. The
jelly-fishes have a comparatively complex organism. They have an
intricate system of canal-like passages with which to convey their food
and oxygen to the various parts. They also have something like muscles,
which contract and enable the creature to "swim." They also possess a
"nervous system," and, most wonderful of all, they have _rudimentary
eyes and ears_. Their tentacles, like those of the parent-polyp,
secrete the poisonous fluid which is discharged into prey or enemy.
Akin to the polyps are the sea-anemones, with their beautiful colors,
and still more complex structure and organism, the tentacles of which
resemble the petals of a flower. Varying slightly from these are the
coral-creatures, which form in colonies and the skeletons of which form
the coral trees and branches, and other forms, with which we are
familiar.
Passing on to the next highest family of life-forms, we see the
spiny-bodied sea-creatures, such as the sea-urchin, star-fish, etc.,
which possess a thick, hard skin, covered by spines or prickly
projections. These creatures abound in numerous species. The star-fish
has rays projecting from a common centre, which gives it its name,
while the sea-urchin resembles a ball. The sea-lilies, with their stems
and flowers (so-called) belong to this family, as do also the
sea-cucumbers, whose name is obtained from their shape and general
appearance, but which are animals possessing a comparatively complex
organism, one of the features of which is a stomach which may be
discarded at will and replaced by a new one. These creatures have a
well defined nervous system, and have eyes, and some of them even
rudimentary eyelids.
Ascending the scale of life-forms, we next observe the great family of
the _Annulosa_, or jointed creatures, which comprises the various
families of the worm, the crab, the spider, the ant, etc. In this great
family are grouped nearly four-fifths of the known life-forms. Their
bodies are well formed and they have nervous systems running along the
body and consisting of two thin threads, knotted at different points
into ganglia or masses of nerve cells similar to those possessed by the
higher animals. They possess eyes and other sense organs, in some cases
highly developed. They possess organs, corresponding to the heart, and
have a well-developed digestive apparatus. Note this advance in the
nutritive organism: the _moneron_ takes its food at any point of its
body; the _amoeba_ takes its food by means of its "false-feet," and
drives it through its body by a rhythmic movement of its substance; the
_polyp_ distributes its food to its various parts by means of the water
which it absorbs with the food; the _sea-urchin and star-fish_
distribute their food by canals in their bodies which open directly
into the water; in the higher forms of the _annulosa_, the food is
distributed by a fluid resembling blood, which carries the nourishment
to every part and organ, and which carries away the waste matter, the
blood being propelled through the body by a rudimentary heart. The
oxygen is distributed by each of these forms in a corresponding way,
the higher forms having rudimentary lungs and respiratory organs. Step
by step the life-forms are perfected, and the organs necessary to
perform certain definite functions are evolved from rudimentary to
perfected forms.
The families of worms are the humblest members of the great family of
the Annulosa. Next come the creatures called Rotifers, which are very
minute. Then come the Crustacea, so called from their crustlike shell.
This group includes the crabs, lobsters, etc., and closely resembles
the insects. In fact, some of the best authorities believe that the
insects and the crustacea spring from the same parent form, and some of
the Yogi authorities hold to this belief, while others do not attempt
to pass upon it, deeming it immaterial, inasmuch as all life-forms have
a common origin. The western scientists pay great attention to outward
details, while the Oriental mind is apt to pass over these details as
of slight importance, preferring to seek the cause back of the outward
form. On one point both the Yogi teachers and the scientists absolutely
agree, and that is that the family of insect life had its origin in
some aquatic creature. Both hold that the wings of the insect have been
evolved from organs primarily used for breathing purposes by the
ancestor when it took short aerial flights, the need for means of
flight afterwards acting to develop these rudimentary organs into
perfected wings. There need be no more wonder expressed at this change
than in the case of the transformation of the insect from grub to
chrysalis, and then to insect. In fact this process is a reproduction
of the stages through which the life-form passed during the long ages
between sea-creature and land-insect.
We need not take up much of your time in speaking of the wonderful
complex organism of some of the insect family, which are next on the
scale above the crustacea. The wonders of spider-life--the almost human
life of the ants--the spirit of the beehive--and all the rest of the
wonders of insect life are familiar to all of our readers. A study of
some good book on the life of the higher forms of the insect family
will prove of value to anyone, for it will open his or her eyes to the
wonderful manifestation of life and mind among these creatures.
Remember the remark of Darwin, that the brain of the ant, although not
much larger than a pin point, "is one of the most marvelous atoms of
matter in the world, perhaps more so than the brain of man."
Closely allied to the crustacea is the sub-family of the _mollusca_,
which includes the oyster, clams, and similar creatures; also the
snails, cuttle-fish, slugs, nautilus, sea-squirts, etc., etc. Some are
protected by a hard shell, while others have a gristly outer skin,
serving as an armor, while others still are naked. Those having shells
secrete the material for their construction from the water. Some of
them are fixed to rocks, etc., while others roam at will. Strange as it
may appear at first sight, some of the higher forms of the mollusca
show signs of a rudimentary vertebra, and science has hazarded the
opinion that the sea-squirts and similar creatures were descended from
some ancestor from whom also descended the vertebrate animals, of which
man is the highest form known today on this planet. We shall mention
this connection in our next lesson, where we will take up the story of
"The Ascent of Man" from the lowly vertebrate forms.
And now, in closing this lesson, we must remind the reader that we are
_not_ teaching Evolution as it is conceived by modern science. We are
viewing it from the opposite viewpoint of the Yogi Teaching. Modern
Science teaches that Mind is a by-product of the evolving material
forms--while the Yogi Teachings hold that there was Mind _involved_ in
the lowest form, and that that Mind constantly pressing forward for
unfoldment _compelled_ the gradual evolution, or unfoldment of the
slowly advancing degrees of organization and function. Science teaches
that "function precedes organization," that is, that a form performs
certain functions, imperfectly and crudely, before it evolves the
organs suitable for the functioning. For instance the lower forms
digested food before they evolved stomachs--the latter coming to meet
the need. But the Yogi Teachings go further and claim that "desire
precedes function," that is, that the lowly life form "desires" to have
digestive apparatus, in order to proceed in the evolutionary scale,
before it begins the functioning that brings about the more complex
organism. There is ever the "urge" of the Mind which craves unfoldment,
and which the creature feels as a dim desire, which grows stronger and
stronger as time goes on. Some yield more readily to the urge, and such
become the parents of possible higher forms. "Many are called, but few
are chosen," and so matters move along slowly from generation to
generation, a few forms serving to carry on the evolutionary urge to
their descendants. But is always the Evolutionary Urge of the
imprisoned Mind striving to cast aside its sheaths and to have more
perfect machinery with which, and through which, to manifest and
express itself? This is the difference between the "Evolution" of
Modern Science and the "Unfoldment" of the Yogi Teachings. The one is
all material, with mind as a mere by-product, while the other is all
Mind, with matter as a tool and instrument of expression and
manifestation.
As we have said in this lesson--and as we shall point out to you in
detail in future lessons--accompanying this evolution of bodies there
is an evolution of "souls" producing the former. This evolution of
souls is a basic principle of the Yogi Teachings, but it is first
necessary that you acquaint yourselves with the evolution of bodies and
forms, before you may fully grasp the higher teachings.
Our next lesson will be entitled "The Ascent of Man," in which the rise
of man--that is, his body--from the lowly forms of the vertebrates is
shown. In the same lesson we shall begin our consideration of the
"evolution of souls." We trust that the students are carefully studying
the details of each lesson, for every lesson has its part in the grand
whole of the Teachings.
THE EIGHTH LESSON
THE ASCENT OF MAN.
In our last lesson we led you by successive steps from the beginnings
of Life in living forms up to the creatures closely resembling the
family of vertebrates--the highest family of living forms on this
planet. In this present lesson we take up the story of the "Ascent of
Man" from the lowly vertebrate forms.
The large sub-family of forms called "The Vertebrates" are
distinguished from the Invertebrates by reason of the former possessing
an _internal_ bony skeleton, the most important feature of which is the
vertebra or spinal column. The vertebrates, be it remembered, possess
practically the same organs as the lower forms of life, but differ from
them most materially by the possession of the _internal_ skeleton, the
lower forms having an _external_ or outside _skeleton_, which latter is
merely a hardening of the skin.
The flexibility of the vertebra creates a wonderful strength of
structure, combined with an ease of movement peculiar to the
vertebrates, and which renders them the natural forms of life capable
of rapid development and evolution. By means of this strength, and
ease, these forms are enabled to move rapidly in pursuit of their prey,
and away from their pursuers, and also to resist outside pressure or
attack. They are protected in a way similar to the invertebrates having
shells, and yet have the additional advantage of easy movement.
Differing in shape and appearance as do the numerous members of the
sub-family of vertebrates, still their structure is easily seen to
spring from a single form--all are modifications of some common
pattern, the differences arising from the necessities of the life of
the animal, as manifested through the desire and necessities of the
species.
Science shows the direct relationship between the Vertebrates, and the
Invertebrates by means of several connecting-links, the most noticeable
of which is the Lancelot, a creature resembling the fish-form, and yet
also closely resembling the lower (invertebrate) forms of life. This
creature has no head, and but one eye. It is semi-transparent, and
possesses _cilia_ for forcing in the water containing its food. It has
something like gills, and a gullet like the lower forms. It has no
heart, the blood being circulated by means of contracting vessels or
parts. Strictly speaking, it has no back-bone, or vertebra, but still
Science has been compelled to class it among the vertebrates because is
has a gristly cartilage where the back-bone is found in the higher
forms. This gristle may be called an "elementary spine." It has a
nervous system consisting of a single cord which spreads into a
broadened end near the creature's mouth, and which may therefore be
regarded as "something like a brain." This creature is really a
developed form of Invertebrate, shaped like a Vertebrate, and showing
signs of a rudimentary spine and nervous system of the latter. It is a
"connecting-link."
The lowest forms of the true Vertebrates are the great families of
Fishes. These Fish families include fishes of high and low degree, some
of the higher forms being as different from the lowest as they (the
highest) are different from the Reptile family. It is not necessary to
go into detail regarding the nature of the fish families, for every
student is more or less familiar with them.
Some peculiar forms of fish show a shading into the Reptile family, in
fact they seem to belong nearly as much to the latter as to their own
general family. Some species of fish known as the _Dipnoi_ or
"double-breathers," have a remarkable dual system of breathing. That
is, they have gills for breathing while in the water, and also have a
primitive or elementary "lung" in the shape of an air-bladder, or
"sound," which they use for breathing on land. The Mud-fish of South
America, and also other forms in Australia and other places, have a
modification of fins which are practically "limbs," which they actually
use for traveling on land from pond to pond. Some of these fish have
been known to travel enormous distances in search of new pools of
water, or new streams, having been driven from their original homes by
droughts, or perhaps by instincts similar to the migrating instinct of
birds. Eels are _fish_ (although many commonly forget this fact) and
many of their species are able to leave the water and travel on land
from pond to pond, their breathing being performed by a peculiar
modification of the gills. The climbing perch of India are able to live
out of water, and have modified gills for breathing purposes, and
modified fins for climbing and walking. So you see that without leaving
the fish family proper, we have examples of land living creatures which
are akin to "connecting links."
But there are real "connecting-links"' between the Fish and the
Reptiles. Passing over the many queer forms which serve as links
between the two families, we have but to consider our common frog's
history for a striking example. The Tadpole has gills, has no limbs,
uses its tail like a fish's fin, eats plants, etc. Passing through
several interesting stages the Tadpole reaches a stage in which it is a
frog with a tail--then it sheds its tail and is a full fledged Frog,
with four legs; web-feet; no tail; and feeding on animals. The Frog is
amphibious, that is, able to live on land or in water--and yet it is
compelled to come to the surface of the water for air to supply its
lungs. Some of the amphibious animals possess both lungs and gills,
even when matured; but the higher vertebrates living in the water
breathe through lungs which are evolved from the air-bladder of fishes,
which in turn have been evolved from the primitive gullet of the lower
forms. There are fishes known which are warm-blooded. Students will
kindly remember that the Whale is not a fish, but an aquatic animal--a
mammal, in fact, bringing forth its young alive, and suckling it from
its breasts.
So we readily see that it is but a step, and a short step at that,
between the land-traveling and climbing fishes and the lower forms of
Reptiles. The Frog shows us the process of evolution between the two
families, its life history reproducing the gradual evolution which may
have required ages to perfect in the case of the species. You will
remember that the embryo stages of all creatures reproduce the various
stages of evolution through which the species has passed--this is true
in Man as well as in the Frog.
We need not tarry long in considering the Reptile family of living
forms. In its varieties of serpents, lizards, crocodiles, turtles,
etc., we have studied and observed its forms. We see the limbless
snakes; the lizards with active limbs; the huge, clumsy, slow
crocodiles and alligators--the armor-bearing turtles and tortoises--all
belonging to the one great family of Reptiles, and nearly all of them
being degenerate descendants of the mighty Reptile forms of the
geological Age of Reptiles, in which flourished the mighty forms of the
giant reptiles--the monsters of land and water. Amidst the dense
vegetation of that pre-historic age, surrounded by the most favorable
conditions, these mighty creatures flourished and lived, their
fossilized skeleton forms evidencing to us how far their descendants
have fallen, owing to less favorable conditions, and the development of
other life-forms more in harmony with their changed environment.
Next comes the great family of Birds. The Birds ascended from the
Reptiles. This is the Eastern Teaching, and this is the teaching of
Western Science It was formerly taught in the text-books that the line
of ascent was along the family of winged reptiles which existed in the
Age of Reptiles, in the early days of the Earth. But the later writers
on the subject, in the Western world, have contradicted this. It is now
taught that these ancient winged-reptiles were featherless, and more
closely resembled the Bat family than birds. (You will remember that a
Bat is neither a reptile nor a bird--it is a mammal, bringing forth its
young alive, and suckling them at its breast. The Bat is more like a
mouse, and its wings are simply membrane stretched between its fingers,
its feet, and its tail.)