The Process and Purpose of Evolution

The Infinite Ocean of Knowledge, Power and Bliss, i.e., Paramatman, contains in- numerable drops, individual souls, or Atman . Although the Atmans, as drops, are in reality one with the limitless Ocean of Knowledge, Power and Bliss, they are not, however, conscious of their Real Self. To achieve this self-consciousness, the whole creation is precipitated and the individual Atman takes form. To trace the Journey of the Atman understandably, through the evolutionary labyrinth, to its culmination in self-realization, the diagram on page 7 will help. For clarity of description, the individual Atmans (in the diagram) are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., and the corresponding forms of the Atman are denoted as A, B, C, D, E, etc.

Now, the first gross form that Atman (1) took was that of stone (A). In course of time, through the evolutionary process, stone (A) evolved into metal (B). Herein the Atman may be styled Atman (2), and this never-ceasing process of gross evolution