If the forms of humans and other living things are the result of intelligent manipulation of matter, this suggests that the universe itself may have been designed for human life and other forms of life. Chapter
10 reviews evidence for this from modern cosmology. Scientists have discovered that numbers representing fundamental physical constants and ratios of natural forces appear to be finely tuned for life to exist in our universe. Astronomer Sir Martin Rees considers six of these numbers to be especially significant. In his book Just Six numbers (2000, pp. 3–4), he says, “I have highlighted these six because each plays a crucial and distinctive role in our universe, and together they determine how the universe evolves and what its internal potentialities are. . . . These six numbers constitute a ‘recipe’ for a universe. Moreover, the outcome is sensitive to their values: if any one of them were to be ‘untuned’, there would be no stars and no life.” There are three main explanations for the apparent fine tuning of the physical constants and laws of nature: simple chance, many worlds, and some intelligent providential creator. Many cosmologists admit that the odds against the fine tuning are too extreme for a simple “one shot” chance to be offered as a credible scientific explanation. To avoid the conclusion of a providential designer, they have posited the existence of a practically unlimited number of universes, each with the values of fundamental constants and laws of nature adjusted in a different way. And we just happen to live in the one universe with everything adjusted correctly for the existence of human life. But these other universes have only a theoretical existence, and even if their existence could be physically demonstrated, one would further have to show that in these other universes the values of the fundamental constants and laws of nature are in fact different than those in our universe. The Vedic cosmology also speaks of many universes, but all of them are designed for life.
Chapter 11 outlines the concept of human devolution, bringing together the various lines of evidence presented in the previous chapters. We do not evolve up from matter; rather we devolve, or come down, from the level of pure consciousness. Originally, we are pure units of consciousness existing in harmonious connection with the supreme conscious being. When we give up our willing connection with that supreme conscious being, we descend to regions of the cosmos dominated by the subtle and gross material energies, mind and matter. Forgetful of our original position, we attempt to dominate and enjoy the subtle and gross material energies. For this purpose, we are provided with bodies made of the subtle and gross material energies. These bodies are vehicles for conscious selves. They are designed for existence within the realms of the subtle and gross material energies. Conscious selves who are less forgetful of their original natures receive bodies composed primarily of the subtle material energy. Those who are more forgetful receive bodies composed of both the subtle and gross material energies, with the gross material energies predominating. The original conscious being in the Vedic universe is Brahma, the first demigod. His body, manifested directly from Vishnu, is made primarily of the subtle material elements. He is tasked with manifesting bodies for the other conscious selves existing at various levels of the cosmic hierarchy. From the body of Brahma come great sages, sometimes known as his mental sons, and also the first sexually reproducing pair, Svayambhuva Manu and his consort Shatarupa. The daughters of Manu become the wives of some of the sages, and they produce generations of demigods and demigoddesses, with bodies composed primarily of the subtle material energy. These demigods and demigoddesses, by their reproductive processes, produce the forms of living things, including humans, who reside on our earth planet. In their reproductive processes, they make use of bijas, or mental seeds, which contain essential elements of the plans for the various bodies. The existence of DNA alone is not sufficient to explain how the forms of living things are manifested. For the most part, the genes on the DNA strand just code for the production of various proteins. How these proteins are combined in the complex forms of organisms is not specified by the DNA. The concept of a mental seed containing the developmental plan for bodies, including the human body, thus complements the existence of DNA. The human devolution concept thus has something in common with Darwinism. Like Darwinism, the human devolution concept posits a first living thing from which other living things develop by a process of reproduction with modification. But the process is intelligently guided.
I now wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to some of those who made this book possible. During the years 1984 to 1995, I worked closely with Richard L. Thompson, and Human Devolution owes much to the countless discussions we had during those years. Anyone desiring to understand a Vedic perspective on modern science should consult Thompson’s foundational works mechanistic and nonmechanistic Science, alien Identities, and mysteries of the Sacred universe. Since 1993 I have been fortunate to have Lori Erbs as my research assistant. With her masters degree in library science and experience as director of a science research library for an agency of the United States government, she has carried out the most complicated and demanding research requests in a prompt, thorough, professional manner. She was also responsible for preparing the Human Devolution manuscript for submission to my publisher. Lori was greatly assisted by Fay Fenske, the interlibrary loan specialist for the Bellingham Public Library, in Bellingham, Washington. Fay obtained many rare books and journal articles from around the world. Alister Taylor, of Torchlight Publishing, has been an understanding partner in publishing my works since 1993. I remain grateful to the international trustees of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust for their continuing support of my research and publishing. I am especially grateful to the North American trustee Emil Beca for the various ways in which he has supported my work. For their expert help in the typesetting, proofreading, and design of this book, I thank Yamaraja Dasa, Chris Glenn, Varsana Staszak, and Mollie Thonneson. Thanks also to Gary Aleksiewicz for the index. Finally, I am grateful to Irina Martynenko and Yuri Dementyev for locating a peaceful place for me to stay in Yalta so that I could finish this introduction after a lecture tour of the Ukraine.