Middle Humans, Middle Earth



A photo of grass in the author's garden
When modern humans read or hear about sayings and descriptions of mystics through the ages, many consider it as nonsense of an imagination gone wild. While some of it might be so, there is also much that is based on intuitive knowledge of the universe we live in. It was expressed in the metaphors of the time. The fault lies with us in not being able to interpret it properly.

If a modern human with scientific knowledge is able to read through metaphors of mystics, he may attain profound wisdom. Just as an example, when someone reads in a scripture that in the beginning darkness was separated from light, many just laugh at that as wild sayings of a mystic gone poetic. However, within that is a deep scientific truth. A scientific model of creation describes that the first step to creation is the separation of nothingness into an equivalent amount of photons and anti photons – a separation of darkness from light. Many other mystic metaphors have been interpreted in some earlier notes of this blog in the light of scientific knowledge.

Coming to another prominent metaphor – heaven and hell – viewed by many as nonsense again, there is much science here too. Ancient Himalayan mystics described that ours is not the only inhabitable planet in the universe but rather there are many such, something that modern science has begun to discover too. Of these habitable planets some have harsh conditions for life while others are hugely pleasant. Life may exist on a planet provided it receives starlight at the right temperature, a temperature in which water may exist in liquid form. Other conditions are required to make a planet comfortable or harsh for life, even though life may exist on it.

The mystics described that our planet is at a middle level, as it has portions that are heavenly while there are parts that are harsh for life. We know that our planet has soothing grasslands, fresh water streams, lakes, fruit bearing trees, and wild flowers while there are also other parts such as dry deserts where life is hard for both humans and animals. The former may be regarded as heavenly while the latter as hell like. Aside from this, we humans create heaven or hell for ourselves from time to time, such as polluted cities and violent wars. Thus having both types of conditions, akin to hell or heaven, our planet may be regarded as a middle planet among those that can sustain life.
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The mystics went further and described humans as a middle life form among intelligent life. Life exists at different level of evolution from bacteria to humans and as per mystics even beyond as life forms we may call godly. Life has evolved slowly on our planet over billions of years and humans are a recent appearance. There is nothing in science to indicate that evolution must stop at humans, rather, all circumstantial evidence indicates that it shall continue to evolve to higher more advanced life forms just as it has been doing for billions of years.

Intelligent life forms are those that are capable of creating a language, communicating complex ideas through it, and recording their thoughts. Mystics place humans at the middle of intelligent life forms. They describe lower life forms as demonic and higher ones as godly. For example a human that is moved to theft and violence to satisfy lower instincts of lust, anger, and greed is like a lower animal because that is what they do. However another human who can sacrifice such instincts for higher values tends to move towards godly states.

Evolution according to mystics is not a one way process, although that tends to be the general direction on averaging over several lives and life times. A life form may fluctuate between demonic and godly states in his or her journey through many lives. Mystics assert that all life possesses an imperishable soul and a soul goes through endless such lives in its journey through the universe, changing bodies as one changes worn out clothes. Evolved souls are led by their instincts and universal consciousness to heavenly states and planets while demonic ones to hell for that is what is most appropriate and conducive to their continuing evolution.

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