6.2 Involuntary Involution

(Story starts here) “Welcome Peter.” Baba’s hand moved across the board at just the right speed to be comprehendible yet not waste time.

“Thank you Meher Baba,” said Pete humbly.

“Do you know why I brought you here?”

“To learn more about reincarnation?”
“That is good, Peter. But you also must learn about involution.”

“Sorry, I may have misread that. Did you sign evolution?”

“No Peter. Evolution is a physical phenomenon. As drivers get better, they need higher powered cars, so as souls get older, they need more sophisticated bodies and minds. Evolution is about the car, involution is about the driver, the soul. It’s path back to living in God.”

“How do you mean?”

“To love God in the most practical way is to love our fellow-beings. Take off your shoes and socks I will show you.” Pete complied sheepishly.

“Sorry, I keep meaning to get change for the launderette, I ran out of clean socks a while back.” Baba gestured that Pete should stand on an ornate coffee table and with a cloth and china basin full of water, proceeded to wash the younger man’s feet. “Um, thanks,” said Pete afterwards, “didn’t_” but Baba was signing again with his board.

“Yes, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. It is a way to show love and to humble oneself, very useful spiritually.” Pete got off the coffee table and sat back down.

“You do what Jesus did?” Baba’s feint smile broadened temporarily.

“I do a lot that Jesus did. I do a lot that Zoroaster, Rama, Krishna, Gautama Buddha did also.”

“Why?”

“It is the Paramatma, or in western terminology, the Over-soul. It is who we really are, all one. If we are water droplets it is the ocean, a limitless ocean. The water droplet may appear detached, but it does not cease to be the ocean.”

“Because the Avtar, is God in human form, the original perfect spiritual master. He comes to Earth every seven hundred to fourteen hundred years, when he is needed.”

“When is he needed?”

“When the horrors of materialism, belief only in the physical world begins to dominate humanity.”

“There are other perfect masters?”

“Yes, always five, guarding humanity. When one drops his or her body, another soul immediately ascends to that rank.”

“Drops his body?”

“What you would call ‘dying’.”

“What makes someone a perfect master?”

“Let me show you.” The period sitting room faded away replaced by the star-pricked blackness of space. Far above them, a luminous borealis of pastel shades gently swirled around.

“What is that?” stammered Pete in awe. Baba, floating next to him began to sign.

“It is the Paramatma, or in western terminology, the Over-soul. It is who we really are, all one. If we are water droplets it is the ocean, a limitless ocean. The water droplet may appear detached, but it does not cease to be the ocean.”

“My friend Lisa showed me reality as being more of a cone,” said Pete stroking his jaw.

“Manifested reality is a cone, but I am stripping away all facets of it apart from what I wish to show you. In the full model, you would see the Over-soul as a beautiful cloud floating around the top of the cone of flowing-light.”

“I see.”
“Would you like to experience involution in extreme fast-forward as you might call it? It will explain what a perfect master is.”

“Yes please,” said Pete excitedly, aware that this was not an offer extended to many.

“You will retain your personality, but experience different spiritual states along the journey as if they were feelings,” Baba signed, “first I will have to turn you to stone.”

“Wait, what?” but it was too late. Pete stared down at his paralysed and grey body. “The lowest involutionary state,” signed Baba who had retained his human form.

“Buuuut, theeeeree arrree_” Pete struggled to move his heavy granite jaw to get his words out.

“There are more simple physical structures than stone? Absolutely, involution does not correspond precisely to evolution, but it follows fairly closely. This is the lowest spiritual level, souls below even good and evil. But they still take information in. You see, to develop, the soul must experience its level through sense impressions to such a degree that it grows bored and wishes to go higher. This brings us to_”

“Is this the metal stage?” said Pete, his jaw joint squeaking as he did so.

“Indeed it is.”
“So everything has a soul, even inanimate objects?”

“A soul, a platonic form, whatever you call it. Yes.”

“Isn’t there a word for that?”
“Yes Pantheism, particularly prevalent in the Japanese religion of Shinto.”

“So, there is no contradiction between there being one ultimate God and everything having a spirit?”
“Between monotheism and pantheism? No not at all. It is just that different true religions focus on different aspects of reality.”

“Amazing,” said Pete as he felt himself stretch and soften. “Um, have I turned into a peapod?” Pete stared down at his slightly hairy green body.

“Yes Peter, now you are in a body with chemical signals, the first form of true consciousness. Plants can sense and adapt their behaviour, for instance a tree growing at an angle will straighten to find the most light.” But already Pete’s body had stretched further and gained oily segments.

“Urgh,” said Pete, coiling his body around so he could see himself, “a worm”.  But as he said it, the segments brightened and widened.

“A fish,” announced Baba, holding his board to the side of Pete’s head so his fish eye could see it. “Fish are capable of sensory perception and basic desires and emotions.”

“Ha, really?”

“Watch a fish landed on a fishing boat deck and see, driven by pain and fear, its desire to re-enter the water.”

“So all human souls have experienced all things that a fish can experience? That every animal can experience?” Pete struggled to speak through the large lips of a dory fish, but he was becoming used to it now.

“Yes Peter, it is why the journey through samsara takes a very long time.”

“This is more like it,” called Pete through his beak. He was now an eagle with gracefully spreading wings. “Hey, I think I can…”

“Yes Peter, you are now at an evolutionary and involutionary point where you can start progressing slowly but actively back towards the Over-soul, and beyond that, God. I will take you quickly through the next stage,” said Baba hurriedly. Pete looked down at himself, vaguely human shape, but red and scaly. His mind was rapidly overcome with hate and a desire to harm, defile and humiliate. “I have… to… stop… this….” he gasped at Baba.

“Sorry Peter, you are now at the human level, Pete looked with relief at his familiar body, but the skin was slowly changing colour and shape as he experienced different races and genders. It even turned various non-human colours as the soul experienced life on, from Pete’s perspective, alien worlds.

“Was I just…”
“A demon? Yes, terrible business and not nice to experience, but I only gave you as long as I knew you could handle in that form.”

“Urgh, the hate,” said Pete, “horrendous. But I’ve never seen demons?”

“Whilst karma is by necessity, fairly merciless, there are limits, demons incarnate in dedicated realms where they cannot harm humans.”

“Thank goodness for that,” said Pete, glanced up at the nearing over-soul to give himself strength. “I seem to be going quicker now?”

“Yes, the physical is transitioning to the mental, allowing more rapid progress towards individual consciousness with that of God’s, the point where you attain infinite bliss, power and knowledge. Ha, sorry Pete, but you look rather amusing.” The younger man, aware of increasing neck pain felt his head which he could barely hold with outstretched arms. “You are nearing the end of physical evolution,” announced Baba. “With the prevalence of caesarean sections limiting the obstacle of maximum head size and the continuation of brain development as the most effective evolutionary niche, everyone in the far future has a massive head. Fortunately with a brain that big, it is easy to develop good neck support devices.”

“Well, I could certainly do with one of those,” Pete flinched. But suddenly the pain ceased, and he saw this gigantic headed body drop down away from him into space below. He now had the bizarre feeling of being bodiless. (to be continued)