Evolution - according to Hinduism

According to Darwin’s theory of Natural selection, life forms are evolving in the struggle for survival. But, Hinduism says – the ‘soul’ is evolving and to facilitate the evolving ‘soul’ the evolution of the physical forms is necessary. In other words the ‘physical evolution’ aids the ‘inner evolution’.

Hinduism says – all beings are evolving or crawling to attain to their full form or the Godliness like the Crescent Moon growing to become the full Moon. Up to the human form the nature is helping the ‘soul’ evolve by making more and more advanced or matured life forms but, the indwelling ‘soul’ needn’t do anything on its own for evolution but, just by fighting or struggling for survival the life forms will evolve – as projected by Charles Darwin. But, once the ‘soul’ enters the ‘human form’ the nature can’t help it grow as the growth now onwards is at the inner level. So, the ‘human beings’ have to evolve by themselves, as it has been proclaimed in the Geetha by the lord Krishan as – uddare naathma naatmaanam.

The Hinduism says – all life forms are evolving. We people on the Earth see the evolution in the lower [plant, animal] forms only but, the Hindu concept of evolution is more broad and universal in nature. Hinduism says – even the gods are evolving too to attain to the formless, the ultimate ‘oneness’, according to the Hinduism this ‘oneness’ is the goal of all life forms and all ‘life forms’ will evolve to attain to that ‘absolute’.

Apart from ‘gods’ there are many different ‘life forms’ in the creation that includes many universes, just not the universe we live in as the Hindu cosmology claims and the ‘multi-verse’ concept in the modern cosmology is in agreement with this concept of the Hindu cosmology.

The Hindu scripture say that – pipeelikaadi bramha paryantam – all life forms are evolving and will surely attain to the goal, the ‘formless oneness’ but, of course the time they take might be different to reach the goal because, each one is at a different level of spiritual maturity.

Hinduism says – what all we do knowingly or unknowingly – is aimed at the ‘inner’ growth or ‘evolution’ but, externally it might not seem so. But, this ‘growth’ is very slow and the Hinduism claims that when a person makes conscious struggle to grow ‘within’ by means of spiritual practices the ‘inner progress’ is fast but, of course until attaining to that level of maturity one has to do the worldly things.

The age old saying – today’s sinner is tomorrow’s saint – reflects the above Hindu concept of evolution. It is just like ‘today’s bud is tomorrow’s flower’- the person doing bad things now, will turn or mature into a good man later on and eventually will transform into a ‘god man’ attaining to the ‘goal ultimate’.

This is here the concept of ‘reincarnation’ comes into play. The ‘soul’ has to take different physical forms in order to evolve. After taking birth in a series of different life forms, the ‘soul’ takes the human form, that is why the Hindu scriptures are stressing that – the ‘human form’ is very valuable and this ‘human form’ should be utilized well to fulfill the purpose of life, if it is misused – the ‘soul’ will go back to the inferior forms.