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Importance of the Human Form of Life
There are many forms of life on this planet. There are immovable forms such as trees and plants, and a vast array of aquatic, insect, bird, beast, and mammalian forms as well. Our human form is also one among these varied forms of life, yet even a casual observer would have to agree that we human beings are endowed with unique capacities that distinguish us from all other forms of life. What exactly are those unique capacities?
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As the embodied soul continuously
passes, in this body, from boyhood
to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death.
A sober person is not bewildered
by such a change."
(Bhagavad-Gita, Chapter2, text 13) | We can begin answering this question with another, what is it that distinguishes a living form from a nonliving form? The answer is consciousness, or awareness. All living forms display this symptom of consciousness to one degree or another. That is why we call them living rather than dead. Even the small microbial germ or the common houseplant shows signs of consciousness, whereas our dining table and chairs do not.
It is also evident that different forms of life display different degrees and levels of consciousness, and the human form represents the highest development of consciousness that |
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we know. It is this greater development of consciousness, then, that distinguishes the human being from all other forms of life on this planet.
But what is it about our consciousness that makes it so different from that of the insect, the bird, the beast, or even the monkey? These creatures eat and we also eat; they sleep and we also sleep; they reproduce and we reproduce; they defend themselves and so do we. That we can perform these functions with greater sophistication may be one indicator that we possess higher consciousness, but it does not fully explain our excellence above all other forms of life.
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A more satisfactory explanation is found in our ability to question our existence, reflect upon ourselves, and inquire into our own nature and nature of God. We can create languages, ponder the meaning of life, and puzzle in wonderment over the nighttime sky. Such an endowment is not present in any other form of life.
The Vedas therefore advise that in this human form of life we should be inquisitive to know who we are, what the universe is, what God is, and what the relationship is between ourselves, the universe, and God.We should inquire about the solution to the ultimate problems of life, namely birth, death, old age, and disease. The cats and dogs cannot ask such questions, but they must arise in the heart of a real human being.
Perfect Knowledge of the Veda
If we can accept the importance of this type of inquiry, our next consideration will naturally be where to find authoritative answers to such questions. Clearly, if perfect knowledge concerning questions of the self, the universe, and God exists at all,it would have to be of a standard higher than just your opinion or my opinion,or for that matter Freud’s or Einstein’s or any one else’s opinion. Because all of us have
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The Vedic literatures inform us that there are 8,400,000 species of life, including aquatic, plant, insect, bird, animal, and human varieties. The conditioned soul, having fallen from his original position as a loving servant of the Supreme Lord in the spiritual world, enters these different bodies. In the human form the original nature of the soul is most brilliantly displayed. The human form of life is especially intended for qualifying oneself to return home, back to Godhead, but if the conditioned soul misuses this opportunity, he may descend once more into lower species.
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| imperfect senses and because we are all prone to make mistakes, our relative opinions about matters beyond our experience can supply neither valid nor reliable information.
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Thus our attempt to approach such matters empirically will be fraught with various imperfections and ultimately fail. Therefore, so called truths established exclusively on the basis of mental speculation cannot help us understand the Absolute Truth, which is beyond the reach of the imperfect senses and mind.
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| | Continued .... |
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