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The mention of human consciousness and its evolution forces us
to recognize that the state we are in or the position that we hold today is
attributable to our ancestors. When Adam, the honoured ancestor of humankind,
was thrown into this world, he was in a state of awareness which today would be
comparable to that of a newborn baby. The instances of the life of this child
(Adam) turned into moments. Moments changed into seconds. Seconds became
minutes. Minutes disappeared into hours. Hours adorned the cloak of day and
night. Day and night took the form of years. Years saw their end within
centuries. And so eras and ages came into being.
As Adam's consciousness awakened, the need arose to sustain life
- to do something, to eat something, to cover up. As the demand to fulfil this
need grew more intense, tenderness was born.This tenderness started to flow
from the eyes. To halt this surging flow, Angel Jibraeel(as) ['Gabriel']
descended from the heavens and so addressed Adam:
"O innocent person, crying and lamenting will not do. You
have wronged your own self. To pay the consequences, you must obey the
principle of giving something in order to gain something, and only thus shall
you obtain for your needs. Rise up and pay for your disobedience by working the
land and thus gathering your food."
Qalander Baba Aulliya" states that,
"I have seen such examples where Angel Jibracel(as)
walked ahead and Adam slowly walked behind him following his footsteps. Hadhrat
Jibraeel"' stood on a parcel of land and said, "This is a field, sow
seeds in it and give them water so that they grow. Eat and drink!"
Adam quickly walked up a few steps and said,
"Establish a boundary here."
Hadhrat Jibraeel(as) said with much sorrow, "0 what
disappointment! Alas, you have sown the seed of greed in your progeny. Why
could you have not understood that Allah has declared the entire earth your
property!"
The first evolution of humankind took place as it
learned to sow the earth. As thorns grew from the womb of the earth, Adam
consciously felt the sting; as flowers bloomed, his mind soared to the peaks of
heaven in a state of complete self-abandon.
Flowers and thorns within their selves are a reaction of
the senses. Reaction is an indication of one's way of thinking. If the way of
thinking includes faith, belief, and [correct] observation, Adam's progeny will
live in peace. If the way of thinking includes disbelief, suspicion, and shortÂsightedness,
life will become a bed of thorns, miserable and unbearable at every moment.
Humankind is proceeding along the heritage left to them
by their father, Adam. Adam disobeyed; his progeny thus received the
inheritance.
KHWAJA SHAMS-UD-DEEN AZEEMI
Science has made immense progress, yet many believe that, even with all of the modern tools at our disposal, human beings function at no more than 10% of their mental capacity. This leads to the question of what exactly it is that comprises the remaining 90%. Yet another question that arises is this: If it has taken man four and a half billion years to be able to apply only 10% of his ability, how long will it take for him to make use of the remaining 90%?
