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Can Human Beings Participate in the Change of Human Nature? · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  Many people are skeptical about the possibility of humanity
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  participating consciously in the transformation and change of
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  human nature. They believe that our nature is
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  fixed and every attempt to change it has shown the futility
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  of the effort. If we observe carefully, or even
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  quite casually, we can see that this skepticism is not well
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  founded and in fact is refuted by the facts.
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  We can observe the role that humanity is playing in changing
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  the physical evolution and in the development and
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  manifestation of both an optimized human capacity and the
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  start of a transformational effort that is intended to
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  exceed the current limits of human evolutionary capacity.
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  We can categorize this human intervention and evolution in
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  three primary ways. They're the changes to the
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  nature itself, the process that leads to genetic changes,
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  whether through conscious intervention or through
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  unintended consequences of actions of the mind to try to
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  manage the world environment, the material foundation of
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  existence and the operation and development of life in plants
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  and animals. The developments in the use of
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  stem cells to grow custom tailored human organs are making
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  it possible to envision replacement parts tailored to an
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  individual, thereby further extending life expectancy.
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  Then there are the changes that occur through what we may call
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  nurture, education, training, increased understanding that
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  leads to more precise application of diet, exercise,
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  lifestyle focus, biofeedback mechanism, all act to help
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  optimize and take human capacity to its limits and once the
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  limits are reached, going beyond them.
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  Then there is the societal intervention that has led to
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  increased health and Wellness opportunities, expanded life
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  expectancy, increased average height, and brought about a new
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  foundation of Wellness that aids in the utilization of our human
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  capacities. For example, we see an emerging
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  science of genetic manipulation, whether through scientific
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  intervention or through societal manipulation of genetic pairing
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  of individuals through development of educational and
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  class stratification, provision of enhanced opportunity for
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  certain groups of people to form families and create children of
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  that pairing who bring forward qualities desired by the
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  society. We now see even the possibility
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  of gene editing using what is called CRISPR technology to
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  remove certain genetic mutations or abnormalities prior to birth,
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  as well as research being done to turn on or off certain genes
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  to either enhance certain abilities such as regrowing
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  teeth or limbs, or for preventing certain potential
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  disease conditions. The search at the scientific and
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  technological level for the perfection of mankind has, of
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  course, inherent risks, either through unintended or intended
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  consequences, but it nevertheless illustrates the
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  power of human intervention into the future development and
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  transformation that can occur as humanity continues to explore.
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  Along these lines, they're also the consequences that lead to
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  mutations through application of a very limited understanding by
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  human intelligence, for instance through pollution, climate
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  change, poisoning of the air, water and soil, destruction of
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  habitats and breaking of the chain of life and the food chain
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  in all its complexity. These things also are results of
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  human conscious intervention in the action of nature that lead
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  to changes in the very genetic structure of humanity itself.
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  Evidence of this can be found in the decrease of sperm counts and
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  motility that appear to be linked to chemical pollutants we
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  spew into our environment, and the resultant changes in
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  fertility and in the sexual characteristics of the
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  population at large. We can observe the development
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  of training routines, dietary regimens that enhance human
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  performance. Virtually all the first rank
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  athletes in the world undergo training and discipline to hone
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  their skills and take them to the edge of human performance
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  capacity. We continually see world records
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  being broken and standards being reset to account for enhanced
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  performance in the sports competitions.
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  This is just one example of what is actually a widespread
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  phenomenon across all fields of human development.
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  Societal intervention on a general level also has enhanced
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  and developed human capacities far beyond levels of the past.
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  The development of sanitation, disinfection protocols and the
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  use of vaccines, understanding of hygiene and the use of
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  surgery and antibiotics, all of increased general Wellness, life
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  expectancy and allowed innate potential of the human
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  instrument to appear. If we look back only 150 or 200
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  years, we can see the differences in human life and
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  development of the human instrument that have occurred as
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  a result of this type of applied understanding.
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  But the question goes beyond that of understanding human
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  capabilities and optimizing for them.
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  It goes beyond our ability to intervene in nature and control
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  and change matter and life through use of our mental
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  capacities. We see an increasing focus on
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  the development of powers of consciousness that are latent
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  but not active generally, and the transcendence of our mental
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  limitations through development of what we call spiritual
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  consciousness. Technology relies on fixed
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  mechanism and specific applications through tools we
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  create. We see, however, a movement in
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  the world away from reliance on generating apparatus wires and
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  cumbersome mechanisms pointing towards a wireless world.
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  Some are experimenting with implanting microchips to provide
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  instant access to a wider data set and ability to respond to
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  increasingly technical demands of society.
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  Others have taken up meditation, spiritual practices of various
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  sorts, the focus on development of powers of intuition,
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  inspiration, clairvoyance, clairaudience, distance, vision,
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  out of body travel, and even development of new forms of
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  knowledge that do not rely on mental process, but on what
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  Shrioro Bindo calls a knowledge by identity.
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  This represents the cutting edge of human conscious intervention
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  to tap into powers and capacities that far exceed our
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  current human limitations, and which can act without needing
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  all the external tools that we have developed heretofore.
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  While many still expressed doubt about the reality of these
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  phenomena, enough study and scientific review has taken
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  place by now to put the possibility far outside the
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  realm of doubt. The phenomena are documented and
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  real, even if they are not currently within reach of most
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  of humanity, by virtue of either lack of focus or interest or
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  lack of readiness to utilize them or even appreciate them.
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  Sri Urubindu observes. Quote In the previous stages of
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  the evolution, nature's first care and effort had to be
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  directed towards a change in the physical organization, for only
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  so could there be a change of consciousness.
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  This was a necessity imposed by the insufficiency of the force
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  of consciousness already in formation to effect a change in
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  the body. But in man a reversal is
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  possible, indeed inevitable, for it is through his consciousness,
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  through its transmutation, and no longer through a new bodily
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  Organism as a first instrumentation, that the
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  evolution can and must be affected.
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  In the inner reality of things. A change of consciousness was
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  always the major fact. The evolution has always had a
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  spiritual significance, and the physical change was only
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  instrumental. But this relation was concealed
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  by the 1st abnormal balance of the two factors, the body of the
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  external in conscience outweighing and obscuring in
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  importance the spiritual element, the conscious being.
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  But once the balance has been righted, it is no longer the
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  change of body that must precede the change of consciousness.
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  The consciousness itself by its mutation will necessitate and
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  operate whatever mutation is needed for the body.
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  It has to be noted that the human mind has already shown a
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  capacity to aid nature in the evolution of new types of plant
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  and animal. It has created new forms of its
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  environment, developed by knowledge and disciplined
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  considerable changes in its own mentality.
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  It is not an impossibility that man should aid nature
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  consciously also in his own spiritual and physical evolution
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  and transformation. The urge to it is already there
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  and partly effective, though still incompletely understood
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  and accepted by the surface mentality.
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  But one day it may understand, go deeper within itself and
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  discover the means, the secret energy, the intended operation
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  of the consciousness force within which is the hidden
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  reality of what we call nature. End Quote Reference Sri
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  Aurobindo and the Mother, the psychic being soul, its nature,
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  mission and evolution. Section 3.
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  Growth and Development of the Psychic, pages 75 to 76.