“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”

― William Shakespeare

“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”

― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

What are the origins of the science of enlightenment on earth? Certainly, a lot of spirituality is a product of human myth-making, a mixture of philosophy, intuition, imagination, and yearning. However, it is interesting to consider the probability that certain areas of spiritual knowledge – particularly in Hinduism and Buddhism – are in fact not human in origin. By this, we mean that the type of intelligence of which they are an expression originates from outside the context of human life and human evolution. Such non-human, or ‘extraterrestrial’, intelligence can enter our reality from other physical beings of this universe or from entirely different non-physical dimensions of existence. This does not apply to all spiritual traditions, but rather to those which arose within the Indian subcontinent.

Considering the very primitive and unevolved condition of humanity, both past and present, it is actually very surprising that such profound knowledge of the self could have been discovered at all. What could its source have been? The first historical records of knowledge pertaining to an expanded state of consciousness, or ‘self-realization,’ can be traced back to India. One can speculate that some other ancient cultures, such as the Egyptians or Mayans, also possessed this knowledge, but there are no records which indicate this to be the case. From India, it then migrated to other places, such as China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

Is acquiring the knowledge of self-realization just a matter of uncovering the objective ‘facts’, like any other scientific information, or does it make a difference what or who the source of that knowledge is? In the case of spiritual knowledge, it does make a big difference. Human beings are a species not only biologically but spiritually as well – humanity has its own distinct spiritual blueprint and destiny.

If the roots of Hindu and Buddhist spirituality are indeed non-human, they have conditioned our perception and vision of evolution, so as to disconnect it from that human blueprint, in a manner which is unnatural and even harmful. We should, however, be grateful that an understanding of evolution into the self has been revealed to humanity at all, particularly considering how immature the collective mind is. Indeed the knowledge was revealed to Indian sages in the Iron Age, or even earlier and is still far, far ahead of us. Yet, we need to still apply discrimination and not just accept everything unquestioningly.

So, as we have begun to suggest, a possible explanation for the emergence of this knowledge into human consciousness is that it was channeled from non-human sources, which, due to being in some ways ahead of human evolution, were more able to contain and reveal this information – hence the energy of Hinduism and its particular vision of spiritual evolution were born. However, while non-human sources of spiritual revelation might have been ahead of humanity in their evolution into consciousness, this does not mean that their knowledge was absolute or even fully adequate for the human structure and blueprint. As we have said, the drawback of non-human sources is that the understanding of the spiritual dimension and enlightenment that was given is not fully compatible with what is required by the human soul. Humans have obviously been able to adapt themselves to follow Hindu or Buddhist models of evolution, but only through sacrificing parts of their own truth.

Here we are speaking more specifically about the paradigm of non-duality, which forms the conceptual foundation of these Eastern traditions. Non-dual traditions actually completely ignore the human soul, the essence of our higher individuality – and it is exactly this which makes us truly human. Although one can find the concept of the soul in non-dual traditions, one never finds the soul itself. Both Hindu and Buddhist concepts of devotion, of getting ‘lost’ in god, entirely bypass soul actualization. From the soul’s point of view, these are negative devotional paths, for their purpose is to dissolve our sense of self in communion with the divine. For the soul, for our higher self, this is the equivalent of spiritual suicide. Having said this, it is not only the absence of the soul and the resistance to individualization that are characteristic of non-human visions of the path; their influence goes much deeper. The very energy that is present in these traditions is non-human.

Buddha himself was a human who rebelled against Hindu tradition. But that is not to say that the origins of Buddhism are human in themselves. The roots of Buddhism are very similar to those of Hinduism, and both are non-human in their understanding and energy. The Buddhist path is not really suited to humans, even though it has been adapted for them. Its excessive attachment to a dry, impersonal ideal of enlightenment, its denial of our individuality, and on top of that, the absence of the heart and repression of deeper human feelings – all of these elements are in contradiction to the human path to wholeness. Those who practice it must either feel comfortable with these non-human energies or are too insensitive to notice them.

Nowadays, there are many New Age groups which celebrate their ability to channel beings from other dimensions. But the question is: Is it useful or intelligent to channel these kinds of beings at all? Do they have anything of true value to tell us? And why is it assumed that they will know better than we ourselves do? Because they are not human or somehow disembodied? What could their agenda be? One wonders what their interest is in involving themselves in human affairs. Most of these beings do not have any real knowledge of the potential for human evolution or the human path to enlightenment. People are too naive and gullible. They ignore their intelligence, common sense, and power of inner discernment just so that they can connect with and believe in something that is not of this world. They choose to put their trust in strange entities who very likely do not know any better. In fact, there is a high chance that they are in a worse condition than the humans they are communicating with. This whole phenomenon reflects a gross insensitivity within seekers towards non-human influences, and an incorrect understanding of the unique nature of human evolution.

As regards the non-human influences transmitted in ancient times for our understanding of the spiritual path, many of their insights have been invaluable and must be deeply appreciated. But again, such insights must be used with great caution and discretion, and understood in the context of our unique human spiritual blueprint and destiny. It would be foolish not to be discerning in how we view and use them. It is important to step back and see the whole picture. We must reclaim our own human spirituality, while integrating into it some of the great knowledge of enlightenment that has been given to us from elsewhere.

In a separate article, “Ruse of Shiva,” we wrote about Shiva as having revealed the partial truth of non-duality in the form of Vedanta and Advaita. But this is not to imply that Shiva himself was a non-human being. Shiva is a representation of the divine hovering above and beyond all dimensions, and he has used a variety of channels to reach our world. It seems that using a non-human channel of intelligence was a workable option in earlier times in order to transmit this message of impersonal enlightenment. But as humanity has evolved further, Shiva is now able to connect more directly to our intelligence and free us from the previous limitations of non-duality.

Our evolution has reached the point where the use of non-human intelligence to assist with the actualization of our destiny is no longer necessary. We have arrived at a crucial crossroads in our growth as human beings, where we must take the initiative and reclaim the true essence of our human spirituality. In doing this, non-duality and an impersonal understanding of enlightenment are not being rejected, but rather both included and transcended in favor of a much more comprehensive vision of reality that is more suited to our unique purpose as human beings. Although awakening to our higher individuality and the actualization of our soul is the first step in the development of human consciousness, it is the most crucial one on the road to coming closer to the state of wholeness and true completion.

Blessings, Aadi

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