Consciousness is expressed in myriad forms and levels. Each level is its own realm of being. From each level of consciousness to the next is a progression, an evolution. From stone to plant consciousness, from plant to animal, from animal to human, each level is a preparation, containing within itself the seeds or precursor of the next, just as the caterpillar embodies the future butterfly.
Between one level and the next, there is no greater leap than from the human to the divine, for here is the leap from the finite to the infinite, from semi-consciousness to super-consciousness, from bondage to liberation. As humans, we prefigure the divine. So, how are we to expedite this leap of evolution, how to embrace and blossom into the divine within?
Sri Chinmoy writes:
“Constantly you have to cry deep within yourself. Then you will see that your human consciousness is bathing in the sea of the divine consciousness. You have to feel the necessity of the divine consciousness inside you and around you. And you have to know that the human consciousness, which you represent right now, is not the goal. If you are totally dissatisfied with the human consciousness, then you have moved one step forward towards your goal. If you feel that the human life has disappointed and deserted you and that the divine life alone can fulfil you, then only the divine consciousness can enter into you. And when the divine consciousness enters into you, then you will feel that this divine consciousness will not negate your human consciousness. On the contrary, it will transform the human consciousness. It does not reject; it does not cast aside anything human. It purifies and illumines the human consciousness and transforms it into its own divine consciousness.”
– Sri Chinmoy