Evolving Through Destruction: The Path of Dharma

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”

~ Richard Bach

As a child and teen, and even as an adult, I often felt buried under the weight of life’s challenges. Every day, I felt like I was dissolving into nothing, like I was already nothing. I couldn’t do the things that everyone else seemed to excel at — school, relationships, earning money. All I could do was barely survive emotionally, constantly holding back anger, loneliness, and sadness, while often getting into fights with everyone around me. I was placed in remedial classes, had to see a counselor, take various tests, and answer intrusive questions, all of which deepened my sense of inadequacy, shame, and embarrassment. I learned to present a façade of strength while silently struggling within.

During these challenging times, I found solace in the transformation of caterpillars into butterflies and the growth of plants from seeds buried in dirt. I watched in awe as a caterpillar spun itself into a chrysalis and a seed germinated, marveling at the magical processes occurring within. What seemed like the end for the caterpillar was, in reality, the beginning of its transformation into a beautiful butterfly, ready to spread its wings and soar. Similarly, the seed that cracked open and sprouted both downwards and upwards fascinated me. This childhood wonderment stayed with me and deepened over the years. Butterflies became my personal symbols of hope, and seeds growing into sprouts and baby greens became my preferred sustenance. As I continued to explore the concept of transformation in nature and life, these themes consistently emerged, leaving me to ponder what controlled them.

As Richard Bach’s quote suggests, what appears to be the end or destruction of one phase or system can actually be the beginning of a new and transformed state. A caterpillar may see its metamorphosis into a chrysalis as the end of its world, but to the master observer, it is merely the beginning of the caterpillar’s transformation into a beautiful butterfly. Similarly, destruction or the ending of a system may appear to be or even be catastrophic, but there is also a possibility where destruction can be a part of creating growth, adaptation, integration, and purification, ultimately resulting in progress and positive change. Thus, destruction, from the point of view of Nature and Maharishi Vedic Science may be a part of a greater process within life and Dharma, and can be a necessary and transformative step toward progress and evolution.

Understanding Dharma

In his commentary on chapter one of the Bhagavad-Gita, Maharishi (1967) says, “Dharma is that invincible power of nature which upholds existence. It maintains evolution and forms the very basis of cosmic life. It supports all that is helpful to life and discourages all that is opposed to it” (p. 26). A fundamental principle of the Maharishi’s Science of Creative Intelligence course is: “the nature of life is to grow.” If dharma is invincible, how then, do we account for individual life that seems out of touch with dharma? Similarly, how do we explain destruction in life?

Dharma is invincible because its intelligence is leading the orchestra called life with perfect precision. In my expanded view of dharma there is nothing that can be out of touch with it. Even if an individual life looks to be out of touch with dharma or a person seemingly makes choices that are seemingly anti evolutionary, evolution because of the force of dharma is a one way flow towards perfection and fulfillment. It is the CEO, the great divine director also known as natural law. Dharma manages destruction in life as part of the mechanics of evolution. In this way dharma discourages all that is opposed to evolution. Finkelstein (2005) in his dissertation Universal Principles of Life Expressed in Maharishi Vedic Science, Judaism, Christianity and Islam writes,

Dharma is the Vedic term for Natural Law, or the will of God, that is the unlimited intelligence and power that supports, nourishes and drives all processes of evolution in the cosmos for the purpose of bringing perfection and fulfillment to life. (p. 193)

Definitions

To answer the question about dharma and destruction let’s explore what is meant by terms I’ll be using. “Cosmic life,” Being,” and “destruction” and their relationship to the mechanics of evolution are the terms I’ll be defining. Cosmic Life means a life that is in alignment with Natural Law, the immutable laws governing the universe. Those laws that hold the planets in space, govern the spin of the Earth and at the same time the migration of the birds. Being is absolute existence, the basis of all existence and the field that all existence, Pure Consciousness. Destruction is one of the three qualities of the evolutionary process, along with creation, and maintenance. Dharma keeps these qualities in balance.

When most people refer to dharma it is used in terms of an individual finding their correct duty, job or life calling. They have a sense that things are in order and that they are performing correct action in life that feels evolutionary. Maharishi (1967) explains that, “Dharma is that which promotes worldly prosperity and spiritual freedom. In order to understand the role of dharma in life, we have to consider the mechanics of evolution.” (p. 26–27) Many people hear the word evolution and they think of Charles Darwin and natural selection. Or they think of evolution as the change in characteristics of a species over many generations. That is the prevailing paradigm’s definition of evolution. In a broader sense, evolution is the progression and expansion of life that is expressed in the ever-changing relative, while having its basis at the non-changing absolute level of existence, the field of Being. Existence is Being. It can be thought of as abstract while that which exists is concrete. It is Life eternal. Maharishi (2001) explains,

Existence, life, or Being is the unmanifested reality of all that exists, lives or is. Being is the ultimate reality of all that was, is or will be. It is eternal and unbounded, the basis of all the phenomenal existence of the cosmic life. It is the source of all time, space and causation. It is the be-all and end-all of existence, the all-pervading eternal field of the almighty creative intelligence. I am That eternal Being, Thou art That, and all this is That eternal Being in its essential nature (p.3).

Maharishi (1967) also writes concerning life that, “The two main aspects of (a person’s) life are the relative and the absolute. The relative aspect of life is perishable [human]; the absolute aspect is imperishable [Being]. The relative life has three aspects: physical, mental and environmental or, body, mind and surroundings.” (p. 181)

Mechanics

Evolution is the expression of the non-changing Being (which is called the absolute) and the ever-changing nature of Being (called the relative). This is the other side of Being, the “becoming”. This ever-changing nature is ever expanding or returning to the Absolute. This is expressed in the phrase from the Bhagavad-Gita, “Curving Back on Myself, I Create Again and Again” (9.8). The mechanics of evolution are three fold; creation, maintenance and destruction. Creation is the embodiment of progress and expansion. Maintenance embodies sustenance and preservation. Destruction or dissolution is characterized by ignorance and inertia. It is also about dissolving the old so the new can emerge. Maharishi (1967) writes concerning evolution that,

The constant and eternal process of creation and evolution of the multiple variety of creation is so complex and diversified in its nature that it is only the almighty intelligence that could possibly set the whole thing in the functioning order. It is not possible to fathom all the depths of complexity and variety of circumstances which constitute the unlimited span of the universe. But there is one factor in the entire field of creation on which one could base an attempt to meet the order of the law of nature: This is that all the laws of nature are functioning in the direction of evolution. (p. 80)

Destruction

When most people think of destruction they don’t think of it in terms of its relationship to dharma. They think of destruction as war, disease, pain, death and suffering. This is because at face value destruction is ignorance. Ignorance is a lack of knowledge. In the Bible, The book of Hosea 4: 6 (KJV) it is written, “My people perish from a lack of knowledge.” An Individual’s life under the influence of destruction causes the suffering of humanity. Maharishi (1967) writes,

“Small minds always have a very narrow vision and they fail to perceive the total situation; in their narrow vision they create imaginary obstacles and close themselves in their narrow scope of imagined forms, which are useful neither to themselves nor to anyone else. Then their behavior with others only results in misunderstanding and an increase of tension.” (p. 176)

I assert a different perspective on destruction as it pertains to dharma then what most people view as the face value of destruction. This perspective acknowledges destruction as being a part of the cyclical nature of evolution which is creation, maintenance, destruction and back to creation, on repeat. And within that cycle are what Maharishi calls the “Five Fundamentals of Progress and or Culture”; cycles of stability, adaptability, integration, purification and growth/transformation. In other words, Destruction isn’t an end point. It forms the basis for a new beginning. Maharishi (1967) explains,

When life evolves from one state to another, the first state is dissolved and the second brought into existence. In other words, the process of evolution is carried out under the influence of two opposing forces — one to destroy the first state and the other to give rise to a second state. These creative and destructive forces working in harmony with one another maintain life and spin the wheel of evolution. Dharma maintains equilibrium between them. By maintaining equilibrium between opposing cosmic forces, dharma safeguards existence and upholds the path of evolution, the path of righteousness. (p. 27)

Consider the journey of a seed. For a seed to fulfill its potential, it must first be buried and then crack open, seemingly destroying its original form. Yet, this breaking is essential, allowing a new plant to emerge. Creation begins as the seed sprouts, maintenance is the nurturing of the growing plant, and destruction is the breaking of the seed’s outer shell. This cycle continues as the plant matures, blossoms, and bears fruit. Within this natural process are phases of stability, adaptation, integration, purification, and transformation. Destruction, in this context, is not an end but a crucial step in the ongoing cycle of growth and renewal. Some of us feel we’ve been buried under the weight of life, grief, and etc… turns out, you’ve just been planted.

Evolution

The absolute Being guides the path of evolution through the invincible intelligence of dharma; this is what ensures all things flow in a one way evolutionary direction. Maintaining equilibrium between creative and destructive forces safeguards the forward march of existence as it expands in perfection and fulfillment. For example, it is a common thought that life cannot survive the dissolution of the physical body. However, I invite you again to consider with me for the moment that caterpillar and its transformation into a butterfly. Orlando Jay Smith (1902) in his book Eternalism: a theory of infinite justice writes,

The physical body of the caterpillar has ceased to be; it has passed beyond the possibility of restoration or resurrection. Yet the real life of the caterpillar is not ended; its deathless principle survives in the cocoon; and it will live to inhabit the body of the butterfly. (p.182)

This example of the caterpillar’s transformation into a butterfly is a great example of the three forces of nature (creation, maintenance and destruction) working in concert to bring about a higher, more liberated state of existence. There is the destruction of the physical body of the caterpillar. And within that destruction we can see the fundamentals of progress. The cocoon maintains the life although the body is destroyed; Smith refers to this as the “deathless principle.” We can see clearly, in this case, that the destruction creates the primordial soup for new life to emerge in the creation of a butterfly.

Maharishi’s Five Fundamentals of Progress

The transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly exemplifies the three forces of nature — creation, maintenance, and destruction — working together to bring about a higher, liberated state of existence. The physical body of the caterpillar is destroyed, creating the primordial soup for new life to emerge through that “Deathless Principle’’, “Dharma”, and/or “The Invincible Creative Intelligence of Nature”, revealing the creation of a beautiful flying butterfly. Maharishi proposed five fundamentals of progress that pervades all — Stability, Adaptability, Purification, Integration, and Growth — that are essential for the success and survival of any living organism or system. These principles form a cycle within the cycle of creation, maintenance, and destruction, and when present in balance, they enable individuals, organizations, cultures, and societies to thrive. Stability provides the ability to maintain equilibrium, Adaptability to change in response to circumstances, Integration to bring new and old together, Purification to become free from anything that debases, pollutes, adulterates, or contaminates, and then, Growth to become more complex, a more efficient version of self. Assessing and diagnosing a system based on the presence and balance of these five qualities allows us to reflect nature, and enables initiatives to target a specific quality based on the needs of the system. By connecting with Being through tools like Transcendental Meditation, individuals can effortlessly align with the natural flow of evolution toward higher states of existence.

Transcendence

Maharishi (1969) states,

This one-way flow of nature to take everything on to a higher evolution is a flow in which the individual can consciously put [themselves] to permit nature to work on [them] — a natural flow of evolution of the individual in accordance with the cosmic evolution. (p. 80)

This is the practical value of Transcendental Meditation or any “automatic self-transcending” meditation because it allows a person to connect with Being the source of dharma’s invincible intelligence. This is also what is meant by one of Maharishi’s fundamental principles in the “Science of Creative Intelligence”: “The nature of life is to grow.” Through transcendence It is possible to effortlessly connect with this one-way flow. Transcendence allows the individual life to connect with the laws of nature, which are functioning in the direction of evolution. In describing Transcendental Meditation Maharishi (2001) explains that,

A systematic method has been developed that enables an individual to experience directly the pure state of Being. It is done by consciously entering into the experience of the subtle strata of a thought, eventually arriving at the direct experience of the subtlest state of the thought, and then arriving at the very source of thought. Then the conscious mind attains the pure state of Being (p.xliii)

Cosmic Life

Individual life (as opposed to cosmic life) is with reference to the relative nature of a person. It is the expression of a singular nervous system that gives rise to ego, feelings, thoughts, senses and body. It is useful to say that the individual life is a soul that was a part of the absolute. However, it enters the relative, forgets its own nature, and identifies or bonds itself with only the ego, feelings, thoughts, senses, environment and body. However, from another perspective the individual life or soul can never be detached from its absolute basis, because that is from where it rises. That is its essential nature. So it’s better to say that the soul is “as if” detached from Being when it is unaware of its own essential nature, thus being identified with lesser or incomplete aspects of itself. Maharishi (1967) writes, “The greater part of (person) does not find expression in (their) behavior and activity in life, because the conscious mind is only a part of the total mind that a (person) possesses” (p. 259). Identification or bondage with the ego, feelings, thoughts, senses, environment and body is not exactly what causes ignorance or bondage.

The issue is CHIEFLY the inability to sustain the awareness of the non-changing absolute Being along with the ever-changing relative aspects of individual life. Maharishi (1969) writes,

“Identification should not be a horror to the seekers of truth and to the aspirants of reality. It is only that a state of mind has to be cultivated so that the mind engaged with outer things does not overshadow the pure state of Being” (p. 234).

When the relative aspects of individual life never again overshadow the pure state of Being, it may be referred to as the cosmic life. Cosmic life means all-inclusive. A life that includes the ego, feelings, thoughts, senses and body of the ever-changing relative but also includes the awareness of the non-changing absolute Being or that “Deathless Principle”. Cosmic life is when a person no longer identifies only as ego, feelings, thoughts, senses, environment and body but also has made their conscious experience at home again in their essential nature, which is absolute Being. Maharishi (1967) writes,

Unless the mind rises high in its values and attains a fair degree of divine intelligence, the (person) will continue to err. To err is human, to be free from error is divine. Thus, so long as (people) remain in the field of humanity, (they are) apt to err. It is necessary, therefore, to take (a person) above the field of error, bring the divine intelligence within the range of the conscious mind, and thereby infuse the divine nature into the nature of (Humanity).” (p. 255)

Humanity’s Rendezvous

In conclusion, dharma is humanity’s greatest ally in the evolutionary task of infusing the divine into our nature. It is the force of nature that safeguards humanity’s journey towards perfection and fulfillment. Life, Being, and Existence are eternal and unchanging, and destruction is simply one phase in the ever-evolving cyclical nature of existence. My own journey, marked by feelings of shame, anger, and inadequacy, mirrors the transformative power of dharma. As long as I’m “Being and Becoming” its possible that there will always be destructive feelings and moments like those going and coming in my life. But Just as a caterpillar’s apparent end is the beginning of its transformation into a butterfly, and a seed’s breaking is necessary for its growth into a plant, so to do our struggles and moments of despair serve as catalysts for our evolution.

Life does not cease its progression due to destruction; rather, it transforms into new forms through the invincible intelligence of dharma. Even when individuals make choices that seem anti-evolutionary, dharma, in its infinite wisdom, ensures that these choices are ultimately worked out for the highest good, fostering the emergence of a more liberated state. Dharma governs the three-fold mechanics of evolution — creation, maintenance, and destruction — and underpins the Five Fundamentals of Progress: stability, adaptability, purification, integration, and growth. It ensures the one-way flow of evolution towards greater freedom and success.

Reflecting on my own experiences and the symbolism of butterflies and plants, I see that just as the caterpillar cannot escape its destiny to become a butterfly and a seed is not buried but planted, humanity too cannot escape the transformative power of dharma. We are destined to evolve and eventually realize our essential nature as perfect and fulfilled beings.

“For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever.” — Alfred, Lord Tennyson

References

Bach, R. (1984). Illusions. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.

Finkelstein, E (2005). Universal Principles of Life Expressed in Maharishi Vedic Science, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Fairfield, Iowa: Graduate School Maharishi University of Management.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1967). Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad-Gita. A translation and commentary, chapters 1–6. London: Arkana/Penguin.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (2001). Science of being and art of living: Transcendental meditation. New York: Penguin Group.

Smith, O (1902). Eternalism: a theory of infinite justice. Boston, MA: Houghton, Mifflin and Company.

Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, (1887). The Brook. London : Macmillan.