To someone who asked how he could determine his present evolutionary status.
One of the besetting dilemmas of the human being is the fact that we do not evolve harmoniously and simultaneously on all aspects of our being. Consequently we can be evolved highly in one aspect and quite unevolved in another. So we do not have an overall level of evolution.
This is why yoga sadhana is so important. It begins to harmonize the many levels and aspects of our being and to develop them in a sure and steady manner–when the sadhana is carried on continuously.
Furthermore, evolution is a condition of the relative aspects of our being. Its only value to enable us to know our true Self by the development of Atmajnana. Since each one of us is totally individual, the way this all unfolds is equally individual.
Yogananda said that the most important teaching in his autobiography was the statement of Swami Sriyukteswar Giri: “Everything in future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now.”
Further Reading:
- Understanding the Process of Spiritual Evolution and Reincarnation
- Redemption or Conscious Evolution?
- The Evolution of Man