32 On the Levels of Awareness III
Beloveds,
Love.
The second realm is the realm of animals.
This realm belongs to beings who operate wholly on instinct.
They are apart from the mind, unable to reason.
They are apart from all but the most basic of emotions: the desire to
survive and to procreate.
People trapped on this level of being are completely the victims of the
material circumstances that surround them.
People in this state will be brutish, incapable of meditation, interested
only in their immediate lusts.
They cannot be expected to demonstrate awareness, or communication at
higher levels.
They will be most easily manipulated by generating fear or sexual lust
in them.
People can only rise from this realm when they encounter some kind of
massive transformative event.
It is possible that after many repeated "lifetimes" of bestial
behaviour they may come, through repeated exposure to meditators, to be
able to advance some human traits.
Everyday people, and even meditators, will end up touching this realm at moments when they allow the basest of emotions to dominate them; when they are overly afraid, and as a way to ignore the reality of death.
It is important when this situation occurs to be able to meditate, to overcome fear, and realize that in reality both the instincts for self-preservation and procreation are false, a product of the fear of death, and therefore can be overcome without difficulty.
Love
Swami
