The western writers, and indeed, many Oriental seers prefer to put it thus:  “become fit to dwell with God, in eternal bliss and power.”

To dwell with God, must be to become gods.  Once more, we must remember that only gods are immortal.  Souls continue to exist after the physical body has been discarded, for the reason that no body in these days, lives as long as its psychic counterpart or dweller.  But, although the soul continues to exist on another plane of note of the scale of vibration, it does not argue that the identity shall continue eternally, except in such instances, as when the soul through numbers of incarnations shall have finally accomplished the purpose of its pilgrimage and attained to mukti (liberation from the law of change and death).

Returning to a consideration of what may be said to constitute certain specific phases of consciousness, we will take into consideration the phase of consciousness, which we see expressed in the mineral kingdom.  That there is a distinct and separate character of consciousness thus expressed is evident from the fact that there is a law of chemical affinity, i.e. attraction and repulsion, which causes different minerals to respond, or to refuse to respond, as the case may be, to certain conditions or chemical processes, more or less crude in character.

From this to the vegetable kingdom we assume a step in advance, as vegetable life measured by complexity and refinement, responds with a greater degree of sensitiveness to the laws of evolution, as expressed in cultivation, selection and environment.

Even in this phase of manifestation, we find the law of Being, is measured by the perfection of species.  Evolution of inorganic life, is as real, and as much a part of the plan, (or whatever name we choose), as is organic, and self-conscious life.

That which is less perfect, measured by the law of beauty and usefulness, we find gradually being exterminated.  That the earth, as a planet, is obeying this cosmic law of evolution from grossness to refinement; from crudity to perfection; from the limited to the all-inclusive, is indisputable.  As the motor power of electricity has become general, we find that beasts of burden are fast disappearing from the earth, according to the law of the “survival of the fittest,” this law, always being subject to change.  The “fittest” means that which is best fitted to the conditions of the time.

Brute force survives among brutes, in the degree that it is strong or weak; coming out of that expression of law into the mental areas of consciousness, we find that the mentally fit survive among those who live only in the areas of the mind; so on, into the spiritual, we will find the “survival of the fittest” will be those who are best fitted for spiritual eternity—­for godhood.

Coming again, to our consideration of the term consciousness, we will take a brief survey of that phase of consciousness which we see manifested in the forms of life that have the power to move from their immediate environment; such for instance would include the fish in the sea; insect life; reptiles; the birds in the air; and all forms of animal life.