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(plane of heaven) according to Buddhism. In the formless regions of Arūpāvacāra the principle of progression in human consciousness is always the same.
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It is a belief in Indian religious thought that the doctrine of karma implies a faith in the doctrine of transmigration. In Indian philosophy we come across the operation of the two principles in the sphere of the mundane existence beginning with the lowest inorganic and ending with the highest angelic life. These two principles are illustrated by the law of natural evolution and the law of human freedom working under the principle of karma in human existence. The law of natural evolution exists in the subhuman creation till the formation of the human organism with the origin and progression of the so called mental sheath (Manomaya kośa ). It is believed by all ancient people in India that it was as a result of gradual natural progression that the inorganic developed into the organic and the organic developed from the vital into the mental. With the rise of Manomaya Kosa the human organism is supposed to be sufficiently evolved for the manifestation of will and development of karma. As soon as the will was developed, man began to follow its dictates and worked under the pressure of egoistic impulses. This generated a moral life with karmaic activities behind it. In Vedanta the evolution of Manomaya Kośa is believed to be an antecedent to the evolution of Vijñānamaya and Anandamaya Kosas. The duration of the Manomaya Kośa and its function is co-eternal with the duration of the mundane life of man as such. This life involves a long course of transmigration in which the human being passes from one body into another either in the same plane or in a higher or a lower plane. The course of entire worldly life involves an infinitely long course of time of which the true beginning cannot be traced. It may be remarked in passing that this course of human life does not seem to be, directly speaking, a stage in gradual progression or during this period man works physically, mentally, and vocally under
