Evolution of Form. 125 



present is extension, that is, the capacity of taking 

 form, of being shaped in a definite way. 



Now before we take up the details of evolution, 

 there are one or two great principles that I want to 

 ask you to keep in mind ; for we shall never be able 

 to understand the complexity of detail, if we take it 

 as a series of isolated details ; we need to classify 

 these under certain fundamental principles and then, 

 those principles being clear in the mind, we can 

 easily, as it were, pack every detail into its appro- 

 priate pigeon-hole in our thought. I shall not 

 trouble you this morning at all with that threefold 

 division of the evolving life with which we dealt 

 yesterday. We can, for our work now, treat life as a 

 unit, speaking of the Divine L/ife as Ishvara, and of 

 the reflection of that life in man as the Self. We will 

 keep these two terms to avoid confusion : Ishvara 

 as the Divine Life which is the source of evolution ; 

 the Self as the human life which is gradually evolv- 

 ing. And we need these two distinguishing names, 

 without going into any of the sub-divisions that we 

 dealt with yesterday in connection with life, in order 

 that we may be able to see how forms are shaped, 

 and to which principle, if I may say so, we are to 

 refer the special modifications. 



The next thing that we must realise is the respec- 

 tive functions of these sources of life ; one working 



