The Journey of the First Soul

 Using my Meher Baba notebook, I asked Gemini the following question:

Can you summarise what Meher Baba said about the differences the first person’s reaching the seventh plane of consciousness made to the attempts of subsequent aspirants wishing to attain this state.

Meher Baba explained that the journey of the very first soul to attain the seventh plane of consciousness was fundamentally different from the path of all subsequent spiritual seekers in its speed, ease, and requirement for external guidance.

The Journey of the First Soul

• The "First Soul" or "First Pilgrim" navigated the evolutionary kingdoms in just seventy-seven forms and progressed through the seven planes of involution very easily.

• His journey was significantly quicker than that of any subsequent soul because He lacked a heavy burden of accumulated impressions, or sanskaras.

• When facing the vast abyss between the sixth and seventh planes, He transcended His own mind and crossed over completely independently, without any external help.

• This First Soul instantaneously passed from Majzoobiyat (a God-merged state) to Qutubiyat (Perfect Masterhood).

• By doing so, He established Himself as the Personal God—the "Nameless Ancient One"—and was the first to occupy the eternal throne in the seventh heaven.

The Challenge for Subsequent Aspirants

• Unlike the First Soul, subsequent seekers accumulate innumerable sanskaras during their long evolutionary process, forcing them into a slow, zigzagging cycle of reincarnation to wear these impressions down.

• Because of these dense impressions, their progress through the inner planes is fraught with the risk of becoming enchanted or trapped by the ecstatic experiences of the subtle and mental heavens.

• It is entirely impossible for later aspirants to cross the deep abyss separating the sixth and seventh planes through their own independent efforts.

• To attain the seventh plane and achieve God-realization, subsequent souls absolutely require the direct grace, touch, or guidance of a Perfect Master (Sadguru) who has already realized the ultimate truth and can pull them across the final threshold.

The figure of 77 forms for the first sould prompted me go directly to the notebook and ask the following:

Gemini made this comment:

"The "First Soul" or "First Pilgrim" navigated the evolutionary kingdoms in just seventy-seven forms and progressed through the seven planes of involution very easily." I find this confusing as normally 500 million forms are required. The number 77 seems preposterous. Can you clarify my confusion.

Here was the response:

The contrast between the 77 forms taken by the First Soul and the millions of forms and lifetimes required for all subsequent souls is one of the most unique aspects of Meher Baba's cosmology.

1. The Journey of the "First Soul" (The First Pilgrim)

According to Meher Baba, the First Soul (also referred to as the First Drop, Adam, or the Ancient One) was the very first individual drop-soul to emerge from the unconscious state of God at the OM Point when the original Whim ("Who am I?") arose.

• Only Natural Sanskaras: When creation first emerged, there were no accumulated "unnatural" sanskaras—such as complex desires, lust, greed, or binding psychological attachments. The First Soul gathered only the bare minimum of natural sanskaras strictly necessary to unfold consciousness.
  
  
• A Direct 77-Form Evolution: Because His journey was completely pristine and unencumbered by unnatural impressions, He did not need to branch off into millions of sub-species or repeat evolutionary forms. He moved smoothly and directly through key archetypal stages—the First Stone, First Metal, First Plant, First Worm, First Insect, First Reptile, First Fish, First Bird, First Animal, and into the First Man—taking exactly 77 major forms in total.
  
  
• Independent Realization: During involution, because He had no dense web of desires entangling Him in the inner heavens, He traversed the seven planes effortlessly. When He reached the vast abyss between the sixth and seventh planes, He transcended His own mind completely independently—without any external help—becoming the first God-Conscious human being.
  
  

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2. Why Subsequent Souls Require Millions of Forms

For every soul (jeevatma) that follows the First Soul, the process is radically different:

• Accumulation of Unnatural Sanskaras: As creation develops, subsequent souls accumulate dense, complex, and unnatural sanskaras through their experiences and desires in illusion.
  
  
• 50.4 Million Evolutionary Forms & 8.4 Million Species: To develop full consciousness and wear out these impressions across the seven evolutionary kingdoms (stone, metal, vegetable, worm, fish, bird, animal), subsequent souls must pass through approximately 8.4 million species (or 50.4 million total sub-human forms).
  
  
• 8.4 Million Human Reincarnations: Once human form is attained, the soul is caught in a cycle of 8.4 million human births and deaths (reincarnations) to balance and thin out its accumulated impressions before involution can begin.
  
  
• Need for a Perfect Master: Because of their heavy sanskaric burden, subsequent souls cannot cross the spiritual planes or the final abyss on their own; they strictly require the direct grace and intervention of a Perfect Master or the Avatar.

In short, 77 forms applied exclusively to the First Soul because His journey was 100% natural, direct, and free of unnatural sanskaras. For all souls following Him, the web of accumulated impressions expands the journey into millions of forms and reincarnations.