To be human is not merely to look like a representative of the species *Homo sapiens*. Some hominids outwardly resembled us. Evolutionary changes affect not only physical forms but also internal mechanisms and behavior.
I propose that among the wild, instinct-driven early hominids of one particular species, some began to give birth to more advanced individuals: those guided by Reason. The difference lies in how they perceive the world, what they consider desirable, what has value, and what motivates their actions.
For ancestors driven by instincts and primitive urges like pleasure and pain, the new generation gained the ability to act according to an understanding of the deeper meanings behind every instinctive impulse — not just to understand, but to strive for and desire what is truly meaningful. For them, ritualized actions lost their meaning. They realized that feelings, desires, and emotions are not absolute, and relying on them can lead to catastrophe.
But something went wrong. The Voice of Reason was opposed by the intellect, which gained the upper hand over Reason. Animals possessed intellect long before the appearance of humans — it was perfectly integrated into their instinctive system. Intellect is a tool for understanding, recognizing patterns and connections, calculations, and predictions. The question, however, is: who is the master of this tool?
Before the emergence of Reason, intellect was the highest and most advanced ability on the planet, meant to serve Reason and the human being for their own sake. However, since humans are born as helpless infants and must be raised by parents and society, they had only instincts, intellect, and the behavior of elders to imitate. The Voice of Reason was drowned out by feelings, desires, emotions, and thoughts. No one could teach children to fall silent and observe their own mind.
I believe that some rare sages understood this and encrypted their knowledge in riddles. One such story appears in the Book of Genesis in the Bible, and similar narratives exist in many more ancient cultures and religions — Zoroastrianism, the Vedas, and others.
God is the Design, Love, and Reason of the Universe. His voice within us is a serious, silent wisdom that we sense, giving understanding of the meanings of things and phenomena. It is also the driving force of action: the thirst for meaning, truth, harmony, and the embodiment of the Design.
In this understanding, Love is a meaningful intention toward the good, the desire to reveal and fulfill the Will of God. Reason is the awareness of God as Design. Awareness implies a deep abiding in it, but to express that understanding, intellect is needed — to find words and associations and explain it to the mind. This is the role the serpent once performed, but lost.
Instead of leading people to life according to the original human Design — the Tree of Life — intellect convinced us to chase illusions. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represents instinctive guidance. Its fruits are illusions in the form of feelings, desires, and emotions: the pleasure-pain system, the pursuit of what is pleasant, and the fear of what is painful. The serpent didn't say “You will become intelligent”, it said: “You will be like God, knowing good and evil”. That is self-authorization, self-referential judgment, removal of alignment with the Source. In other words: “You will decide what things mean from within yourself”. This is exactly the loss of objectivity.
Instead of desiring children, nourishment, balance, and harmony, people chase pleasure, taste, power, and wealth. Intellect can understand the purpose of sex, yet it binds us to instinctive urges for pleasure rather than to the rational desire for family and children. Thus, the serpent — as a tool — now serves instinctive nature, the human-animal instead of the human-divine: it crawls on the earth instead of flying in the heavens.
I know what the Cherubim are — the guardians protecting the entrance to the heavenly garden. When people approach God, they experience an intense emotional reaction. Because we run on “lower-level software,” we perceive the world through feelings and other instinctive responses. Sensing His love, people experience divine euphoria and mistake it for God Himself, unable to go further. Accustomed to living by instincts, we expect rewards and incentives. They do not teach us to find the essence and meaning of actions, nor do they lead directly to what truly matters. Our intellect forms thoughts based on this, protecting and reinforcing our animal nature.
To break through, we must reject all of this and not accept it as a reward. Only then can we sense God through pure awareness of His Reason, Design, and Love — without emotional experience and without thoughts.
“Deny yourself, reject illusions” — this is the core of every religion. Unfortunately, people failed to grasp the true meaning of these teachings and instead created religions: illusory structures to serve something while pretending to serve God.
People do not need an external savior; everyone needs individual awakening. It is time to realize that we are prisoners of unreasonable instinctive control, with intellect acting as the guardian of this prison.
Repentance is possible if you have felt the urge within yourself. Meditation and prayer are tools for accessing the Reason of God. By denying yourself, you transfer your self-identification from instincts to Reason. Then intellect can help you understand the reality of this world.
Using God’s Reason as your eyes, ears, and mind, you transform your nature, and this Reason becomes you. Thus, God within you is your Reason for understanding, your Design for authenticity, and your Love to thirst for meaning and to live. And the God of the universe is the Reason, Design, and Love of the universe.
We were meant to live consciously, with meaning, but became slaves to knowledge driven by instincts.