The creation of a conscious self, possessing a degree of autonomy and free will, is a pre-requisite for life to grow and evolve, as no life can exist without a centre of consciousness. This acts as both guardian and guide in each sentient and non-sentient being. This centre of consciousness ('Jvtm…', 'Man'/'Mun' or conscious self) comes into being when the creator ('tm…', 'Parmtm…' or the Primal Soul) interacts with, and partially expresses itself as a surrogate of itself, functioning within the physical body. One's conscious self, within the confines of the allotted degree of autonomy, free will and endowed attributes, creates a sense of self within the physical body, enabling it to achieve its maximum potential according to its innate nature, ever-changing world view and its interactions with the empirical world. This is at the heart of the evolutionary process which created diversity from unity and the simplest to the most complex forms of life, with human beings, as they are now, at the pinnacle of this process.However, an individual's conscious self, innate nature, and world view (ego-consciousness) remain divergent from that of the creator (God-consciousness). The goal of human beings is, therefore, to realise and perceive God-consciousness in action in the universe and to align and harmonise perfectly with it in one's lifetime. This what Gur Nnak, the founder of the Sikh religion, expresses in the first stanza of 'Jap(u)' in the Sr Gur Gra…th Shib - the 'living Gur' and the holy Sikh scripture. Spiritual Evolution focuses on the process of achieving this goal, exploring, and explaining, in detail, the verses of 'Jap(u)' and the steps which lead to an understanding of one's 'real self' and, ultimately, to perfect alignment with God-consciousness.

Dr Kamaljit S Ryatt MD (Manc.) FRCP (Lond.), is a retired consultant dermatologist and honorary senior lecturer. He studied at Roundhay Grammar School, Leeds, before commencing his medical training at Manchester University in 1968. After his initial training, Dr Ryatt worked as a lecturer and honorary senior registrar in the department of dermatology at Leeds General Infirmary. He then joined Professor H.I. Maibach at UCSF as a Smith & Nephew Foundation Fellow for a year in 1984 and returned to U.K. as a consultant dermatologist and honorary senior lecturer for Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust, West Birmingham and Sandwell NHS Trust and the University of Birmingham in 1985. He retired from the NHS in 2011.Dr Ryatt has always been greatly interested in metaphysics and comparative religion and his initial studies in the Sikh Faith were guided by various visiting scholars from India and the UK. Earlier this year, i2i Publishing published his first book, 'Thought For The Month', and 'Spiritual Evolution' is Dr Ryatt's second book.