Our evolution depends on our ability to survive, writes Chetan Kumar R who says God has nothing to do with it
Ever wondered why humans from early times to the present day, across the globe, have always worshipped some form of God? The definitive answer lies in evolution and not in mythological studies, history, verses of priests, in science of brain mapping or in theories of Erich von Däniken. Let us look at evolution not from the perspective of Charles Darwin but of Abraham Maslow.Darwin studied evolution and published Origin of Species and Abraham Maslow studied psychology of human behaviour and published his research on Hierarchy of Human Needs.
Let us look at Maslow’s work through Darwin’s eyes to solve the God puzzle.This is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs. Maslow put forth the idea of three layers to describe the needs of every human on earth.There is no argument that all experts agree that Maslow’s Hierarchy (MH) aptly describes every human’s needs.According to Darwin’s theory of evolution, life began with single- celled organisms and evolved to complex life forms.You can see evolution in Maslow’s Hierarchy,too.
Synching up both theories,you see that the first organisms that evolved exhibited ruthless survival tactics.For example,bacteria, viruses, algae, sponges, diatoms, exhibit only security needs or lower level M H needs. In the next stage of evolution, we see life forms that exhibit ‘belonging’needs. Horses,elephants,lions, penguins,eagles,and other innumerous species fall into this category. In fact, they exhibit both security needs and belonging needs. In both these stages, we see life forms using brains and brawls, nails, teeth, size,energy, strength, speed, agility, tusks, horns, hoofs, height; sense of smell, sound, sight, touch, taste; ability to secrete poison, change colours, mock, dance, sing, call for a mate, hide for their survival and other belonging needs. The next stage of evolution,the third layer of MH, is responsible for making people believe in God. From the time of our evolution — from the time of Egyptian or Indus Valley civilisation or even when human beings were cavemen — to this very day, it is this layer that makes us to go to temples and seek God to destroy our enemies and heal our diseases.
We ask God to put food on our tables, we ask Him to give us a prosperous and resourceful life,we ask God to even give us children! Are we just a notch above animals in our willingness to reproduce? People believe in God for survival, hence, this is the improved version of MH: The side arrow mark or line only points to highlight that belonging needs and self-actualisation needs are primarily focused on improving chances of survival.So to achieve security,you need not be a Godly man. You can be an atheist and still enjoy worldly pleasures and security.Next time be wary when untrustworthy,godly influencers who seek money from you, or ask you to sacrifice, influence you to give up your resources; because that is exactly what they want — your resources.They too are trying to survive. This is evolution! It has come full circle in designing species to survive. Happy Surviving!