Family and Nation

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya, A P J Abdulkalam
Publisher: Harper Publications India

Page 69

THE EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS AND PAIN
55
Acharya: History of human civilization is nothing but the evolution of human consciousness over billions of human lifetimes. Kalam: Evolution is not restricted to biology. Ideas also evolve, as well as nations, technologies, indeed anything that changes. When used in a considered way, the idea of evolution connotes more than change. It implies a process which, as in biology, is uninterrupted and causal, and which appears to follow an overall trend. Acharya: As humans we have evolved from Nature and we ultimately depend upon Nature for our survival. Until we understand what we are as humans and how we are connected to the Universe, it is impossible for humanity to be wise, and to evolve the knowledge to live in harmony with Nature. Kalam: Our bodies were designed over the course of millions of years for living in small hunting and gathering tribes. Natural selection has not had time to change our bodies, nor minds, for coping with fatty diets, cars, chemicals, and life in the city. From this mismatch between our design and our environment arises much, perhaps most, preventable modern diseases. The current epidemics of heart disease and cancer are tragic examples. Damage to the environment is indeed the result of not realizing individual or family responsibility towards our planet. Acharya: We fail to realize that if we destroy our environment, we are destroying what is in fact our larger self. Kalam, you are a man of science and you meet children, hundreds of them. How do you see the effect of modern gadgets, like computers and internet, on young minds? Kalam: The computer has indeed changed the way children's minds process information and affects not only