Evolution of life on earth

Evolution of life on earth

The reason why the Universe is Eternal,
Is that it does not live for Itself,
It gives life to others as it transforms,
And thereby lies the process of Evolution.

Similar change in the life of our planet is evidenced by the process of Evolution. The current post deals with the 'Theory of Evolution' as proposed by the Biologist Charles Darwin and compares it with similar thoughts in the Hindu tradition.

Origin of Species

  Our Universe required at least ten billion years of Evolution before life was even possible!

Yet, the formation of the Nuclear furnaces of our Stars was a slow but indispensable prerequisite for the generation of life. Even on our own planet, the process has only progressed by taking baby steps. After all, it took millions of years of trial and error to provide us with the backbone!
Evolution is indeed visible in the huge diversity of species on our planet. Many species like the Dinosaurs have come and gone and many new are being discovered every single day by Botanists and Zoologists. Today, most of us consider Evolution to be an undisputed fact, yet there was a time when the concept was brand new and quite controversial.

And the controversy began with one man - Charles Darwin. Darwin (1809-1882), was an English Naturalist, who wrote the immensely popular thesis Origin of Species in the year 1859 CE, thereby rocking the foundations of both scientific as well as religious world of that time!

Charles Darwin

What was stated in his book, went totally against accepted beliefs of the Church and Darwin had to face a lot of criticism for his revolutionary theory. Yet, it is by this theory alone, that we can understand the full purport of Evolution on our planet, and have it stored in the collective consciousness of Mankind today!

The spirit of adventure had gripped the imagination of most European nations at that time and there were expeditions organized from different countries to chart and explore the world around them. On one of these trips, our guy Charles Darwin landed at the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. These are a group of 12 disjointed atolls with the sea separating all of them, so that the flora and fauna in each is isolated from outside intervention.

Darwin's Voyage

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Darwin began to study the different species present there and to his surprise, observed huge variations in the species present in each of these islands!! In Darwin's own words,

"When on board H.M.S. Beagle, as a Naturalist, I was much struck with certain facts in the distribution of the inhabitants of South America, and in the geological relations of the present to the past inhabitants of that continent...

Darwin began to ask himself why some birds on these islands had beaks different from others, and why some turtles had upright necks while others had their necks pointed down! Could all these differences be a result of the ENVIRONMENT these animals lived in and the circumstances in which they had to obtain food?

A note from Darwin's Diary

Despite suffering badly from sea-sickness, Darwin wrote copious notes while on board the ship. He found that the mockingbirds from different islands of the Galpagos group differed in shape and color and collected 12 different species of finches from each of them!

He traveled throughout the world and collected specimens wherever the ship docked. The same were handed over to experts when he landed in his mother country for further analysis.. The research conducted on these specimens by various Anatomists, Ornithologists, Zoologists and Geologists, made the entire scientific world sit up and take notice of this radically NEW notion that Darwin had proposed.

Inspired by the geographical differences in the wildlife (past and present), Darwin finally conceived of the Theory of Natural Selection. Today, the 'Origin of Species' is a widely acknowledged classic, and Evolution is universally and casually accepted as a truth of life..

Stages of Evolution

Today, based on all the evidence available, scientists describe four zoological eras namely - Arshean, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and the Cenozoic which have led to the current plant and animal life on this planet.