In a previous
article on the genesis of god, I proposed that fear and ignorance are
the parents of god and religion. This one explains how inherent human
physical weakness led to group living which led to the evolution of the
neo-cortex and the necessity to build trust. This led to the pretense of
virtue which often is a masquerade for deceit. It is by serendipity and
contrary to intention that it occasionally does some good.
The problem
begins with the evolution of Homo Erectus and the abandonment of
arboreal lifestyle with erect bipedal walking on the African Savannah.
Walking on legs on the ground increases the foraging distance and frees
up the hands for prehensile function. The posture led to change in the
tilt of the pelvis. These pre-humans were physically weak and like their
simian ancestors lived in groups that required shifting alliances within
the group for safety and mating. This is only possible if one can
identify members of the group and remember who did what to help or
hinder. Vampire bats do this by smell and beg for a favor of a blood
meal from friendly bats or the return of a favor from past recipients
after returning hungry from a nocturnal sojourn. Ungulates and canines
also use smell to recognize others. We humans whose smell related genes
have become junk mutations use sight.
The development of speech, a uniquely human instinct, led to the ability
to communicate ideas and brag about one’s own good qualities like
reliability, honesty and trustworthiness. The genetic evolution of
speech and the neo-cortex made brains bigger and this led to longer
gestation and larger baby heads. The resultant cephalo-pelvic
disproportion led to frequent maternal and child morbidity and mortality
in us as compared to other mammals and even primates. To prevent uniform
fetal and maternal mortality and morbidity from childbirth we
genetically evolved to give birth earlier before the head became too big
and delayed further head and brain growth after birth. The babies were
completely helpless and unable to run like gazelle or zebra newborns and
could not even hold on to the mother like monkey and chimpanzee
neonates. The human babies retain the grasp reflex but do not have the
muscular strength to hold on to even a walking mother, let alone one
jumping between trees. The mother’s inability to run or protect herself
immediately after delivery required someone to care for her, feed and
protect her. The discovery of a healed fractured Neanderthal femur by
one of the Leakys (anthropologists) is eloquent testimony for the loving
care tendered by a fellow being which allowed the sick patient to
survive immobile for months. In summary these weaknesses forced
dependency on one’s group to avoid large carnivorous feline predators
and to hunt successfully.
It became mandatory to gain the trust of members of the group and speech
allowed us to blow our own trumpet about how reliable, trustworthy and
honest we are. This is why most speech is gossip, often running down
others and singing our own praises. It is fairly common to attribute
qualities to oneself that are more a wish list than reality. Lying
during social interaction by false compliments to others and attributing
nonexistent virtues to self makes up an important and significant part
of conversation. The shortest and most succinct enumeration of virtue is
in an old Gujarati poem by Narsinh Mehta that became Mahatma Gandhi’s
favorite. From Geocities–
Song:
vaishnav jan tO
vaishnava
janathO
raagam: raagamaalika
taaLam: aadi
Composer: Naarsi Mehta
Language:
1
Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je
PeeD paraayi jaaNe re
Par-dukhkhe upkaar kare toye
Man abhimaan na aaNe re
Vaishnav...
2
SakaL lok maan sahune vande
Nindaa na kare keni re
Vaach kaachh man nishchaL raakhe
Dhan-dhan janani teni re
Vaishnav...
3
Sam-drishti ne trishna tyaagi
Par-stree jene maat re
Jivha thaki asatya na bole
Par-dhan nav jhaalee haath re
Vaishnav...
4
Moh-maaya vyaape nahi jene
DriDh vairaagya jena man maan re
Ram naam shoon taaLi laagi
SakaL tirath tena tan maan re
Vaishnav...
5
VaN-lobhi ne kapaT-rahit chhe
Kaam-krodh nivaarya re
BhaNe Narsaiyyo tenun darshan karta
KuL ekoter taarya re
Vaishnav...
Meaning:
1: One who is a Vaishnav (Believer in Vishnu)
Is one who knows the pain of others
Does good to others, especially to those who are in misery
And does not let pride enter his mind
2: A Vaishnav tolerates and praises the the entire world,
Does not say bad things about anyone,
Keeps his/her words, actions and thoughts pure.
O Vaishnav, your mother is blessed (dhanya-dhanya)
3: A Vaishnav is one who sees everything equally, rejects greed and
avarice,
Considers another's wife or daughter his mother
His tongue may be tired, but he will never speak lies,
One who does not even touch someone else's property
4: A Vaishnav is one who does not succumb to worldly attachments,
Who has devoted himself to staunch detachment from worldly pleasures,
Who has become addicted to the elixir coming by the name of Ram,
For whom all the religious sites are in the mind.
5: A Vaishnav is one who has no greed and deceit,
Who has renounced lust of all types and anger.
The poet Narsi would like to see such a person
by whose virtue, the entire family gets salvation.
The need to
have others trust, help or join one’s organization or campaign leads to
grandiose statements of virtue. A prime example of this is the American
Declaration of Independence that begins "All men are created Equal----".
It was not the intention of the founding fathers to include blacks,
native Indians and even women. The grandiose delusion of virtue is
universal but the winning and colonizing Anglo-Saxons have had greater
opportunity for bogus bombast. Nevertheless as Federal Judge Leon
Higginbotham (an African American) has said that the founding fathers
meant all white men, but were too ashamed to leave posterity clear proof
of their racism and adopted the unintended pretense of virtue that led
godfearing decent abolitionists to hoist the rest of America by their
forefathers’ petard. Thus pretense of virtue leads to serendipitous
good.
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