Charles Robert Darwin was born on 12 February 1808. He was the son of a father and mother who were doctors.
Hence, they wanted their son to be – doctor- a medical surgeon.
But at school, he was not very good at his studies. He did not like writing and reading textbooks. Thus, his father was upset and said, ‘You are interested in hunting, shooting, catching rats and dogs, and you are just wasting time. I am sure you will spoil the name of your father and mother.’
From the very beginning, he was very much interested in studying living beings. Studying in the classroom was a boring job for him. He wanted to know the origin of humans and how they evolved. His mind was lost in imagining how life started on the earth.
His parents wanted to see him as a doctor. Hence, they admitted him to the Edinburg University for Medical Studies.
Darwin stayed in the medical college for a few months. An incident occurred at the operation theatre of the college.
All the students were at the operating theatre. The patient was a small child lying on the table. The surgeon was ready to operate and was eagerly explaining to the medical students. The child was crying.
The operation began. But, surprisingly, one student left the theatre and went out. The reason was simple. He could not see the use of scissors and the blood.
This student was Charles Robert Darwin. Thus, he left the Edinburg University. He was not at all interested in medical studies.
Thus, it frustrated his father. But he wanted that his son should at least get a degree from any other branch. Therefore, he sent him for a three-year degree course at Cambridge.
He earned an ordinary B.A. degree from Cambridge with just a passing grade.
His interest was in studying living species. He came in contact with a professor of Botany- Henslow. They became friends.
Professor Henslow recommended his name for a great voyage through the naval ship Beagle. Charles Darwin was to work as a naturalist during the trip through the world.
Darwin was happy to join the expedition. Somehow, he convinced his father about the voyage.
Now, this was the turning point in his life. He collected living species such as mice, insects, spiders, water animals, shells and fossil rocks during his journey. During those days, he observed people worldwide and tried to understand their behaviour.
He started research on various species.
The specimens and observations accumulated on this voyage led him towards his theory of evolution by natural selection.
He concluded that the species of the whole earth had a single origin. The original species changed as per the environment. Thus, other organisms evolved at different times.
At the end of the voyage, he became a naturalist and a geologist.
In the theory of evolution, he pointed out that evolution is just a pattern of life. Darwin published a book, ‘The Origin of Species’ He published it on 24th November 1859. There is a chapter in the book-‘Theory of Evolution’. This explains how man has evolved from the monkeys.
Darwin’s birthday 12th February is now celebrated as Darwin’s day.
But, in those days, people could not accept his theory. It was mainly because of religious beliefs, and people had no scientific understanding. There was no supportive evidence in favour of the theory was another drawback.
All religious leaders had strong objections to the theory. The Church and all other religions believed – the creation of humans by God.
There is an interesting story about the creation of human beings. God created the first human ‘Adam’. And then, he created ‘Eve’ as his companion. The offspring is the result of their sin.
As per the Hindu philosophy, there are several avatars. There are ten main avatars of the god Vishnu. Some say that it conveys Darwin’s theory of evolution.
The first avatar of God is a fish – ‘Matsya‘, which depicts aquatic life.
The second avatar of God is Kurma, which depicts creatures moving to land.
The third avatar of God is ‘Varaha‘, which is a mammal.
The fourth avatar of God is ‘Narasimha‘, who is half man and half animal.
The fifth avatar of God is ‘Parshuram’, who is a primitive man.
This is how the Hindu philosophy explains evolution.
You may visit the following site to read about the zoo hypothesis by John
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