the author's aim in writing this book was five-fold. T Firstly, he felt the necessity of presenting a proper world-view. This he thought, should explain the real identity of man and his place in the universe and should also throw light on whether there is extraterrestrial life, or, to put it in other words, whether there is a world beyond our own, from which souls come into this terrestrial region.
Secondly, he wanted to explain whether the history of mankind shows a consistent plan, whether it has definite pattern and whether it has a meaning, or it is all a jumble of unrelated and meaningless events. Also he intended to point out that history can teach us many lessons, or that it is storehouse of wisdom.
Thirdly, he wanted to explain the necessity of God's role in the history of mankind and the time when He should play or He actually plays that role.
Fourthly, he thought of explaining the significance of the present period in the framework of the whole human history, more particularly in the context of the stockpile of the nuclear weapons, the grave situation created by environmental pollution and overpopulation, and also by utter moral degeneration. He had also thought of explaining what will the world's future be. In other words, he thought of discussing whether there will be a nuclear catastrophe and, in case there will be one, whether a part of the mankind will survive? What type of civilisation will emerge out of the present turmoil and the catastrophe in the near future? Has there been a nuclear catastrophe before in the world history?
Fifthly, he intended to place before the readers the information about and a new paradigm of a society which will emerge in the beginning of the 21st century A.D. and the foundations of which are being laid at present. It will be a world in which there will be perfect law and order, complete freedom and lasting happiness.
But the author felt that he would not be able to realise anyone of these aims unless he explained the new ideas in the form of a comparative study. In other words, he thought that he would have to explain where and why he agreed or disagreed with the current theories about the origin of the cosmos, the man or the society. Also, he thought that he would have to discuss the current ideas about the nature of history and would have to explain, in a rational way, how far these seem to be correct or erroneous. Particularly, he would have to discuss in some detail, Darwin's theory of Evolution, some widely accepted theories of the origin of the universe, the theories about various eras or ages of the world and also the methods adopted for knowing the age of fossils. artifacts, and various philosophies of society and history.
From among these, he chose to deal first with various theories of the origin of the universe and also Darwin's theory of Evolution, for these have influenced almost all branches of knowledge and all human thinking and human conduct. The theories of origin of the universe and of earth gave Darwin an idea that he could have billions of years for life to evolve from amoeba to man. And. Darwin's Evolution Theory, in turn, had its impact on the reasoning and actions of all sections of human society.
Take the case of Ethics, for example. We give here the views of Huxley, a strong supporter of Darwin. Believing in Darwin's hypothesis. he has said: "It was cunning and ruthlessness that enabled man to evolve from the beasts." He has said further: "It is this law of the jungle that has to be directive for all socalled human progress!" Naturally, such a perverse mode of thinking undermined the ethical beliefs. principles and conduct of man. As Prof. J. Homes said,in Science (1930. page 121): "Darwinism, consistently applied, would measure goodness in terms of survival value." Research also has shown a link between this kind of philosophy or belief and crime. A study of history will show that even Adolph Hitler also believed in a philosophy of life that was derived from the theory of Evolution when he said: "The whole of nature is a continuous struggle between strength and weakness, an eternal victory of the strong over the weak." He applied the theory of evolution seriously to build up a strong military.
In fact, Darwin's Evolution Theory has, during the last hundred years, been the basic philosophy on which Militarism was founded. It is now well-known that the German philosopher, Neitzche, extended Darwin's principle of 'survival of the fittest' in order to inspire his countrymen to fight. He has clearly said: "The supreme standard of life is purely materialistic vitality and power to survive. "The summum bonum of life, according to Neitzche's own words, is "Man shall be trained for war and woman for the recreation of the warrior; all else is folly.1". It was this philosophy, based on Darwinism that nourished the policy of war and, finally, there was an actual war in 1914-18 because of the diabolical ideas of Nietzche to subjugate the world by being militarily the fittest. It was this kind of thinking that led General Von Barnhardi to write: "War is a biological necessity of the first importance, a regulative element in the life of mankind that cannot be dispensed with. War increases vitality and promotes human progress."" He thus explained the necessity of war on biological basis.
Darwinism also influenced economic thought and theories. Fredrick Engels wrote to Karl Marx on December 12, 1859, "Darwin, whom I am just now reading, is splendid." Karl Marx wrote in reply. "Although it is developed in crude English style, this is the book which contains the basis in natural history for our views. It is also well-known that Marx wished to dedicate his book Das Kapital to Darwin but the latter politely declined the offer. Hence a theory of social evolution emerged as an extension of supposed biological explanation. Instead of species of organisms surviving, classes of workers were supposed to survive in competition with the classes of industrialists. Later, Karl Marx's concept of class war, which in fact was an extension of Darwin's concept of the struggle for existence, can also be traced in the writings of John Maynard Keynes and his American and European followers as Democratic Socialists, and also in the works of Beatrice and Sydney Webb in England.
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