Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs And Hinduism: A Correlation

First let's understand what exactly is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. A simple google search will tell you that it is a motivational theory in psychology consisting of a five-tier model of human needs, often shown as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. Maslow’s pyramid is divided into five levels of needs, from the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, these are:

1. Physiological needs: These are biological and physical requirements, like breathing, food, water, and sleep. When these needs are not fulfilled, they become the only thing we are preoccupied with.
2. Safety needs: These are things such as physical safety, and needs for home, employment, income, and health. Without fulfillment of these needs, a person continually feels insecure and unprotected.
3. Love and belonging needs: These deal with our desires for deep interpersonal connections, good family relationships, friendships, and sexual intimacy. Without them, we might become depressed or experience loneliness.
4. Esteem needs: These are needs like self-esteem, confidence, achievement, and being respected by others.
5. Self-actualization needs: These deal with creativity, spontaneity and problem-solving. They are met if we can become everything we are capable of becoming. Self-actualizing people have a grounded sense of well-being and satisfaction and a sense of awe, wonder, and gratitude about life. 

In his later years, Maslow revised the highest need from self-actualization to self-transcendence, believing that the self only finds its actualization in giving itself to some larger goal outside oneself, in altruism and spirituality.

According to psychologist Abraham Maslow, the lower four levels of the pyramid are 'deficiency needs' and if they're not met, it influences our psychological health and obstructs our tendency for growth, autonomy, identity, and excellence. Once someone has met their deficiency needs, the focus to self-actualization begins and we even if only at a subconscious level begin to contemplate deeper ideas about our existence, purpose and meaning in life.

So what is the correlation between this hierarchy of needs & Hinduism?

A society is a collection of diverse individuals with different needs. Spiritual &  religious needs  are individual and vary between people. You will need different approaches for different individuals. Hinduism recognizes this fact & precisely why a Dharmic tradition like Hinduism is pluralistic in that it  provides a wide range of paths for several types of people and wouldn't have one standard approach for everybody.

We cannot wish away the fact that all humans are also born with different intelligence. But there are a lot of people who take offense at the idea that people have different levels of intelligence  and even at the idea that something called “intelligence” exists.

Religious & spiritual practices should be such that people at different levels of needs, level of intelligence, levels of socio-economic status, with their own varieties of issues are catered for in unique ways to satisfy their individual needs and aspirations. Yogis & Rishis of the yore designed and developed different approaches and paths to cater for the needs of every individual practitioner and seeker.

In Hinduism, we have three principle paths to attain the goal of Self-realization, these are Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga & Karma Yoga. The choice of what path to pursue, for example, diverges into many possibilities, since we all have different interests and needs. Thus, the primary paths are split into many sub-paths. No! we will keep it brief & not discuss all the sub-paths. Hindus accept dharmic principles of living and the need for sadhana or spiritual practices, including yoga & meditation, but emphasize individual search over any formal or enmasse belief.

Bhakti-Yoga also Bhakti Marg (Theistic Hinduism): it is about complete surrendering  to the Divine as one's inner self (Ishwar Pranidhaan). This path requires concentration of one's mind, emotions & senses on the Divine & in this regard one is free to choose whatever devotional form (Ishta-Devata) most appeals to one’s heart, as in Hinduism, divinity  is all-encompassing & all-pervading. Individuals who have higher physiological & safety needs & those who are looking for belongingness and support (the first three level of needs according to Maslow's hierarchy) would tend to be inclined more towards Bhakti marg. But these days a majority of Hindus follow this path, including those who hail from a very affluent background. Yeah we have the choice to safely stay within the grounds of life as we know it, may be they don't have the time or inclination to venture beyond their comfort zone (of Dualism). Our comfort zone may make us feel safe, but it does not always bring happiness and peace of mind. Remember, Self-realization is not a compulsion, but it is a challenge thrown at us by the ancient Yogis, DO YOU HAVE IT IN YOU?

Gyaan-Yoga also Jnana-Yoga (Agnostic Hinduism): this path deals with seeking knowledge & insight through meditation (Dhyana), introspection (Svadhyaya), & Self-inquiry (Atma Vichara). Yoga and Vedanta presents the ultimate philosophy, psychology, cosmology and ontology of Self-knowledge (Atma Vidya) leading to Self-realization. Self-realization (self-transcendence) in the Vedic tradition is not about personal empowerment, individual achievement or social recognition. So when our basic needs are taken care of as well as those things required for a basic modicum of psychological health, such as safety, love, belongingness and "self-esteem", spiritual motives tend to become more dominant. Spirituality is about self-transcendence. However, if we are stuck in the lower needs, it is hard to work seriously for the spiritual needs. As self-actualized person, we have fulfilled and accomplished all the things we are capable of accomplishing in our lives through personal growth and peak experiences. At this stage we are more inclined to gravitate towards the path of Gyaan-yoga, or let me put it like this, this path is more suited for the self-actualized among us. If we look deeply within, we can discern that the essence of our being is the light of consciousness, not the compulsions of the mind.

Karma-Yoga (Atheistic Hinduism): here the emphasize is on Purushartha (struggle/effort), Sanskara (virtues) & unselfishness & not on deity worship. Swami Vivekananda says even with no faith in the existence of  God, or any doctrine,  or thinking of any metaphysical speculation, by adopting this path one can reach the goal of  Self-realization. There’s no "God’s Will" here, my happiness or sorrow or misfortune is mostly result of my own Karma (no free lunch by "God's grace" & no tests by God/Allah). As self-transcendent or Self-realized, we are now ready to begin down the path of Karma-yoga and strive to become a true Karma-Yogi.

So in conclusion, Bhakti, Jnana & Karma Yoga aren't what you might traditionally think of as yoga. We're not talking about a set of physical postures or breathing techniques here, but different mindsets with which we can approach life. Our mindset has a profound impact on the way we lead our life. If we have a fixed mindset it’s hard to try something new. Hinduism supports and encourages a growth mindset. If we learn to change our mindset and attitude we can change our life through Purusharth (effort). Even if you're not sure whether there's a need for you to change your mindset, becoming aware of the idea will show you the possibilities & choices available that you might have thought were closed doors.

Note: Bhakti Yoga can be superstitious & dogmatic at times, not only that, but Bhakti marg demonstrates its limitations in distinguishing between the empirical & the absolute. Due to lack of discernment & spiritual insight, many end up revering self-styled fraudsters & fake Gurus. Someone with scientific temperament may not be comfy with the idea of "surrendering to the Divine",  such a person may find Gyaan or Karma-Yoga more appealing. 

Maslow's Pyramid Of Needs