Survival, survival

Some needs are essentials to survive, but they are animal category needs. In respect of human ( as per Maslow), needs are hierarchical in nature. They are different in class and range than the animal needs. Each need has a specific ranking or order of obtainment. Maslow's needs pyramid starts with the basic items of food, water, and shelter. These are followed by the need for safety and security, then belonging or love, self-esteem, and finally, personal fulfillment.

0. Safety/Security -- the need for structure, predictability, stability, and freedom from fear and anxiety.
1 Belongingness/Love -- the need to be accepted by others and to have strong personal ties with one's family, friends, and identity groups.
2 Self-esteem -- the need to be recognized by oneself and others as strong, competent, and capable. It also includes the need to know that one has some effect on her/his environment.
3 Personal fulfillment -- the need to reach one's potential in all areas of life.
4 Identity -- goes beyond a psychological "sense of self." Burton and other human needs theorists define identity as a sense of self in relation to the outside world. Identity becomes a problem when one's identity is not recognized as legitimate, or when it is considered inferior or is threatened by others with different identifications.
5 Cultural security -- is related to identity, the need for recognition of one's language, traditions, religion, cultural values, ideas, and concepts.
6 Freedom -- is the condition of having no physical, political, or civil restraints; having the capacity to exercise choice in all aspects of one's life.
7 Distributive justice -- is the need for the fair allocation of resources among all members of a community.
8 Participation -- is the need to be able to actively partake in and influence civil society.
Human Needs theorists understand that although needs cannot be compromised, they can be addressed in a generally win-win or positive-sum way. A need higher in the hierarchy will motivate behavior as long as the needs below it have been satisfied. Unsatisfied lower needs will dominate unsatisfied higher needs and must be satisfied before the person can climb up the hierarchy. No one stays in one particular hierarchy for an extended period. People constantly strive to move up, while at the same time various forces outside our control try to push us down.

Human needs theorists further argue that one of the primary causes of protracted or intractable conflict is people's unyielding drive to meet their unmet needs on the individual, group, and societal level. Needs theorists understand that needs, unlike interests, cannot be traded, suppressed, or bargained for.

Marx says that human nature is no more than what is made by the 'social relations'. Its analysis holds that, While the social relations are held to 'determine' the nature of people, they are not the only such determinant. In fact, human nature is more than what is conditioned by the circumstances of one's life.

Another view - Existence Relationship Growth theory states that more than one need may be influential at the same time.

Human propensity for endless desires motivates and drives them for attainment struggle for unsatisfied wants. When first need is fulfilled, naturally we will start working for next one. However, all needs do not have same intensity or relevance. Not necessarily all the needs are justifiable or acceptable by others concerned.

Depending on acceptability or attainability, a person may differ pursuit of some needs or altogether forget about it or deal with from totally different dimension – like win win approach. Person's thinking about needs is always in a state of flux. Demand side pull is basically due to result of free will. Geeta has dealt with this aspect of human life and it's impact on the human happiness extensively. Not that it advocated abstinence or renunciation, but it advises differentiation in selection, moderation in expectations, focus on well defined efforts rather than on results. The “Karmyoga” emphasizes purity of means and ways, thrust on well legitimate intentions rather than on the outcome.

Free play of imaginations are not needs. Needs backed by action involve others directly or indirectly concerned with that need or a person. Needs suppressed are cause of frustration.
Whenever, thinkers or respected religious writings speak about needs and happiness of a person, they always speak of discrimination, differentiation and natural or rational selection. Bhagwat Geeta is very much vocal on this topic and emphasizes that human interaction with the circumstances create needs, where well nurtured basic emotional attributes need to play their role in moderation if one has to avoid the internal or external conflicts.

Therefore, it is essential to consider the totality of the situation – as one understands it,
whether the individual deserves it – with this calculated conviction next step of committing for action is justifiable.

If the appraisal of situation shows that the given situation is conducive to the action and attainment, the individual needs to assess further whether he can act on the situation to make it conducive, if the conclusion is positive the commitment for action is justified.

But if the appraisal indicates that the turning around the situation is not possible, any commitment for action is not justifiable; and the only way should be that the individual accepts the situation and trims his needs or aspirations and still live happily.

This does not mean that a person needs to succumb to the situation, it only means that one has to face the realities with open mind and re look at the needs and actions for satisfaction.
Imagine if cricket batsman follow this way, they will play only weak balls and leave the rest.