• Self Actualization: who am I?
• Self Esteem: self-worth, recognition, trust, values, respect etc.
• Social Needs: friends, relatives, family, relationships etc.
• Safety Needs: home, shelter, money, property, health etc.
• Physiological Needs: food, water, sex, sleep etc.

Abraham Maslow proposed this theory, it looks practical: when one type of needs are fulfilled then another type of needs start.

This triangle also shows the reason why a rich country turns to be spiritual? And a poor country remains nonspiritual.

If you look at the diagram the lowest needs are the Physiological needs and the highest needs are Self-actualization needs. And the Self-actualization needs only come when lower needs are fulfilled. How a hungry stomach can run for Self-actualization?

It looks very fundamental model of human evolution and indeed motivation too, fulfillment of one step motivates to next step.

This model also tells the reason why everyone doesn’t turn spiritual, if we leave out Physiological need for a moment, and concentrate on the three, that come before Self-actualization. The reason to remain nonspiritual may be.

Safety needs: a person feels unsecure; either s/he doesn’t have sufficient money/health or whole life s/he runs to get more and more.

Social needs: a person doesn’t have stability in his emotions as well as in relations, most of the time of life just ruined in trying to make good relations, or to manage broken relations.

Self esteem: a person has low-self esteem; s/he more values to what others say.

I also exists somewhere in the Pyramid, but when I see to the people who run for Self-actualization – most of the time they are stuck into the lower levels. Somebody is not confident what s/he is doing, somebody is crying for relations and somebody still needs more and more money.

This model also works for reality check, works like a scale to check where we are.

Spiritual Guru Avadhoot Baba Shivananda describes this model pretty well to the seekers. He says, always experience which you want to experience in your life, he tells to write down all the wishes in a piece of paper and to make concentrated efforts (aligning all the energies of thoughts, emotions and feelings) to make them happen and to experience them. Because he knows direct self-actualization is not possible for everyone, unsatisfied wishes need to be satisfied first.

This model is very helpful for personal growth. After understanding this model, it is advisable to check out one’s position in this hierarchy time to time. This is also like a self-appraisal tool for self-improvement.