TRYST WITH REALITY
ARVIND K PANDEY
We have come a long way since realizing that we are
not just a lump of flesh but creatures capable of
analyzing things and possess brains loaded with
creative skills. In order to use our mental faculties
constructively, for the welfare of society and as a
means to keep a check on our basic instincts we formed
moral codes. These helped in the survival of human
beings amidst difficulties. But the situation was
never so grim like today when the feeling of
separateness overpowers the mind of most of the
people. We are passing through a transition phase in
which our refined feelings have become environed by
negative human shades.
We have adopted a skeptical attitude towards moral
principles and tend to consider them as obstacles in
gaining worldly success -our ultimate goal. In pursuit
of attaining maximum pleasures we have forgotten that
there is something more which need to be achieved -the
goal of self-realization. But sadly this has never
been the case. The pace of life leaves no scope for
introspection, which is so essential for enhancement
of ethical values. They lie in a dormant state within
us. A conscious soul is always in search of
opportunities which provide him shelter under umbrella
of deep reflections that allow him to observe problems
being discussed from wide angles and processes
employed to extract solutions of them.
We have completely lost the sensitivity to respond and
mostly we find man using man as mere means for the
pursuit of his vested interest. The domain of man's
virtuous qualities is shrinking day by day and now
virtue is relevant only if it has the potential of
serving his needs. Nevertheless we continue to live
under the impression that our actions, in themselves,
are perfect and total. Khayyam’s “The wine of life
keep oozing drop by drop/ The leaves of life keep
falling one by one” echoes in an unambiguous terms to
utilize life moments in pursuits of higher nature
rather than wasting them on transitory concerns. The
nature of conflicts tormenting human lives establishes
beyond doubt an unholy bond between the egos and evil
desires.
Today's man can boast of his achievements but can he
boast of being as happy and satisfied as people of the
past? Although we may pretend that this is not the
case but actually we realize that sooner or later. A
calm reflection reveals to us this bare truth.
This situation has arisen because our unbridled
ambitions have never been in accordance with our
nature and also because of our lack of knowledge as to
where these ambitions may lead us to. The utilization
of our intellectual capabilities, merely to satisfy
our ego, has brought the world on the verge of
extinction. We have failed to maintain balance between
our desire and need. Selfishness has overpowered our
true emotions.
Society has undergone a sea change wherein there is
'diversity in unity' the group feeling being absent.
The rise of individualistic tendencies in man
primarily because of modernization has further reduced
the importance of paying attention to someone else's
grievances. This has been responsible for the growing
insecurity of people who are very well aware of the
fact that once they are out of life's race, there will
be none to take care of them. The need of
stabilization has led to the erosion of moral
principles which are considered of least importance in
this world. Position matters more than character.
We have hi-tech sophisticated computer systems capable
of processing data within a few seconds; we have
planes flying at supersonic speed and have ultra-fast
trains which cover long distance within a few hours -
but in spite of all these things we are running out of
time. Still an urgency to be at time increases your
blood pressure. People today are in greater hold of
those things which provide pleasure but they continue
to live a life of frustration -a life full of stress
and strain. Alas! these people are not aware of simple
the truth that true satisfaction comes from within.
Too much security breeds insecurity and similarly too
many sources of pleasure deprive us of pleasure.
Clearly, a time has come to counteract distracting
influences. A delay would, apparently mean causing
people slow death in pressure cooker existence of
ours. We should heighten our soul by enriching it with
nobler feelings, keeping it at par with practical
needs of society. But then to attain this it is very
necessary that we remove 'spiritual bankruptcy' from
our lives. This could be easily achieved if we become
conscious of higher truths making our reflections, in
turn, get germinated from subtle percepts. This
radical transformation of ideas can only take place
when bogus stereo-typed thoughts get replaced with
revolutionary ideas. It is good to satisfy our
intellectual desires but then it should never be done
at the cost of someone else's weakness or
helplessness. Life, full of expectations, together
with overweening ambition, leads one to the land of
sorrow. The aim of life should be 'owning the whole
world while disowning oneself'.
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