Saturday 12 May 2007

THE JOY OF REDISCOVERY

As the most dominant species, in terms of visibility and not otherwise, the Homo sapiens have put their footprints on about 60 percent of the surface of the earth. There is no denying of the fact that men (…and of course women) rule the roost, competing against all other species and micro-organisms to its advantage, including nature; of which it is but a tiny and insignificant part. As thinking and reasoning animal, certainly it has the inbuilt potential to dominate the earth by propagating anthropo-centric erroneous ideologies that also includes religion. With this unilinear quest, we have reached a stage now even to colonize other planets and crack the code of human genes and most probably, life itself. Scientific knowledge has made rapid strides in all most all the fields, breaking the barriers on our own narrow terms. It gives us a false sense of win and achievement, though we are in fact stand defeated. Now, there is no limit to discover the laws of nature and to utilize it to solve our problems. But the truth is that we equally go on adding more and more problems to be solved. As if we run for the carrot that hangs on our face!
This is but one side of the reality. Our achievements and gains are just apparent, for the simple reason that in the face of solutions we have created more problems and it seems to multiply. Negating the innate and conscious wisdom of evolution, we have chosen to and are rendering our growth to become stunted and progressively less adaptive. We are divorced and drifting. Psychosomatically, we are falling prey to antithetical forces making ourselves more and more vulnerable. As if we are bracing to preside over our own catastrophes, triggering the avalanche, wittingly and unwittingly. We live in moth eaten social cocoons with split identity crisis and abjectly false prides. It certainly is a case of epistemological breach between us and the other us—nature. It is just plain suicidal, to the least.
The truth is, the contemporaneous victories only make us defeated by the day; yet there is no reason to panic. We can reverse many of the aberrations with simple realizations and small actions. It is just about understanding ourselves and anything or everything that exit beyond us. Is not it that everything has a value not exactly dependent on our definitions? We need to have multidimensional visions, of the present and future. Paradigmatic shifts in our attitude would bring in the desired results. We can then build on our futures on perspectives capable of correcting the now existing abysmal situations. It would make us to survive better as compassionate beings in unison with the ‘others’.
It is imperative that for this, we get ready to return to nature again, of course, without compromising much. We need to accept that science & technology has its limitations and can not be stretched indefinitely for our benefit and comfort. By unleashing the limiting power of science & technology, neither can we subjugate the externalities nor effect progress or development at the societal level. This is much in evidence in the present context, directly or indirectly translating into poverty, inequality, disease, destruction and death. They appear to grow exponentially after years of our efforts for a secure future. These are necessarily man made and a sad reflection of the other side of our, unreal nature. Greed, deceit and selfishness, coupled with all pervasive utilitarian attitudes, like before; would only take us to this plane of emptiness in still greater degrees. It is like going nowhere, collectively.
We can make actual progress in viewing ourselves as a component in the niche of nature and not outside it. While progressing materially, it is also equally important that we are also spiritually enriched. This will end our alienation making us fuller and richer, from within. As we empower ourselves to accept and love others, animate and inanimate beings and things realizing their importance; we shall be equally reaping boundless love and oneness. This will propel us from the present state of our part-realities to the state of bliss, a complete cosmos in harmony. It certainly will be a joy to rediscover ourselves again and to be the divinity.