Brilliance without balance

It is now rightly said that the present age is the period of ‘knowledge explosion’. The quantum of research, exploration and information, every year, is multiplying enormously so much so that it has now become an uphill task to keep full track of what new additions to knowledge have been made by all countries even in one single year. And, on top of all this, one finds that the rate of growth of scientific and technological know-how and ‘the knowledge’ in general is accelerating day by day and year by year. A child today holds in his palm, through a small digital screen, access to more information than what entire generations could gather in a lifetime. Universities expand, laboratories multiply, satellites circle the earth, and data flows endlessly across continents. The human brain is being trained to process speed, scale and sophistication like never before. Perhaps, this, in itself would not be too bad to cause any major worry. But what makes one really feel alarmed is that there has been no parallel moral and spiritual growth of mankind. On the other hand, one clearly sees that there is a steep fall in standards of public and private morality. We witness brilliance in invention but confusion in intention. We see efficiency in systems but insensitivity in relationships. Homes are bigger, yet hearts appear smaller. Communication is instant, yet understanding is distant. The combination of these two factors poses a real threat to the welfare of mankind because, while science and arts have placed, in the hands of man, enormous capabilities to do good or bad and have given him tremendous power to make or mar the future of the globe, the will to be good and to do good has not been strengthened and the humane side of man’s personality has not been developed. Power without purity becomes dangerous. Intelligence without integrity becomes destructive. When inner discipline does not match outer development, imbalance is inevitable. History has repeatedly shown that whenever material progress overtakes moral restraint, suffering follows.

Science and technology without a touch of spirituality have made man proud of his powers as a result of which he has become advanced in technical knowledge, but poor in ethics & values . In our blind race to achieve more and more, we have forgotten the fact that the pride of man will lead him to a situation of growing conflict and clash, ultimately leading to a major catastrophe. Competition has silently replaced compassion, and comparison has stolen contentment. Success is measured by possession rather than by peace. In this noise of ambition, the quiet voice of conscience is often ignored. The crisis of the present age, therefore, is not a crisis of resources but a crisis of righteousness; not a shortage of opportunities but a shortage of inner stability. So, unless man rediscovers the art of self-mastery, his outer mastery over nature will continue to remain incomplete and unsafe.

It is said that every period of darkness carries within it the seed of dawn. When confusion reaches its peak, clarity begins to emerge. When ego exhausts itself, humility finds space to rise. And hence the transformation of the world will not begin in parliaments or laboratories alone; it will begin in the purified awareness of awakened souls. Such awakening does not demand extraordinary talent; it demands honest introspection, courage to change oneself, and the willingness to place values above vanity. When individuals transform, families change; when families change, societies evolve; and when societies evolve, a new world quietly takes birth. So, let us see the signs of time and work and co-operate for a change so as to build a better world.

(The writer is a spiritual educator and popular columnist for publications across India, Nepal & UK. Till Date 9000+ Published Columns have been written by Him.)