Ashok Sharma
Peace is a calm and tranquil state of mind when one is in perfect harmony with one’s ownself, society and nature.There were times when man lived a hard life in caves and satiated his appetite by hunting animals and protected himself from cold by wearing animal hides and tree leaves.As the time advanced,he learnt agricultural activities and started living in groups and colonies.Time progressed further and inventors made inventions after inventions such as fire, wheel etc and man’s life began to improve significantly.He learnt the use of iron,bronze and started living a civilized life. With the advancement in time and breakthroughs in science and technology in the nighteenth and the twentieth centuries,man has been able to conquer space, distance and time and protect himelf from deadly diseases which took a huge toll in the times gone by.
Despite so many breakthroughs and substantial improvement in the standard of life,one thing is conspicuous by its absence in the modern times and this is that man has not be able to enjoy peace of mind.What is the purpose of true,lofty and peaceful life has been the much discussed subject of our rishis and prophets.Even when we have everything at our disposal; better transport, better healthcare, better housing facilities ,better connectivity, better life facilities;why not better and more peace of mind which is the ultimate aim of every human being and a vital ingredient of happy and fuller life.The question is ‘Can wealth and better facilities better our life and bring us peace of mind?In the past,’Though there was less exploitation of resources , people used to be friendly, helpful , cooperative and lived a peaceful life free from worries.
They shared eachother’s griefs and sorrows and volunteered to help them in distress.There used to be strong interpersonal bonds and relationships.A person confined to bed was taken care of throughout his/her life.Children had great respect for their parents and elders and usually obeyed them respectfully.Those were the times when any member of the family suffered finanacial loss, the whole family would share the grief and sorrow and would not eat for days together.They felt peaceful and contented and relaxed themselves by discussing issues on the chougans.They worked hard in their fields from morning till evening and came home exhausted.They had fewer needs and desires.They would often sit together and discuss the happenings of day after the day’s hard work.They enjoyed a sound sleep at night and would wake up early in morning to start their work.They always believed in positive thoughts and never thought ill of others.If contentment and peace of mind is the standard of happiness, they were indeed happier and richer than us.Though, we have more facilities and comforts as a result of technological revolution ,we have paid a heavy price for it.People these days are egoistic, self centered and hardly have time to talk or share griefs of others.They are only after money and are infact,poorer than their ancestors as they have nothing else than money.Old and high values which are a part of our rich culture are vanishing fast.The women who used to be reverred as the embodiment of power and procreation in the vedic times are stripped ,paraded naked,gangraped and molested in the most brutal manner.
The world is being torn apart by wars, acrimony, stress, frustration and other negative forces.There are cases when father murders the son and vice versa.Mutual love,affection and fellow feeling which used to be the hallmark of our cultural ethos are fast disappearing from the society.Physical activity has decreased substantially giving rise to obesity and various’ lifestyle’ diseases. Children and youngsters remain glued to their mobile phones,laptops,ipads and other gadgets. They have turned into virtual machines having hardly anytime to talk or listen to others. There is reduced social interaction with the result that they have poor social skills. They are insensitive and indifferent to the feelings and sufferings of others.They are always busy with browsing social sites and sending messages.Children often disobey their parents and take to various vices like smoking, drinking. Rave parties are on the increase. They are directionless and there is frustration all around.Incidents of suicides have increased. The question is could we strike a balance between technological advancement and harmonious life.Are we really happier than our forefathers.Despite improvement in medicare facilities and control on deadly diseases,peace is eluding the modern man.There are improved and faster transport facilities, means of amusement and recreation, phone connectivity.Improved educational facilities and better material life .We can book our railway and air tickets on the press of a button ,avail the services of the taxi online, shop online, earn a lot while sitting at home.Certainly in the midst of so much progress we must be thousand times happier than our ancestors but the reality is otherwise.It seems that we are materially rich but spiritually poor. Unfortunately, the tragedy with man is that he is never satisfied.
If he has a little, he wants more.If he has a lot he still wants more.If he has more, he wishes he could be happy with little but makes no effort in that direction.In the race for material prosperity, we have lost human qualities and mental peace of mind.In the midst of so much progress and material comforts,we should be enjoying better life. If not, what, indeed are the ingredients of peace is a question that needs to be answered. Of Course,in terms of material wealth we may be happier and richer but in terms of peace and contentment,I think we are far poorer than our forefathers.Surely,we need to change our lifestyle and strive to strike a balance between our fast and materialistic modern life and peaceful and tranquil state of mind.
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