Returning to nature doesn't mean asking peoples to walk or use horse drawn carriages and going for lanterns. Two illusions are there with the modern communities. One - machine can do all our works and make us more comfortable. Two - More comforts will ensure more happiness. Both these illusions only persuade man to go for more and more inventions that bind him with his home and office.
Yes, today he can fly at a speed of 5000 kms per hour. What is he going to do after reaching his destination. Either rest/food and nothing else. How many of us have enjoyed our time saved by travelling in faster moving vehicles instead of coaches/bullock carts. In fact we long to go at faster speeds and forget to enjoy the present. An ordinary train passenger looks with envious eyes a person who travels by an express train. And the passenger of an express train longs to fly in his next journey as he looks at the ad of an aviation company.
Table fans, ceiling fans , coolers and Conditioners.... Can these replace natural air? Never. After closing the doors and windows we switch on lights during the day time. We have got ovens that can cook in seconds. True. In the olden days we have to wait near the fire for hours for the rice get cooked. Today done in seconds. How do we spend the time saved thus. Does it give happiness?
A new device or a gadget gives happiness for a moment and it loses its sheen over the passage of time.
A new camera or a cell phone or an i-pod does give happiness albeit temporary. In a theme park an artificial water falls is created. It does give happiness. Again for a short time. Instead a natural one like the Niagara will give perennial pleasure.
Do we think that our ancestors ... why great emperors like the Akbar had no mobiles nor a supersonic jet. He had to depend on a bird or a horse man to deliver a message in the neighboring Rajputana. Was he not happy? He got a messenger to do the job and he was happy with that arrangement. Similarly he had to ride horses on rough terrains for weeks to capture territories. The journey would break his back. Today simply e-buttons give command and millions can be eliminated. Does this warfare give us more happiness? But for the current and the previous centuries people were far away from Science and machines.
The contention is not to get carried away by the instant pleasures. More comforts require more energy and it drains our planet. Still 40 % of the earthians cook with firewood. Close to 1 billion people have not seen electricity. Nothing happens. Life keeps moving. Simply, instead of 'MORE' it must be 'LESS'.
The violence across in the past one week has claimed the lives of around 500 people. The killer roads in India have eliminated 1,40,000 from the earth's face in the fast year alone. Today India has got all the car majors of the world. But none realizes that these companies have not brought the roads from their respective nations.
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