________________
Resurgence of spirituality does not call for cancellation of material pleasures, but only the excess and abuses of them, which distract the human beings from the rational and righteous path.
The virtue of simplicity will be wrongly defined if it condemns material progress, if it advocates denial of the use of benefits of science - which make for better and more comfortable living, greater mobility and access, economy in use of time and conservation of human energy.
It is the weakness of human beings that while materialism has ushered in unparalleled prosperity it has not been evenly distributed. 25% of world population living in highly developed countries of North enjoys 83% of world income, 70% of world's energy resources, 85% of wood, 75% of metals and 60% of fuel. North and South divide is reflected in the rate of growth in the North being 2.7 times greater than in the South
Man's lust of power and blind capricious ambition has diverted science for producing weapons of mass annihilation. Today the turnover of military and drug industries alone of about US$ 1.8 trillion per year is three times the money spent on controlling of population and eradicating poverty. In a world where the science of health and medicine has made remarkable progress, 35000 children under the age of five die everyday due to malnutrition in India. In a world where millions can't go to schools and are deprived of paper and stationary, 50% of paper in USA is used solely for packing purposes.
One can go on with innumerable such examples that arise from ill or abusive use of science and materialism, of the absence of equity in human dealings, of exploitation. All these point out to the weakened ethical fiber and spiritual void.
Even a celebrated scientist like Albert Einstein persuaded through his famous letter to President Franklin Roosevelt that United States should take the idea of producing nuclear Bomb seriously-as a counter to the fear that German Scientists under Nazi rule might build a nuclear bomb. But later it was Einstein himself who engaged in post war efforts
Ahimsa: The Ultimate Winner * (83)
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
