Emperor Samprati Diwakar Chitrakatha 044

Author(s): Jinottamsuri, Shreechand Surana
Publisher: Mahavir Seva Trust Mumbai

Page 35

HAPPINESS IS WITHIN REACH
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Dear friends, valge son
bno. I to calmbang Dongky 2015 oral tige segona taon Today mankind is living in an interesting time, when the science of information and technology is rapidly taking over and practically governing his life. The cave man has become a castle man. The days of cartwheels and carriages are being replaced by Cadillacs and convertibles. The period of stone grinding and grating have become obsolete and the modern electric grinders and graters are taking their place. The old is being replaced by the new with tremendous speed and have placed mankind on the verge of a new threshold.
As the machine is used for instant work, in the same way man works for instant happiness, fame and riches. He does not care whether it is at the cost of environmental pollution, depletion of the natural resources or animal abuse and suffering. He is under the powerful grip of greed and acts under the intoxication of modernization, leading him to selfdestruction. Motivated by ego and sensuality, he uses all of his skills in the acquisition of worldly pleasures and in hedonism. In this way the gift of technology and information make the rich richer and the poor poorer. It is this self-centeredness of mankind that has inspired Havelock Ellis to say, "The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago, had they happened to be within reach of predatory human hands." Such is the man of today who is destroying mother Earth and thereby his own species for the sake of his material gratification.
In this way, when we look around us, all we see is that man has become a burden and an enemy to himself and the mother earth, rather than a friend to all. Engaging himself in anger, lust, selfishness, deceit. and competition he ultimately paves the way to violence and war. As Thomas Merton has rightly said, "Violence can begin only where thought and rational communication have broken down."
Living with this pace and in this space, man has become mechanical and a robot. He now has no mind of his own and works like a machine. Society thinks for him and he obeys its orders. His herd mentality blinds his vision and goads him to move about without any direction. One wonders whether he has
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the same element which is potentially capable of becoming Mahavir, Buddha, Ram or Jesus-epitomes of love, compassion and simplicity? How can he become attain anything, if he does not take charge of his own life and discern the difference between right and wrong in the light of the truth?
History tells us that no amount of wealth and fame has made mankind happy in the past, nor will it make him happy in the future. For material happiness is fleeting and temporary. It's definition changes with man's desires and dreams. Happiness does not lie in accumulation of things, but in the art of equal distribution, simplicity and contentment.
In this New Year let us decide not to become a machine in the mechanical world, acting without thought, but instead think before each action. For every positive or negative action has an equal and opposite reaction. A loving thought cast in the universe has a loving response and an evil thought has an evil one. It is the law of the nature that what is thrown out in the universe comes about like boomerang. So why not prioritize our life on the basis of our needs and comfort and not on our greed and luxury. In this way we can eliminate the possibility of acquiring negative vibrations and unwanted karmas and channelize our thoughts, words and actions in the positive direction, starting the millennium with a new beginning and reshaping our life again.
In the Western terms we are entering a new millennium and in that sense the whole world is excited about the advent of it. Though you and we know however that civilization is a lot older than that. Is it the dictionary meaning that makes it so important or the hope of global peace, happiness and order that it may bring for all, that makes it important? Let us see how the dictionary defines it. It says that it is "a period of thousand years. A period of general righteousness and happiness especially in the indefinite period." But where is that period of righteousness and happiness? Where is the peace? What was wrong yesterday that we are dreaming of tomorrow? Why are we not happy today? These are questions that come to one's mind.