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Philosophical Writings
from Godhood, youth is simply wasted and caught in frustration, and the old age has become a curse. It seems nothing is valueoriented; everything, everywhere, everybody is out to become rich overnight and enjoy worldly pleasures. Instead of love and compassion hatred and killing is seen; instead of purity and clarity, pollution and foggy disorder is seen; the perverted religiosity, the false patriotism, and narrow political considerations to grab power and money, all these have made the life senseless, meaningless and valueless. As T.S.Eliot says there is knowledge without wisdom and there is life without living. The picture of a vast number of unsecured, unsafe human beings in the modern age is certainly dark and dizzy. In the midst of such a dark and dizzy situation, we even then find, every one mainly concerned with his own upward mobility, material welfare and enjoyment. Such a social contexts compels the question of the relevance of the cardinal values that spring from our traditions. There are four clear-cut view-points in this connection. (i) Social and Cultural values of our age deserve to be
discarded as they are out of tune (fashion) with the demands of the modern times. Social and Cultural Values are not against the spirit of
modernity: Nor are they totally useless. (i) Social and Cultural Values are the very base of which
the present shape of our Constitution, Social set-up, Education system and all the aspects of the modern
life has evolved. (iv) Values are in process of evolution. It is a period of
transition - adapting new trends without giving up the age old ideals. It is passing through a process of harmonizing old values with the values with the modern world. All these views, except the first one, emphasis the relevance and importance of values.
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