We believe that we are the citizens of this modern world. With all modern and advanced amenities in our reach, we are able to lead a modern life – in other words, the term ‘modern’ is understood as easy, comfortable or happy life. However, taking a serious look, are we leading an easy life, or a happy life? Modern age has its own contribution to the society. Everything is so fast in this modern age. Let us look at the so-called modern things:
Fast food:
The introduction of fast food was built on the idea that people will have no time to cook or even eat, so delicious food can be prepared and served from easy ingredients and they can be gobbled up fast.
However, on the other side, the effects of these foods are very serious on the body. Thanks to the modern health advocates, who highlighted the real effects of these modern delicious foods and termed it as ‘junk food’ to spread awareness. Actually, it is very difficult for all of us to resist the temptation, but it is too torturing for the stomach. I have read a couple of research papers regarding the impacts and the unhygienic methods used to manufacture the ingredients. One of the case study was on the burger, they were made to self-decompose and left in the open air, but it didn’t change their texture and shape for weeks, on the contrary, a natural fruit like watermelon, apple or orange, they just got rotten and completely decomposed in a couple of days.
There are even other serious articles on fast food, they make you obese, develop complex diseases, early age stomach problems and so on.
Fast money:
Almost every one of us has a desire to make money or fast money. However, believe me there is no such way of making fast money based real effort or worth. Those who do not care about ethical measures can make fast money. This modern age has so many avenues to make fast and illegal money.
Manufacturing & distributing duplicate medicines fetch a lot of money to pharma companies, adulterated groceries, gambling, people in high profile designation take bribes for clearing permission to establish illegal industries and further these illegal industries will fetch a lot of money, moreover smuggling of narcotics, investing in stock markets leading to anxiety and depression. However, all these unethical measure may fetch you money but it leads to a very unfortunate situation.
Fast diseases:
This new age has also given birth to new and unknown diseases – diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, unique cases of cancer, AIDS and so on. Modern lifestyle filled with comfort, less physical work, unhealthy eating habits, fake doctors, false advises, modern office habits, internet inspired lifestyles, promoting sex as a health boost and so on. All these lead to more diseases and more insecurity.
You must have noticed three or four decades ago, the number of registered patients in a hospital was too insignificant. Nowadays you find, hospitals are located in many corners of city and everyone is crowded with patients. Each household has a cupboard full of medicines and almost each member of the family has some medication to take each day. We are so dependent on medicines.
People are constantly suffering, even headaches are so unbearable and people need medicine, for simple sneeze and cough, because we have lost even the minimal immunity. We are depending more and more on these chemicals. These continuous deposits of chemicals in our precious body are just going to make a serious disease later. So beware of this comfortable lifestyle, which makes us less immune and more dependent on medicine.
Fast decisions:
Big decisions will have big impacts, but these decisions should be well thought of. Let us take the example of building modern industries, cities, highways that end up in cutting trees, or clearing forests. These mindless decisions of cleaning forests will create a lot of environmental problems. Each one of us is more or less aware of the impacts but the industry has to be set up. We cannot do anything and trees have to be sacrificed
Let us take another example in the decision making process, Permissions or licenses to build illegal industries are cleared from the top houses of bureaucrats very fast and that too without much analysis of the pros and cons. The system is so manipulative, but even such life affecting decisions are executed casually.
Thirdly, the investigation of the civil cases like violence, exploitation, loot, treachery are decided very fast if that is driven by some bribery or power and the real culprit escapes away.
Therefore, lack of a serious watchdog authority encourages this entire nuisance. This modern age requires modern comforts, pleasure that may be at the cost of precious lives, and hardly any materialistic individual bothers. Let us take a deep look into this and think what can be done.
Fast Weapons:
Massive spend on scientific researchers have led to the birth of futuristic and modern weapons; this may be in the name of security & progress of nation and citizens. However, in real it leads to destruction of everything – nature, money, effort, human lives, sanity of mind. These deadly weapons can create havoc for real. We all are aware of the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombings in Second World War and the impacts are borne by generations even till now. It is so deadly, but still to be ‘modern’, ‘number one’, and powerful the rulers continue to build this destruction powerhouse.These weapons can destroy a massive geography in a blink of an eye. So fast weapons operate in a deadly manner. Is this what we really want? To have a peaceful society, we have to respect each other and try to live harmoniously together. Team spirit and party spirit most often causes conflict and unnecessary destruction and disturbances.
The best team, however, is the team which includes everyone, all living beings, where you don’t feel that anyone is outside your team. This is true brotherhood. – Wisdom by Jagad Guru Chris Butler
Fast Relationships:
So all these modern comforts, has its toll on time and mind. We are so occupied with this fast-paced lifestyle that we hardly think of any cultivation of relationship, family bonds and friends. In this age, we have really lost the connection with our friends & family members. We may supply them with all material possibilities – food, clothing, education, money, security and luxury, insurance but in the midst of this entire material endeavor, we undermine the relationship building. That may be the reason that kids after reaching certain age demand independence; they clash with parents, leave the house or become drug addicts. Spouse looks for more satisfaction because the real heart to heart relationship is missing. We need to do something to reconnect.
Fast sharing:
Internet technologies, modern apps, social media have enabled us to share things as and when we like. Yes, this really has a positive side, we share music, images, videos, news rapid fast. On a single click, the whole world knows. However, looking from another perspective, it has its own downside too. People spend a lot of time on this sharing and socializing. People also spend a lot of time in sharing unnecessary things – nasty jokes, unnecessary news, communal issues, biased messages, porn, irreligious stuffs and so on. Comparing to the volume of these objectionable stuff, the sensible stuff just make a small percentage.
Therefore, this practice has to be discouraged by means of monitoring and serious content audits. Individuals have to take care on what to read and share on internet. Else the coming generations will be exposed to the dark wide world of polluted consciousness.
Al these may indicate people are modern, intelligent and advancing. However, the humanity is dying from deep inside, we are thinking less about others, and we are tending to selfishness. The ‘care’ factor is diminishing; the heart to heart relationship is missing. As everything is so fast, there is no time and scope for all these necessary attributes.
Practical ideas for a modern life:
So how we can spend an ideal life not affected by any means of fast endeavor. We need to think deeply first about what is happening, where we stand, what we want. We need to understand the purpose of human birth in this world. We need to understand our real identity. We all are disturbed; we are taken away by many materialistic pursuits. However, we should be intelligent enough so we do not face any unfair results. We should not become a part of the common crowd and ultimately became a part of the destruction platoon.
We need happiness, peace from deep inside. We have a craving for a peaceful life. Currently, this need for peace is so covered that we adjust ourselves and feel peaceful and satisfied with temporary pleasures.We need to work out the path to real happiness & peace, and then we can say that we have succeeded in this life. An ideal life can be achieved when we do not spend our life centered on this temporary material happiness.