THE PARADOX OF OUR TIMES

If changes of the past 50 years are any indication, we must admit that chaos rules the world. “The more things change, the more they remain the same” is an old cliché but it still makes a lot of sense. We are trying to change the world to bring order but in the process we are bringing more disorder. These are really strange times as strange things are happening. We have access to a deluge of information but knowledge seems to be lost in the flood. We are more ignorant than we used to be. Look at what is happening. There is big data but small minds. Rather, it is the small minds that are interested in big data. And for smaller purpose. Further, despite all the big data, we are still not sure whether we will get a head or tail when we toss a coin. We were told in those earlier days that the probability of getting ahead or a tail is 50-50 if we toss a coin. But which trial will give head and which tail can only be predicted after an infinite number of trials. We still know only this much. What is the number of those infinite number of trials is yet to be found out. Probably it will never be found out. This is the paradox of our time. We have more information, less knowledge. Tall buildings, small people. We have grown rich but become poor. We have more money and less health. The number of doctors has increased but so has the number of diseases. There are more industries but less job, big houses but small families. The billionaires are rising but so are the poor. We are reaching the moon and Mars but do not know the neighbour next door. As we conquer our outer space, we are losing inner space. Incomes are rising but morals are falling. We have more leisure yet less fun. As defense spending rises, peace is getting threatened. Possessions have multiplied but values have reduced. There is more of research yet less of insight. The Sensex is rising but poverty is not falling. Pharma researches are attracting huge funds but health and well-being are threatened by drug-resistant bacteria. Nationalism is becoming popular but hatred is growing. We are protecting animals and killing human beings. Life expectancy has increased but there is hardly any life in that living. As we add moments to life, we are struggling for life in moments. The number of temples is rising but faith is decreasing. There is more food but less nutrition. There is more education but less sense. More cars but less room to travel. Everyone is talking but no one is listening. There is more gratification but less satisfaction. As obesity and starvation co-exist, prosperity and poverty jostle for space. There is a need to ponder why these contradictions abound. As need and greed both increase, military power and insecurity both rise, it is time to think why this is happening. Our scientific and technological advancements have given us more control over Mother Nature, yet we are all the time apprehensive of the looming apocalypse. As we increase our comforts, we are losing sleep. Ever since mankind lost the paradise to its greed, all attempts to make a heaven on earth have only succeeded in making life hellish. The only way out is to beware and be fair.