What happens when Progress fails?
A mantra ingrained into society — progress is the magic wand that can fix every problem and; yes progress can only be measured if it is in the material domain.
This way of living has made us disunited, imbalanced, and exhausted. while few have made it up to the top of the ladder but does having extra zeros in the account make them happier or satisfied?
Despite knowing much more than our ancestors, with all the comforts of life; I found people quite nihilistic about life and quite unknowing about their very selves. Since we are not making much progress in answering the meta-questions that life poses to us we have started to complain that
.. one cannot reach truth; as there is no truth.
.. no consciousness, but a hallucination of the mind.
.. no God, only nature giving birth to life.
..there is no objective morality but as defined by majority.
..no sacredness of human life, till one dies in a certain predefined boundary.
..there is no self other than what I look and feel and do.
Modern man is incapable; of being fascinated by abstract ideas of love, beauty, faith, and wisdom because, in a world where only physical attributes matter, those ideas cannot be measured and comprehended.
Selfish animals like humans, who have put all their endeavors into self and material progress; are at a crossroads.
This mantra of material progress worked for a little, but on a finite planet have stopped producing the desired results, now it is producing nihilistic stressed humans, rising conflict and wars, more diseases and superbugs, and a planet on the verge of being boiled over.
Human populations are depressed, divided into small groups, and have no interest in improving their conditions but rather obsessed with their desires, identity, and entertainment.
“I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God.” — Rumi
Now what this soul-less man can do? who will teach it to unlearn that there is more to life than its material self; that safeguarding and restoring this planet is part of its life description, and that human value is not defined by the color of skin or the place of birth.
“He who knows others is learned, but the wise one is the one who knows himself” — Lao Tzu
Can humans know their real selves? And redefine progress as an improvement in the human unity index, or as a measure of the reduction of inequality and racism in a society.
As an ecosystem which is judged by how the next generation of humans is provided by their parents ' attention and time. Values of living with less and frugal is promoted and a Society would ban or demotivate people on consuming substances which make man unaware of its surrounding and its responsibilities. Where finding truth and meaning is equally important than making a great discovery. A society where a human is not a slave of another human and is aware of its own self and its rights.
Are we capable of imagining such a society and standing tall in front of our weakness of greed, selfishness, and the unlimited supply of dopamine and wealth we all desire?
O imprudent one! Be aware of your own reality as
Though you are only a drop your reality is also like the boundless ocean
Why are you imprisoned in the spell of poor resources
Just look, concealed in you is also the storm’s power!
Your breast is the custodian of the love’s message of the one
Who is Apparent as well as Hidden in the universe’s system
What conquers the whole world without sword and gun
If you understand the material is also in your mettle
Listen, you captive of modern civilization,
To lack faith is worse than slavery!
- Iqbal