CRAZE for materialism and sensuality has rudely disturbed the process of transformation of life. Adverse circumstances of today are the outcome of intellectual pollution. Cell is the basic unit of life. Every cell is a very Big organism in the form of a huge powerhouse of an integrated transportation and communication system. It presents an eternal process of effective and disciplined organisation.
The brain of man is influenced by the activities of his sense and motor organs. An ocean of sensations and sound waves is always singing all around us and continue to struggle with the storm arising therein. The brain feels and recognises the situation and generates thought waves which activate the entire nervous system and body organs.
Mental pollution is the result of generation of evil thoughts in our brain. Because of this, we get disturbed and distressed. Evil thoughts arise because of mental wavering. We should be careful about the factors which caused such pollution. First of all is the nutrition. As is the nutritive food, so is the mental attitude. Whatever we take is transformed into blood and that blood circulates throughout our body. Let us ask ourselves “Is not our blood polluted?” Certainly, it is. Our mind is like a wish-tree. With whatever intentions, we earn our living; those very intentions influence our taste and choice of food-stuffs. This influences our thoughts.
With an over emphasis on more accumulation on wealth, the focus of our life has become ego-centre. The craving more and more for wealth has gripped the mind of everybody. This has become the greatest obstacle in the fulfillment of our ordained obligations.
Today, we consider that the person is good, who can get the work done may be through corrupt practices. In our daily life, we have adopted the criteria to judge the quality of an individual. We wish that the railway ticket collector should arrange for seat reservation in lieu of some consideration; taxi-driver may transport us to our home with an extra charge, doctor may examine the patient at home frequent visits; the cinema ticket vendor may help to arrange for a seat for our entertainment; teacher may coach the child against a tuition fee; somebody may arrange for employment against monetary consideration. We may go on counting such examples. We shall come to realise that all these aberrations are the result of our mental pollution.
Today, every parent wants his child to be admitted in a westernised English medium school. There is no definite worthwhile aim of life before the young men and women of the country. Westernisation, aimlessness, recklessness and indiscipline are increasing in the name of modernisation. An army of the unemployed is swarming all around.
Words have meanings and meanings carry emotions. Thoughts and character develop on the basis of emotions. After Independence, the words which should have enriched life have lost their real meaning Dharam-Religion, State-Nation, secular Bharat-India, civilisation-culture. Correct direction is lost because of wrong interpretation of these pair of words.
History brings about change in ideas. Today, there are perversions and distortions in the history. Aversion towards ancient scriptures, classics, Sanskrit scholars and Sanskrit language has given rise to a graceless new generation. Those who talk of magnificent ancient culture of the country are dubbed as traditionalists and saffron-coloured.
The fact that “Truth is Eternal” appears to many as false and irrelevant. Every morning, the daily newspaper carries the depressing news about thefts, murders, corruption, robbery, frauds etc. This has led the common man to believe that truth is no more relevant. Everyone including politicians, teachers, doctors, employers, workers appear to feel that truth is being strangulated every day in some form or the other.
Ideas form attitude and we act on the basis of that attitude. Actions give rise to temperament and habits. They in turn determine our life and destiny.
Conceptual ideas result in viciousness. Vices have cut the roots of life of so many. The vice of drinking leads to nothing else but decline and ruin. The vice of smoking spoils health and life. Addiction to betel leaf, tobacco and such products assume the form of poisonous dragon and devours man. Intoxicating drugs like opium, brown sugar, etc lead life to a dead end. They result in nothing else but destruction.
Debased literature and exciting films screened on TV channels also contribute to mental pollution. Sensuousness scenes, vulgar songs, half naked pictures in films inflame the passions and lead to violence and vices. There is a craze among the youth to imitate and copy the hero. Vicious inclinations degenerate the thoughts and this makes the polluted environment denser. The three monkeys of Gandhiji had advised – Do not see evil, Do not hear evil, Do not speak evil. Today, we see evil everywhere, we hear disco music, and there is no sweetness in speech. All this is due to the influence of polluted thoughts.
While sermonising in self-realisation, Yamraj had told Nachiketa, there are two optional paths before man the Excellent and Pleasurable. A mature and intelligent person, after careful consideration opts for the excellent. But a stupid and ignorant person follows the Pleasurable. Excellent path is that which is supreme and Pleasurable path is that which pleases. One that generates material comforts is the Pleasurable. The Pleasurable path is the path of desire, craving, passion and fickleness of mind. The followers of Pleasurable path have polluted the environment and the intellect.
Our body is like a chariot. Objects of senses are its horses. Intellect is the charioteer of this chariot. If the mind is polluted and the charioteer-intellect is not able to control the mind, then the sensory horses will stay away this way and that way and will harm and hurt the body. Thus we become like the stinking dead bodies loitering here and there. It is necessary to avoid such wandering of the mind.
The Veda has enlightened the path of the struggling devotees and warned of the scare-crows which pollute the mind. Usha goes out to meet the sun God. This is her daily routine. She adorns herself for the meeting. She purifies her eyes with the collyriuim of wisdom. With a lotus as an offering in her hand, she moves ahead step by step. She casts her glances towards the ten directions and ….. , “Let the guardians of the directions be my guide.” As a scholar and prudent person, she asserted, “Freedom shall be my resting couch in the abode of the sun.”
It is evident from this aphorism that mere knowledge of the subject is not adequate. There is a need to drive deep and get at the true and inherant meaning. It is not good to assert that my opinion and interpretation alone is correct. Let noble thoughts come to me from all directions. There is a need to reach the truth and essence of the matter. After a dispassionate analysis and proper discrimination we should proceed further in the light of the same.
Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas has identified the enlightened path. Let us see how many workers are directly or indirectly associated with our work and how many of them are endowed with the correct perspective. Even a small enlightened band of workers can succeed in dispelling the darkness of mental pollution. Can we really identify such enlightened workers? Let us see to that.
In the words of Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya “Only on the integration of knowledge, devotion and action, an individual reaches the sacred pilgrim point of Prayag.” Mahadevi Verma has well said, “If knowledge and action are divergent, how can one achieve the heart’s desire? The two can never meet-this is that dilamma of life.”
An artificial life, a life full of contradictions gives rise to adverse and polluted ideas. When an emotion does not find expression in action, it stagnates inside the brain and stinks. We have not to remain engaged in intellectual exercise alone. Such a person does not really live. He only breathes. A living organistion strengthens the society. One which is active that alone can move the wheel of social transformation. Gandhiji had said, “We need thinking figures. Think and act accordingly.”
These days, great importance is attached to development of the intellect. Such an attitude creates an imbalance and partial development of personality. While stressing the need for emotional development, Danial Goalman has stated in his book, “It shows that the single most important is not IQ, advanced degrees or technical expertise, but the quality i.e emotional intelligence, self-awareness, self-confidence, commitment and integrity. Agreeing with the views of Danial of the American University Kiran Bedi has also said, “Deep understanding and knowledge of different subjects enables a person to have marterly over the subject, but that quality is more important which enables a person to work with Cooperation and sensitivity with his colleagues.”
The source of intellectual and emotional development is spirituality. Therefore the importance of development of all the three intellect (IQ), emotional (EQ) and spirituality (SQ) has been recognised overall development of personality. Thought is the stream of these three currents for participation of ideas, it is necessary to dive deep into this steam.
The work of freedom from mental pollution starts from home school and therefore we must associate with our work with a large number of parents, teachers, lecturers, educationists, journalists and research students.
There is a need to extend the scope of our activities. An intellectual should become a devotee. There lies the success of our effort. Every study centre can undertake a creative project. So enrich the national life in various fields. These centres can inspire. It is desirable to work or research projects related to day-to-day life. A large sections are still untouched with our activities. We should involve them as well in our work and desire benefit from their productive co-operation. In order to do all this surely we should light our lamp in the small world in which we live, let us try to create heaven out of the hell.
In order to transform the country into a strong and magnificent once Bhishma had advised Yudhisthira, “We should have strong character and we should be dedicated to truth, we should not do anything immoral. We should protest against evil without any fear.”
Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas has initiated some activities for the transformation of the education system. Conferences have been organised in various parts of the country on seven issues. These issue are-character building, personality development, promotion and development of Indian languages. Vedic Mathematics, value education, environment education and autonomy in education. Seven books on these subjects have been published. Some more are under preparation under “Save Education Campaign”. We are trying to get the objectionable material removed from the text books. Some success has been achieved in this direction. This has certainly enthused the field workers.
The Super Energy of the youth is being channelised to some useful productive work. This is the way to free the young minds from thoughts’ pollution. We are to win the war surely we shall do so.
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