In the long haul of human existence on the planet, it scarcely matters how contemporary or trendily modern we are as long as we don't turn out to be God-denying bad losers or some huffy over-exploitative species that brought nature's vengeance on itself. It’s a human folly!
The bottom line is - Life is tough, but so am I. So I'm not going to grin and bear it as if it would get better by doing the donkey work. Nope. Accordingly, the moral justification for why I'm progressively at ease in the trashy modern society is thus: Hamstrung, as I remind myself: What to do … that's how things are. I'm not an apologist, but that's life - with all its flaws and foibles running helter-skelter in morbid fear of panic, disillusionment, and hopelessness. It’s a gift and a curse rolled into one.
I let go of that lousy old phobia, confident that everything would be fine and when the morning comes, this, too, shall pass: the population would not explode, global warming would stop, cancel culture is only going through a phase, hatred and violence emanating from socio-religious constructs is the thing of the past, corporate greed - no one remembers it anymore, it ceased to exist, et cetera, et cetera; stupid me. How can I be so silly? Only, nothing subsides ever, I now know; everything co-exists for all time to come: love and hatred, war and peace, friends and foe. What am I thinking? Whatever. I usually tend to take it easy, taking comfort in the feeling that I needn't burn my coals over the things that aren't mine to break my head on. Friends will always be friends; love is in my heart; and peace...? You tell me. What good is it to rant and rave that leaves a sour taste in your mouth? No good. Sure, I've learned to curb my enthusiasm.
But still, what worries me (as a citizen of the world) is the irreversible phenomenon of climate change involving geological and climatological factors together threaten to annihilate all habitats and species that inhabit them. It is a matter of grave concern that confronts us intellectually, morally, and physically in today's complex and interconnected world.
Terrorism is another; criminal violence flourishes in the insane, twisted minds that slay innocents. Bombs go off; mass shooting incidents; gangland warfare; separatist militancy propagating hateful ideologies - brutal and barbarous acts of terror, violence, and murder they commit all over the globe. There's no life anymore in the world. We are not going into a world 'where the mind is without fear and the head is held high.'
Exacerbated by society's greedy and insatiable desire for unlimited economic progress has forever fallen foul of our way of life on the planet. And of all the living species on this lone rock we call Earth, needless to point out, human beings - born free and equal and all that - are the main culprits. The climate crisis our planet is facing is not going to go away. Sadly, we're unable or don't learn from the follies we commit; our relentless capacity for stupidity is for everyone to see. Not knowing anything better yet, we keep committing mistakes one after the other that takes sustainable vitality for life away from our planet, each day being a miracle to witness.
Everywhere people are going feral about making personal economic gains in ways that plunder the delicate balance of our ecosystem. Human influence is the original culprit, driving the sixth mass extinction: the result of the 'original sin.' We, humans, are wretched things. We are terrible species.
And not sure of what to do next, I continue onward unmindfully, philosophizing the Live and Let Live ethic. It's preferable to having wolves snarling at your door, I say!
It feels transgressive to say this, but could there be a more accessible, affordable, or sustainable alternative to our current way of life that isn't bad for our countryside or even our cities? It is possible: it's a humungous Leap of Faith scenario that needs reconsideration on a personal level, and we all are bound to come face to face with it, today or tomorrow.
The question is: Are we ready yet to let such a thing come about? Putting it slightly differently - Is there a more readily available, reasonably priced, or environmentally friendly way of living that is not detrimental to our rural or urban areas? Population growth is unsustainable. We are too many on this hot, flat, and crowded planet. We are beleaguered; I hope not beyond any hope of recovery.
Leaving it up to God
Everything is in God's hands. While this phrase may give the impression that I have an escapist perspective on things that don't work for me and that placing everything in His/her hands is the best way to postpone or something along those lines, I am not. Absolutely not.
I believe my personal belief system, which is proudly and steadfastly religious or, better yet, a moral protest against podium politicians, phoney babas, and yammering fake godmen that we frequently encounter these days, is what I believe gives me the confidence I need to run the race of life.
Having faith is to trust in God. Therefore, apart from reading the Holy Trinity's psychologically-intense works of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, and Maa Sarada Devi, reading the treasure trove of Vedic literature available from the ISKCON society has a soothing influence on me. It enables me to significantly curb my relatively thrifty living standards in little but meaningful ways. There's only one life to live, and it is worth living to the fullest.
[Reading books, books, and more books is, in my opinion, the secret to living a better life. I enjoy reading any book that piques my interest, including badly-written populist mind-candy, so I don't pretend to be a discerning literary snob (no one asks me to, I know). I read everything, even if it's just passably written amusing fluff. But I digress.]The world has seen it all; maybe that’s why we call ourselves modern or even post-modern. Whatever we may think of ourselves, all that remains for us is to look up to God in prayerful reverence for divine direction and guidance so that we all live longer on the only hospitable planet we know and call home.
Only Gods of Earth, not interplanetary travel to some desolate old rock or a stellar remnant where Gods do not exist, can save humankind from impending extinction. Even though the laws of physics have a lot to offer to humanity and are, perhaps, far from exhausting their potential, it has reached the fundamental limits of what these laws can do for us on this beleaguered planet - home of the super accomplished humans! - given the limited resources available. Although these issues are worthy of deep contemplation maybe, I'm certainly not putting money on physics; not yet. Sorry Large Hadron Collider!
Unrealistic expectations from science that belies God are humanity's full-blown hopelessness in the face of natural calamities. Humanity's full-blown desperation and complete pessimism in the clear and present danger of catastrophic disasters are directly related to unrealistic expectations from our petty rationalistic science that deny God. Or humanity's full-fledged pessimism is a result of cultivating unrealistic expectations emanating from new-age scientific milieus such as Robotics and AI. The virtual/digital reigns supreme over the divine! (This is nothing but vulgarisation of science to make it work for profit-seeking commercial business interest and unbridled capitalism at the expense of environmental degradation caused by some powerful corporate entities the world has ever known.) I'm not against science, nor am I willing to be blamed as an anti-science alarmist. All I am saying is that I'm concerned about science-related blunders that we cause at the expense of human truth. That is all.
Whatever you'd like to speak or have your notions about this subject which is one of immediate consequence, one thing is clear - our faith in God should be unwavering. Period. We need to start correcting our ways urgently: lessen or find alternatives to our unsustainable logic of extractivism, rethink our predatory capitalist economic models suffocating the delicate ecosystem of life. We must engage with our planet to save it from ‘Climate Armageddon,’ which may be impossible to evade. While we engage with our ecosystem in a way that works for it, let's not forget our boundless faith in the universal God. It'd be sacrilegious if we go the way of Satan. Good things will eventually come about if we realize we can no longer play God but continue to seek to be His subject, His creation in His image.
Tailpiece: If change is the new paradigm, perspective, the new constant, or whatever you want to call it, so be it. Do not resist change, but hate it (with all the bile you could come up with). The old way was better, better for our planet.
Living well is all about doing things reasonably well, but who decides what is reasonable? (The operative phrase here is 'reasonably'). You'll be OK if you incorporate that change into your everyday routine. Change is something you despise, not something you resist or avoid. The change will come whatever you may think about it. And there's no point in being petulant about things you cannot possibly have in your life. Change sometimes reduces their importance so that you'd stop yourself from continuing to want them. That's the unsettling beauty of change, and that's why it is so proudly constant.
When the sun rises, so does the moon at night. Stars shine in the darkness above what we call heaven, and so forth. The birds might still sing tomorrow, and the plants might grow into trees in a habitat where we humans have evolved to live (despite encroaching on their world as an overwhelming dominant coexisting species!). But destructively. It has been the way the world has operated for millennia. That, I believe, is sufficient reason to quit complaining and get back into the symbiotic swing of things - but be mindful that we need to do more to help the planet without warming up its climate any further, even by another degree.
Three words can best describe life: Life goes on. But will it, though? Even so, given the option between denial and having faith, I choose faith. So I leave it up to God.
(Concluded)
By Arindam Moulick
End of part 3 (of 3)
Click here -> Kafkaesque Modernity - part 2 to read part 2 of the above essay.
Click here -> Discordant Notes - part 1 to read part 1 of the above essay.