Life in the Modern World

a poem by Ramesh T A

With the care of love and the guidance of knowledge,
man lives life in the world;
The life of man begins at birth and ends at death in the world;
In the life span of man, one’s life is a comedy or tragedy
depending upon one’s ability;
In that sense, human life is existence, knowledge, bliss
and Absolute according to religion!

Just eating, working and enjoying life
do not give satisfaction to man in the world;
Emotional, intellectual and spiritual pursuits of man
harmonise human perfection in life;
Materialistic; humanistic and spiritualistic developments
in life maintain the poise of man in the world;
For that, the way of life, man likes to follow,
helps to attain real satisfaction in life!

Justice is to live according to one’s nature
and not according to other’s nature;
Dharma is to choose work according to one’s nature
and achieve perfection in work to get satisfaction;
But the question is who knows what’s one’s dharma
in the modern era;
So, follow or follow not dharma, one suffers a lot in life
the religion says as fate!

Hence the mind of man is the slave of life in the world;
And the life of man is fool of time in the world;
So, like the sea waves, mind and time are always in a race
Till the time of man’s life somehow reaches the last phase
in the world!

Joy and peace are the goal and aim of life for man in the world;
Love of beauty and truth in the pursuits of man,
gives interests and enthusiasm for living life;
In the pursuit of perfection and permanence in the world
man explores deeply in art, woman and nature
To make stable existence, knowledge and bliss
in the Absolute at last one day!

Culture is the only best way of life for man to follow
to live human life wisely in the world;
Technological advancements of the modern world
have made man a civilised being;
But the development of science and technology is destroying
art, culture, nature and man in the world;
So, civilisation without culture is a building without foundation
precariously standing to be destroyed by storm!

Culture does not mean traditional heritage or old tradition
being followed blindly in life;
Culture is thinking of best thoughts, speaking of best things
and doing best deeds in the world;
Culture is correcting the mistakes of others, maintaining good
neighbourly relations and making love, joy prevail everywhere;
So, culture is the love of perfection, study of perfection
and pursuit of perfection in everything in life!

Religion may change a human being into a divine being
in the world;
But culture converts a brute or cannibal
into human being in life;
Civilisation is the symbol of the materialistic advancement
of modern man to lead a comfortable life in the world;
So, civilisation is the mark of external development
but culture is for internal improvement!

Today who cares for culture or civilisation but only
materialistic self development at the expense of everyone;
So, corruption, violence, and malpractices take part
in all activities of mankind in the world;
Science and technology in the hands of man men
turn the world into a playground of wars between races;
So, human life is ever on the hot beds without peace and freedom
as if the world is a hell today!

Between materialism and humanism, a war of tumult and turmoil
is going on in the minds of men;
Between mechanical life and humanistic life man does not know
what to choose to live good life in the modern world;
Due to too much mechanisation and politicisation man is made
to live machine-beast-life or sub-human life
And so in pursuit of materialistic aspiration many have
stooped low from sub-human to inhuman level to live life today!

Money, power and politics have made man mad with the aid
of science and technology to live inhuman life in the world;
Only beauty, truth and love by the aid of art, culture and literature
can make man live human life in the world;
Or else, by information communication media should human spirit
and scientific mind be developed in man to change the situation
And that could be the way to over-haul and reprogramme
men’s mind to live human life in the world!

Only by good education, human spirit, scientific mind,
and artistic heart can be developed in man;
By the practice of art, literature, music and dance only
can human sense be developed in the human society;
But in the modern world, in the name of entertainment
only animal pleasure but not human love is induced by Videos,
Which can also be programmed to enlighten the mind, enthuse the heard
and elevate the spirit to the divine state!

Generally three types of life, three types of character
mainly among men follow to live life of security and love;
For the emotional type, money, property and conveyance are
the security assuring humanised form of animal love in life;
For the intellectual type, decency, beauty and truth are
the security that ensures reciprocation of aesthetic pleasure in life;
And for the spiritual type, knowledge of reality and Ultimate Reality
are the security allowing mystical enjoyment of real bliss in life!

Instead of living so, according to the changes of time,
living style of human beings has also changed in the modern world;
Medical science has developed test-tube babies
and is trying to clone man after cloning animals;
The Human Genome project of the world scientists has developed
DNA-genetic code draft as the book of human life;
After these commendable achievements there is no assurance
that abuse of such techniques won’t endanger human life!

Modern life is sophisticated, living in luxury and comfort
which is quite artificial in nature,
Because man is ignoring nature, but exploiting its resources
for energy and raw materials in industries
Besides polluting environment and destroying cleanliness
and so goes with nose guard in public to breathe air,
Resulting in the depletion of ozone layer puncturing holes
in the atmosphere in the ultra violet rays to enter and cause
green house effect on the earth!

Green house effect causes global warming
making man impossible to live in nature;
So, the world is not enough and suitable for man to live
resulting in researches in Space
To discover suitable planets in the Solar system
in order to live a new life there,
So that man can save oneself from addiction to cell-phone,
AC or even electric power for living life here!

Hence the best course of action is to preserve nature
to save earth from destruction in the future;
Also, it’s better to develop human culture to live a good human life
in this beautiful world;
For which, the creation of one human world is necessary
by the practice of unity, love and brotherhood
So that human civilisation can thrive well in the creation
of beautiful and best things for the benefit of mankind!

Speed, competition and wars are not the way of life
to live human life in the modern world;
Modernity does not lie in time or outward developments
but in the internal development of human spirit;
Peace, friendship, cooperation, coordination, non-aggression
and non-violence are the marks of human life in the world;
Then only in the modern world, the civilisation of human life
would become the index of human culture!

Hence, good education, interesting job and congenial community are needed;
Also, friends, family and favourable government are needed;
Yes, these needs are necessary to lead good human life in the society
For every individual, if one wants to enjoy peace and happiness
in the modern world!

For that, vision of life, vision of the world and vision of God
in nature are needed;
The vision of the whole truth based on the knowledge of
the Self, world, Nature and God is essential;
Ambition, that drives away the dullness of life
towards perfection by vigour and vitality, is necessary;
Then only, One’s achievement of ambition will fulfill
one’s cherished dreams in life in this world!