IT was one of those days when your mind is totally diverged and wanders off to different directions, given the slightest provocation and I, frustrated, put my three-ton textbook in fine print down and reached for the remote.
Flipping channels, a comment made by a newscaster caught my attention and my mind began to run in circles at the sheer irrationality of the whole episode. It seems that when the hype created by the discovery of a body of a man thought to be that of a kidnapped US journalist in our city was realized to be that of an “ordinary” Pakistani, government officials and, yes, the public, gave an audible sigh of relief and thought no more of the matter. It was a small incident, but it shed light on so many aspects of our society that it should have been obvious how we’re ending up.
We’ve said it so many times that it sounds almost cliched — but let’s face it, the world is changing. Who knew that after the Sept 11 attacks, the political, social and economic map of the world would see drastic restructuring? Taking this example, I thought about our perspectives as a nation that are changing, and along what lines.
How much more precious is the life of an American as compared to that of a Pakistani? How insensitive have we become that images of families mourning after the WTC attacks haunt our memories, but pictures of grieving Palestinians or Kashmiris we cannot relate to. Is it then not true that the media is controlling our minds along the lines it demands, and we have ceased to think for ourselves? Labels made, we strive to fit into them whether they fit us or not. We celebrate every festival, even if it doesn’t conform to what we believe in, just to match the definition of tolerance.
But, I ask this question, how many of us ever stop to think why we are doing what we do? Or is it that the thinking has already been done for us? Is there a preset mould that we simply have to step into? And if so, who has made it?
Our lives, in themselves, seem to have a touch of artificiality and an illusory aspect to them. And this is not only in our own selves but also in the world that we have created around us. Take the example of our immediate world. Our rooms are scented, not with fresh air or flowers but artificial aerosol sprays that are harmful to our environment. A healthy dietary intake means orange-flavoured vitamin drink. Where are all the oranges? For the benefit of longer shelf life, even our milk is robbed of essential nutrients, through the Ultra Heat Treatment.
If the advertisers of coke tell us it’s the “real” thing, are we really so desperate as to consume a can of chemicals for that? Where is the purity and naturalness in our lives? We are living in a world of illusions and myths where we allow multinationals to tell us what’s good for us. All the chemicals and processed foods we take in give rise to fatal diseases, of which cancer is just one. Yet, death is something so far and removed from us; something that happens to the elderly and behind shrouded white curtains in hospital rooms where nurses have been known to close their patients eyes in anticipation of death.
To protect ourselves from reality, we have enclosed ourselves in isolated worlds and restricted our lives to matters only important to us. Sitting in our plush, comfortable, air-conditioned homes with every luxury within arm’s reach, how can we ever imagine squalor and unbelievable poverty, fathom hundreds of children dying in Afghanistan in one night and thousands in Iraq due to lack of food or medication? Yet, when our supermodels and actresses go for photo shoots with disabled children, we feel good inside about the magnanimity of our people.
An observation I came across a while back while surfing the Internet struck me as ironic. The paradox of our times, it said, lies in our wider freeways but narrower viewpoints, in our taller buildings but shorter tempers. It’s a constant race to the top, to achieve the myths of success, popularity and material wealth. If the Olympic logo is “Swifter, Higher, Greater,” then the doctrine we seem to be following is “Greater, Better, Wealthier.” But what about inner contentment? I thought attainment of that, too, fell into the framework of success. But, alas! We have every material desire fulfilled, but our hearts and souls are empty. Mindlessly sucked into a commercial world, our sensual appetites are crammed with colour and sound until we are stupefied, alienated from reality and senselessly take in and are nurtured by whatever is fed to us.
Controlled by our most primitive desires, capitalism exploits our sexuality by using it to sell goods. People dress up to look like others, hankering after heroes “made” by media hype, but who are in reality very different from their public profiles. We spend our leisure time in front of television sets, videos or computers watching other people “live life” or do the things we’d like to do, but can’t because we don’t have enough time! Our opinions are painted for us through media outlets, until we cease to be independent thinkers. How many of us can lead our lives independent of modern technology, if only for a week?
How far will we go before everything starts crumbling? Or has it already begun? Despite having every amenity available to man, we are still suffering internal conflicts; suicides, murders and crime. Our human needs remain; we satiate our bodies with the richest of foods, but we seem to ignore the fact that our souls need nourishment, too. It’s perhaps due to our over indulgence with the luxuries and comforts of this superficial world of passing fads and entertainment that we forget our true purpose in life.
What, then, is the solution?
It is within us. We need to recognize ourselves and go deep inside our souls to find the answer. Peace within ourselves can be achieved when we recognize our purpose in life and worship what made man, not what man made.
