Page 38 - NAMAH-Jan-2025

Namah Vol. 32, Issue 4, 15th January 2025

work-in-progress, still evolving, and have a Today, we are far from what is described
long way to go before they have knowledge here; on the contrary, we have become form
that is true and complete. Apart from the (outer) centric and have lost touch with the
collective evolution of the human race, each essence (core). There is no doubt that opening
individual can have an aspiration that can the doors of our lives to technology has made
bring her always a little closer to the Truth our living conditions better, but has it made
each day. Reflecting on questions such as, our lives any easier? The physical comfort of
‘Where did I go wrong’ is both a sign of the ordering one machine to start another (Alexa,
aspiration and the means of moving closer switch on the lights, please) can be a boon
to the realisation of the aspiration. to a person with a physical disability but a
bane to the mental and emotional health of
Now, when we examine the role of technology a physically healthy individual. Imagine a
in the life of human beings, we see that the young college-going student or an old retired
need to make our lives better turned into a person sitting on the couch with a device in
greed of having it all, completely ignores her hand, scrolling through the vast sea of
the possibility of destruction and unforeseen information coming from all sides of the world
outcomes that it might bring about. Again, and wondering about life. In no time, the
the core remains the same — Ignorance. device maps the search patterns and produces
What we understand today as knowledge information that aligns with the initial search
is nothing but an information-overload, far and the person is forever drowned in the
from the wisdom required to live a conscious ocean of information and loses touch with her
life. Turning towards the ancient scriptural reality. The worst is when owning technology
wisdom tells us what true knowledge is, as is not a sign of ‘making life functional for
Sri Aurobindo wrote : the needy’ but a status symbol for humanity
gripped by ignorance. The initial intention
“For the individual to arrive at the divine behind any material development might be
universality and supreme infinity, live in it, to make the form flexible and reachable, and
possess it, to be, know, feel and express that one to possess the potential to express what
in all his being, consciousness, energy, delight is needed for collective development. But
of being is what the ancient seers of the Veda what has happened over time is that we
meant by the Knowledge (1).” have forgotten the reason why we started
creating technology in the first place, and
we have become completely entangled in
the facilities it provides. The result has been
that technology has hijacked the basic needs
and goals of human existence, creating an
illusion of progress that impedes inner
growth by keeping us entangled in the
limited play of the surface being. The danger
lies with the tools that have the capacity to
self-educate itself based on the patterns of
human behaviour unravelled by the system,

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