Have we become slaves of technology?

Let’s ponder upon this thought, have we really become slaves of technology? As Albert Einstein said that “The day technology surpasses human interaction. This world will have a generation of idiots.” Has that day arrived or are we still sensible? There is enough evidence available to reiterate the former statement. The dependency on technology for even a pin prick is worrisome. Social networking has made people forget how it feels to meet a person in real rather. People fear a zombie apocalypse; well, there is one going around us. The only difference is that these zombies are well suited and have gadgets in their hand; such zombies are harmful, but only for themselves. 

Advancements in technology has ushered in an era of modernity and has made the world smaller, it has made contacting people in remote corners of the world much easier. But every advantage comes at a price. This price can be of health or of even loosing onto family time. Loosing onto this family time can lead to some serious predicaments. Technology has even made people clique cronies. It is making teenagers flippant. 

Leave alone teenagers, technology has not even spared the toddlers, before being able to speak they know how to use an iPad. Such children turn out to be clingy and in turn these traits are incorporated into their behaviour. Parents also have a hard time to make them realise the bad implications of technology. Sarcastically speaking, nowadays only that person can walk with his head held high who does not have whatsapp or facebook installed on his/her device.

Technology, just like fire is a good slave but a bad master. Technology is something that should be controlled by our whims and fancies, but we are the ones being controlled. Family dinners have been replaced by texting instead of talking, relationships have been replaced by video conferencing instead of actual dating, and writing has been replaced by typing. Technology has made deep inroads within our lives, which should never have happened. We tend to lose interest in doing things that does not involve the use of a gadget. From notes to results, technology has replaced everything. But one thing that it should never replace is the human intellect.

Be the change you want to see- Gandhi

Mediocrity is something every person is born with. However, he is sent on this earth to get rid of it. Mediocrity is removed by education, discipline and changing what is not right. When a child is born, he/she has no knowledge of anything. Their brain is an empty slate that is ready to be written on. Good education and upbringing serves this purpose.  Life is a race and if you don’t run fast you’ll lag behind, this simple statement has changed the meaning of life around us. Everyone is nowadays running behind materialistic things; not realising the true meaning of living which our past generations preached.

Remembering the Indian freedom struggle, one name that always comes to mind is Sh. Mahatma Gandhi.  He was the one who preached non violence. His famous quote “Be the change you want to see in the world.” is famous everywhere. This quote has change the mindset of many people. The famous speeches of US President Mr. Barack Obama have often been laced with the quote “change we can believe in.” also he mentions Mahatma Gandhi as one of his inspirations.

This quote is simple in language and can be understood by children as well. This quote should be applied to real life. We can make our lives worth living by changing little things in us or in our surroundings or society; because charity begins at home. People are often categorised as pessimist or optimist. Pessimist is a person who looks at the negative aspect of everything and optimist is a complete opposite. The person who sees the glass as half full is the one who is willing to change for the betterment of the society. The other always ends up suffering and is not capable of making any worthwhile change in life. Many people contradict such statements by saying that it is necessary to introspect the negative aspects of something that we do so that it can be dealt when such situation arises. Their contradiction is also right but it should be in a checked manner and this pessimism should never make a person abysmal.

The difference lies in the perception of the people and how they see the world around themselves.

Past is gone, future is unknown, today is a gift; the reason why it is called present. A person no matter how powerful or rich has no power to change his past and overcome difficulties that lie ahead in his future. The person must learn to live in the present and cherish each moment. Present changes every second, making our lives worthwhile.

Dreams always come true; this statement is what we believe in. But, if you ask someone up the social ladder, he/she will disagree. Dreams never come true; desires do. Desires fuel the fire in us to achieve something we want; they may be materialistic things such as a house, car, expensive clothing or something spiritual such as peace of mind, happiness and contentment in family etc. Such desires can only be achieved if we change our perception and know the difference between dreams and desires. Also to add, optimist people who have the will and the understanding to change them always achieve what they desire and turn out to be nothing less than legends.

Change has always been an inevitable part of human race, early man invented wheel, we modern people made tyre; he discovered fire, we burnt houses. This example of early man clearly shows us the two types of changes. Changing something can be done in two ways, first is doing it in a violent way and second is doing that thing in a non violent way. Gandhiji always preached non violence and kept the British Government on his toes. Whether it is his famous Dandi March, Non Cooperation Movement or The Civil Disobedience Movement, East India Company always found itself playing on a difficult pitch.  Another epitome of freedom, The French Revolution was however heavily marred with violence.

Life is not just a show, it is a blessing bestowed upon us by the almighty. It is however set by many difficulties and overcoming them can sometimes be a tedious task. Overcoming them with valour depends upon the person, how he views the difficulties and whether he makes a great deal of those sufferings or not. A person is always in control of his life and always has the option to make it or break it. This making or breaking depends upon the decisions taken and the changes incorporated within. “Rolling stones gather no moss”; ability to change as per time makes life worth living and also we are no stones. So its better we change as failure in doing so will cover us with moss of those difficulties.

This change within is not easy and sometimes is near impossible. People argue that changing according to someone or something else will make them infirm, this is utter non sense. Changing for someone/something makes the moment worth cherishing. So whenever someone feels like they are not worthy of change further, they should remember where they started. A weak man cannot say that he forgave the mighty, for that he has to be mighty.

                People nowadays are so engrossed with their lives that they have forgotten the art of forgiveness. Law and order has not been given a damn since long time now. Political houses have been shunning their responsibilities. People have given up their hopes on the administration. Also whenever someone does something for another person, they feel ambivalent afterwards. Is such society worth living? Above we have read various advantages of bringing change in ourselves. But, if we change ourselves; who gives the guarantee that the “civilised” world would care? 

Many people have given up their lives in order to make the world a better place to live. Giving life should not be confused with death here. Giving life means, donating their entire time for the betterment of society. Our history is rich with such examples. Moving apart from freedom struggles and coming to far more developed times, technology has evolved a lot and one man that many people would not have heard about comes to the mind. The man, Nikola Tesla invented nearly 60 percent of the modern world from AC and DC Current to induction motors and gave it for free without patenting it. The change that he brought about in the world would not have been possible if he would not have changed himself first. Taking a decision for the betterment of the society is surely a bold decision because seeing the present scenario he would have been deemed foolish. This change surely made him an immortal in the eyes of science enthusiasts; respectable more than Einstein.

Just when you think that you have learned the way of life, it changes and when your life changes you can change the world. Every Homo sapiens is born with a different identity, different upbringing and from different cultures. However, one thing that they have in common is their mind. We know human mind has immense power and can withstand almost every hurdle, but we must never forget that attention span of majority of people is small. People do something, they see, they hear and forget after a period of time. They remember things only when it happens to them. Such bitterness is prevalent is society now. So to make them realise that life is a blessing, the learned masses need to change and set examples.

Talking about our country, India is reeling under corruption in nearly all spheres. It has become a stigma on the name and reputation of our country. People with power try to control the nation in perpetuity. A big fry generally goes scot free; it is the poor who has to face the brunt. Things have reached such a pass that people believe “go in for bribe and flourish; shun it and be damned.” In order to remove this stigma, the people of India need to think and act collectively. Changing our attitude towards the system, refusing to pay bribes and exposing those corrupt are the needs of the hour. Also, the Right to Information Act gives us immense power to raise questions over functioning of the government departments.

Swaying away from the professional point of view, change is also felicitous in personal life. Changing bad habits, changing your nature for your partner, changing your busy schedule to teach your children, all results in heavenly adobe called home. Always have a desire, work hard to achieve it, but never lose the sight of what is important; because after all else fails, there’s family.

Change also brings a sense of contentment, optimist people tend to help others in need and feel contended after doing so. Everyone on this earth has two choices in front of him. First is the choice of giving up all vices and live life as a blessing and second choice is of living with all the vices and showing off the flamboyant lifestyle one lives. Choosing the second option makes us a materialistic person, whereas first option makes us one of a kind.

Change is never boring; it actually refreshes a person from the cobwebs of the world he has been stuck in. Whenever we are tired, we all say “let’s go out for a little change.” This change fills us up with enthusiasm and energy to get back to our regular schedule with full vigour. Change is not only a word; it is a way of life. It shows as to how you perceive your life and how respectful you are to your family and your peers. It’s your life; make it large by changing small things that hold you back.

Concluding, I would add that whenever life pushes you back, just remember that an arrow is pushed back by the bow only to throw it forward. So whenever you feel that life is holding you down, don’t panic, change your outlook towards the problem and try again because winners do not do different things, they do things differently.

Strike while the iron is hot.

      Strike while the Iron is hot.

”If you had one shot or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted, just one moment; would you capture it or just let it slip”. When I first heard these lines in an academy award winning song, I realise as to how important it is to do things when the time is right. People never make full use of the opportunity they get to achieve what they want; instead they remain sceptical towards it. Opportunities are very rare to find these days.

The above topic relates to an ironsmith and how he sits by the furnace with the iron object is in the furnace and hits it when the time is right. If he misses the opportunity, the iron gets cold and he has to repeat the process again.

Everyone wants to be successful in life. People put in efforts to be successful, some succeed while some not. Successful people are appreciated whereas people who do not succeed are branded as incompetent; however one should not indulge in such branding practices. But, thinking of failure before trying and not doing anything makes life sterile. Failure is a part of life, not trying to be successful is where the actual fault lies.

The above topic can also be explained using the example of an alert sailor who seizes the chance to set his ship on sail, he who waits for stable weather finds himself anchored onto the shore. Many say that people achieve only when the time is right, time is a factor but always clinging to it is equivalent to squandering your chances of success. Options are always there but opportunity seldom strikes.

Students study, graduate and tend to take jobs; giving chunks of their time to them and getting quite low in return. Seldom realise that getting a simple job should not be the priority and they should aim for bigger. At such a young age even if they commit any mistake they can get away with it. So study and try to be out of the league. People will question; but you get opportunities of doing the stuff you like only once.

People come and go but life goes on forever. People are sent on earth to play their part. Life is earnest, life is to be lived and people have loads to lift and the ever prevailing truth is that work is worship and there is no substitute of work. But work becomes play when you grab the opportunities given to you on time. Success in doing so makes life worth living. People are born with talents, but even talent needs opportunity, if talent misses the opportunity; what’s the point of having it.

                This proven fact can be applied to the field of sports, sportspersons who are more agile and make the best out of the opportunities achieve more success and make their nation proud. For instance Mr. Saurav Ganguly made a century on his test debut, thus making the full use of his opportunity and as we know became a legend later on.

We all have had some experiences where we all had some opportunity to do something good and we squandered our chance, a person does feel abysmal about himself at first but clinging onto this feeling does more harm than good. We should learn from such experiences and give our all when opportunity next strikes. Nothing on this earth is permanent and failure always turns into success when we make the best out of the opportunity that we get.

But one thing that comes before opportunity is planning and hard work, both these entities together bring a myriad of opportunities for a person. People say that talented people get more opportunities. This is out right wrong; hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. This phrase should always be remembered.

There is no substitute to hard work; one has to work to get what he desires. Another attribute of success is planning, always remember; if you are failing to plan, you are planning to fail. Majority of human beings are found to shirk work, little they realise that this work is the reason of their existence, they are known by the work they do and being successful in that work proves to be an icing on the cake.

History is flooded with examples of people who struck on the opportunity they had and made a mark for themselves. When Mr. Isaac Newton saw an apple fall, he got curious as to what force did this and started searching; thereby discovering gravity. If he had not taken this opportunity, he would not have turned out to be this big. Legends did fail at times but they had the will to overcome the failure. On failure Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam elaborates that FAIL means “First Attempt At Learning.”

The wise always remain alert and alive, the right thinking man always strikes when the iron is hot. Shakespeare has said the same thing in the play Julius Ceaser:

‘there is a tide in the affairs of men

Which, taken at the flood, leads to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their lives

Is bound in shallows and in miseries.’

Concluding, we all have the spark within us and we can make a mountain out of a mole, provided we act on the opportunity that we get. Opportunities seldom strike but people, who act when they strike, become successful and those who do not, have to wait for the next time for it arrive. It’s your life, live and make it the way you want and never give away your opportunities. In the movie of life, opportunity always makes a guest appearance.

                                                                We live in deeds, not in years

A phrase by George Bernard Shaw goes as “Life isn’t about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself”. So how is this creation possible? By finding solutions to different problems, by thinking your brains out on various issues? The answer is ‘NO’. This creation is only possible when your mind is at peace. Where does this peace come from? This peace comes from the good deeds we do. These good deeds send soothing impulses to our mind and relax it, making us happy. And, we all know happiness is the key to a long and healthy life; a person must do something worth remembering within his limited lease of life. The betterment of his society should be his aim. Failure to do so makes life sterile.

A rupee spent in removing poverty reaps more benefits than a fortune spent on luxuries. Luxuries come and go, but blessings stay forever. Good deeds not only include helping the poor. It also includes a string of attributes like helping with house chores, taking care of nature and many more. Raison d etre of our life is the good deeds we did and the same applies with our future. The good deeds we do add to our persona and make us a happy person. Age is no bar for greatness, this greatness means conquering the aspects of life. Since ages men and women have defied age and have left many people astounded with their achievements. But these people are remembered if they did something good for the humanity.

Two legends (in their respective fields) departed from Earth, both around the same age. These legends were Nelson Mandela (crusader against apartheid) and another Mr. Mikhail Kalashnikov (inventor of AK-47). Also to add, I am not here criticizing Mr. Kalashnikov, what he did was revolutionary. So what made people miss ’Madiba’ more than ’Mr. Mikhail’? It was the cause; the cause of helping people.

Indian freedom movement is quintessential with this topic. For instance, our freedom fighter Bhagat Singh is remembered even now for giving his life at a very young age. He is a role model for today’s youth. Another prodigy, John Keats says “A thing of beauty is a joy forever, its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.” He died at the age of 25 but his beautiful poems are still read and loved by masses. Although his life was short but he added meaning to it via his poems. A beautiful thing, even if seen for a short period of time remains in our memory forever, it never fades away.

Time and again many people have risen to power who have had their own draconian ways of treating people and time and again they have been crushed to dirt by those very people; whether in violent form of a mutiny ( French Revolution ) or a non – violent way such as Non- Cooperation Movement ( Indian freedom Revolution ).  Reasons were the same; oppressed people, harmed mankind. Nobody remembers the dynasties that ruled these countries in an oppressing way; rather they remember the personalities that had the will to uproot them by stirring the conscience of people in order to help them. Empathy towards mankind made them immortal within our hearts. 

A proverb goes as “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. This greatness or empathy towards mankind also does not come in a day, it takes years. When a child is born he does not know whether he/she is black or white, belongs to which country or whether is rich or poor. He/she is just like a blank sheet of paper ready to be written on. Education and good upbringing serves this purpose.

Ever since, mankind came into being it has worked and sustained on one principle i.e. give respect and take respect. Respect is something desired by everyone and is earned by actions and not acquired in years.  This respect comes by contribution towards benefit of mankind. This contribution can be in any field like science, arts, music, technology, the list is endless. Anti social elements live for sometime after their death because of their notoriety; but are soon forgotten. People also feel relieved after their death. Is such a life worth living where people remember you with contempt even after it is over?

We earn, spend and live; everyone does the same but seldom donate. We all should have a noble aim in life i.e. to give. People make fortunes and leave them for their kids and forthcoming generations to gorge upon. Hollywood actor and martial arts expert Jackie Chan has pledged that he would donate his entire worth of $130 million to charity and not leave a single penny for his son; upon which he clarifies “If he’s good he’ll make his own money, instead he will just be wasting my money”.

I once read a chapter in my seventh class Hindi book; titled “Sanskriti aur Sabhyata”. This chapter was in context to people who contribute something to humanity pertaining to any field, calling them “Sanskriti or Great” and those who simply use these contributions to their benefit as “Sabhyata or Civilised”. So, who according to you would be remembered more? Let’s explain this with an example; Nikola Tesla was a  Serbian American inventor, Electrical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Physicist, and Futurist best known for inventing the Induction Motor and Alternating Current. Every house now has alternating current flowing in their switchboxes and nearly every rotating device has an induction motor. According to the above context, he is the “Sanskriti” and we people are “Sabhyata”.

Sufficient examples have been given above about how, many people who went a few steps ahead for humanity made deep inroads within our hearts. They had a will to do something for mankind; this generates within, no one can force it. Motivation, hard work, persistent efforts, blessings and most importantly attitude is what makes them different. So, I would sign off by saying “Add life to your days and not days to your life, do something good and be remembered.”

Thanking you,

Abhishek Kapoor