A Vedic interpretation of the Bliss and Curse of physical Technology
Not many people will disagree, if you state that modern technology has brought many benefits. We live longer, have eradicated many diseases, we can do everything faster: commute, communicate, conduct a business, we can generate more food in a shorter period, we can keep our food fresh for a longer time, we have more choice in amusement, we can spend more of our time for leisure activities, it has generated wealth and globally reduced poverty.
But has it increased our happiness? Has it improved the depth of our social interactions? Have we become more responsible, more involved and more caring towards each other? Has it paved the way for us to open ourselves to self-realisation?
Or are we are drowning in an excess of choice, an excess of ennui? Are we drowning in pollution of air, water and land? Are we suffering from noise, electromagnetic and visual pollution? Are we suffering from the massive scale of everything? Have we entered the proverbial multiplicity of Hell?
Think of it. The air has become polluted with exhaust gases from vehicles and manufacturing plants, the content of CO2 has also risen due to these factors, plus due to the gases produced by humans and animals, in particular by industrial farming. In cities as Beijing and New Delhi, the air is frequently unbreathable due to the smog. The resulting climate change will have dramatic effects changing ecosystems, flooding and provoking extreme weather conditions.
Water and soil have become massively polluted due to plastics and metal littering and dumping. Especially the single use non-degradable plastics are responsible for this. Chemical waste, pesticides, fertilizers, oil spills, heavy metals, toxins and nuclear waste already render the conditions for life more precarious than ever before. Deforestation, loss of biodiversity and poisoning the food chain do not promise an auspicious future for our posterity.
We may have eradicated certain diseases; with our current lifestyle we're introducing many new ones. Microorganisms becoming resistant to antibiotics, cancer on the rise due to the dumping of toxic waste on the farmlands (.e.g. by the Mafia in Italy; due to solar cell! production in China) or due to the accumulation of toxic heavy metals in the food chain, especially in fish.
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More of this in my upcoming book "The Moral compass of Higher Intelligence"
You can find my books on Amazon in paperback or ebook format (in India only 50Rs.)
Technovedanta (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07D92DZYZ),
Transcendental Metaphysics
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07D912ZW7)
Is Intelligence an Algorithm?(https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1785356704/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_1785356704)
Is Reality a Simulation? An Anthology (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07D7JX4RS)
Very impressive and informative post @technovedanta! Thank you for sharing with us. ☺
Thanks!