In 1879 Thomas Edison harnessed a little
known substance called electricity and made the first commercially successful
light bulb. It was to quickly revolutionize human life. Before the light bulb
there used to be a very clear demarcation between day and night. People
everywhere in the world used to go to sleep about an hour after the sun had set
and would see a brilliant canopy of stars illuminating a dark sky and could observe
their movements following the changing seasons. Most people would enjoy eight
hours of undisturbed sleep and wake up before dawn to perform their ablutions
and say their prayers. At daybreak they were usually bathed and breakfasted and
ready for the challenges of the day.
Electric light enabled people to and read
late into the night and sleep when they wanted. Then came the radio in 1920 that
enabled people to listen to music, speeches and news broadcasts from many distant
cities. It was followed by television in 1930 that enabled people to stay up and
watch moving images of their film stars, sportsmen, politicians and beautiful
places for as long as they wanted. Computers came in 1950 that enabled people
to vastly speed up their reading, writing and communications. Then in 1990 the
internet enabled all the computers of the world to instantly transfer data to
each other and the time zones between different countries virtually vanished. Multinational
corporations worked 24 hours and stock exchanges in New York, London, Delhi and
Tokyo were on line as soon as they opened. Employees at call centers handled
business from all over the world. An Indian or Philippino speaking with an
American accent would handle customer complaints from dozens of countries.
After 1990 the mobile phone again
revolutionized communications and people could speak and exchange messages and texts
as well as videos. Unfortunately it was so addictive that people lost contact
with the living world as they devoured data on their little hand held screens
and wanted everything instantly. Sadly porn sites became very popular and a
whole young generation began to see sex as little more than amorous acrobatics
and forgot the tender passion that makes sex so beautiful. Rapists therefore seldom
understand that their victims have feelings.
As more cities were electrified a huge halo
of light obscured all but the brightest of stars and only astrologers and
astronomy buffs would know anything about the movement of the planets. The
human body clock was no longer tuned to nature but to a global communication
system that had no boundaries. The cycles of eating and sleeping were now driven
by individual choice and not by the compulsions of nature. Electricity made the
world move faster and faster. So fast, in fact, that people drifted into a
virtual world where there was no need to personally talk or touch each other. Synthetic
emotions from films and televisions began to replace direct human contact.
Young lovers today sit at the same table and text each other instead of holding
hands, kissing or speaking actual words.
All living things from the smallest microbes,
plants, insects, fish and animals joyously pursue food and sexual union but
human beings seem to be moving away from a world of feeling and touching into a
sterile world where the products of human intellect are beginning to even blur
the boundaries of gender. Our minds are moving faster than our bodies leaving
our lonely spirits bruised and confused. We need to pause to restore our
spiritual balance with a little love, compassion and service to other living
things.
What have you done Thomas Edison? You have
revolutionized our world and given us enormous conveniences but you have also made
us prisoners of invention and instant gratification. But we bless you Thomas
Edison for you could not have known that your little spark would ignite a
conflagration that is consuming us all.
