“The lack of peace of mind is due to the diminishing of nature, human beings are restless in this present world which is because of rapid spread in artificiality.”
Syed shamim -ul- Hassan
We can say the planet earth is not in the healthy form today, the form in which Almighty Allah has made it. It is different from that form today. It was God’s asset but we have misappropriated it by doing unnecessary interference to it, its balance has been disturbed by taking wrong steps which are against nature and are based on unscientific methods. The slogan of UNO is to keep the nature as it is; “sustainable development.” The green mountains have been cut when roads are carved out of these and buildings are built, so naturally the greenery of these mountains remain no more. Similarly when large buildings are constructed in green paddy fields, it affects not only the beauty but also the agricultural economy of a country. It means the development should be eco-friendly and not at the cost of nature’s damage, but the present development goes against the eco system as we see the pure air has become polluted, poisonous and foul smelling. Similarly the soil and water is the victim of demerits of modern science and technology. In the past the atmosphere was full of purity, there was a fragrance of cultivated and especially the wild medicinal plants, now it has been replaced by the noxious air, we consume poison, through air, water, fruits, vegetables, even milk and meat. Each and everything has been engulfed by the artificially created things. The source of these problems are industries, vehicular emissions and nuclear tests etc. The scientists should keep in their mind to minimize the disadvantages of harmful things before inventing something as possible as they can. Before the invention of any scientific equipment the treatment of its harmful effects should be given importance. it is usually said that before every ailment, the treatment is made. Our focus should be on zero defects like the electric buses have zero emissions. If it’s not possible fully but at least one could try to make the least producing damaging effects. As we go away from nature the psychological as well as physical problems come into existence. Nature acts as a medicine for the heart and mind. The lack of peace of mind is due to the diminishing of nature, human beings are restless in this present world which is because of rapid spread in artificiality. The different kinds of beautiful birds disappear day by day due to the telephone towers and other environmental factors, their population is declining. Now it’s everyone’s responsibility to save this planet from more damage. We are now aware of taking such problems seriously but there is now a need for practical steps taken for its safety. Recently, I have gone through Facebook and i got this news from the Kashmir reader: “Sparrow songs silenced; iconic bird disappears from Kashmir’s skies”. This is true such types of examples are many and it means the development according to our view is not the actual development but destruction towards nature created by present human beings. Greenery of fields and mountains which was soothing to our eyes and mind is replaced by concrete buildings. Nature is nowhere now and it will become history that can be found only in books.
A lot of light has been thrown on the topic of environmental pollution, now the main concern is social pollution which is more dangerous than the other types of pollution and can also be called intellectual pollution which has engulfed the whole society like wildfire. Society is degraded to the extent that dogs and cats are being given preference over the humans whereas humans are thrown out of their homes into the old age homes. Their spaces are replaced by animals and these shameful social evils can only be treated by the religious scholars, spiritual personalities and other real intellectuals. Its elimination is highly important otherwise it can be called the rule of the jungle and this barren land should be irrigated by the water of moral education and its values. Has it not been more dangerous the Almighty Allah would not have sent one lack and twenty four thousand prophets upon this soil and other preachers, saints etc. for up keeping the orderly society? I once met the then professor and HOD of pathology GMC Jammu Prof (Dr) K. K. Kaul and in his conversation to me he pointed his index finger towards his chest and said: “Diseases of the physical body can be treated easily but not the diseases of society, which is treated with difficulty”. The diseases of society are hatred, jealousy, hypocrisy, conspiracy, corruption, pride, Intellectual Dishonesty, bad social relations, communication gap, dogmas and lack of affectionate relationship, rights of neighbours, poor and oppressed people. The unnecessary use of loud speakers, excessive use of mobile phones, drug addiction, indiscipline in families, abandonment of the mother tongue. If there is tremendous development in space technology or biotechnology, all this is in vain unless society is not healthy. Another huge social evil is begging, beggars are seen everywhere for example in the streets, buses, shops, public parks, offices etc. The people are being looted by them. Besides this, we are seeing the emergence of other agencies for example in the name of charity, and other religious institutions they loot people. If such people will get counselling from experts and social reformers there is a possibility of change in their behaviour. They can be transformed into good citizens. Hence Social reformers have a greater responsibility than other professionals, because they reform and give salvation to the society from dangerous social evils. If the footprints of the prophet Muhammad(pbuh) are followed all the problems will get solved because He(pbuh) is the greatest social reformer Almighty Allah send on the soil of Arabia where girls were buried alive and it was his(phup) teachings that eradicated this shameful and barbaric practice forever.
Like other social evils today’s medical and education profession has been transformed into a business hub whereas once both of these professions were considered as noble professions and the persons who were associated with these fields were used to consider it their mission and not profession. These social ailments have derailed the society from its track. Technologically we are modern but socially we are backward. In western countries dogs and cats are treated very highly but parents are thrown away in old age homes. It means dogs and cats have replaced the places of humans. Unfortunately we as humans have lost the real essence of being humans. This is the utmost moral degradation. The treatment of demerits of technology is in the hands of scientists but the treatment of society is in the hands of social scientists. They should come forward for the treatment of this morally corrupted society. I want to mention the verse of Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal:
Ho Mera kaam gharuboon ke himayat karna.
Dardmandoon se zaeefun se mohabbat karna”
(It should be my creed to stand by the poor
And to love the suppressed, the fragile and old.)
Now I want to conclude with the saying of Albert Einstein that “science has denatured the nature of Plutonium but not the evil in the heart”. The evil in the heart can only be treated by moral education only.
Syed Shamim -ul- Hassan. can be reached at syedshameemulhassan@gmail.com
