The world is going through tremendous turmoil. It is driven by excessive greed for resources and energy which is fueling unsustainable living and could be one of the major causes of earth warming and pandemic.

This century, it seems, is also the century of extremists and fundamentalists. Whether they are religious fundamentalists, extreme right-wingers, or hardcore supremacists – they are all driven by hatred, extreme control and excessively unreasonable behaviour.

Rise of dictators

Thus, all over the world we are witnessing the rise of dictators, strong-arm rulers and corrupt leaders. The spread of the pandemic has exacerbated the situation further as dictatorial leaders have used it to further consolidate their hold on power.

Why has the world moved to such a perilous thought process? And what has happened to sane and sober voices?

I believe it has to do with the tremendous insecurity that mankind faces. Increased population pressures, stress of daily life, increased expectations fueled by social media together with the need for instant gratification add to this insecurity. This, in turn, fuels the greed impulse and for some who have power and resources, this impulse is enhanced.

The instant gratification and instant feedback on social and other media make us react to events rather than think about them. This reaction leads to insecurity and irrational behaviour where the eventualities are not thought of and evaluated. This, together with increased choices and easy availability of material goods, fuels the greed impulse further.

Spirituality helps

One of the best ways to reduce greed and insecurity is by practicing spirituality. Greed is an outcome of the desire to possess. It is a part of the evolutionary process, and every human being wants to have resources for distressed times. In the absence of wisdom, this degenerates into hoarding impulse and greed. By practicing spirituality one can get the wisdom to understand that we should use things for our needs and not for our greed as Mahatma Gandhi once said.

So, what is spirituality? Spirituality is concerned with the matters of the spirit. When we think deeply and for a long time about anything, whether it is an idea or an object, the brain has a tendency of focusing on it like a laser and, in that process, the object vanishes from the visual field and only its germ or the spirit remains. Then complete knowledge of that idea or object results and is called 'sanyam' by sage Patanjali.

This is the mechanism by which all great discoveries are made. It is this deep thinking on anything which makes our brain very powerful makes us spiritual and gives us a sense of peace and happiness. It also gives us a sense of perspective on what is important in life.

Spirituality and religion

Spirituality is not religion. It is the state of mind that makes us understand that the truth is beyond the barriers of worldliness, religion, caste, creed, race or geographical boundaries. It connects us to marvels of nature in a deep way and subsequently to Universal Consciousness or the mind of God.

Spirituality also helps us to have a compassionate view of nature; as we evolve spiritually, we become more tuned to it which helps us in preserving it. Besides, it gives us a sense of connection to other living beings and thus helps us to live in harmony with each other and enables everybody to work together for the common good.  

This is also the genesis of non-violence and hence is connected deeply with spirituality. In all religions, respect for nature and life and hence non-violence is preached, and the maxim of simple living and high thinking is ingrained in their teachings.

Sustainability issues  

Mankind is also realizing that the present pandemic could be because of stress and unsustainable lifestyle that we follow. Both these things reduce our immunity and make us prone to getting infected by viruses.

Our present competitive world puts pressures on individuals all the time. Overachievers and ambitious people have more stress since they are fighting to achieve their goals. Most of the time achieving goals is a difficult task and requires considerable nervous and physical energies leading to stress.

This increased stress has been compounded by our unsustainable lifestyles. We have become soft and with improvement in technologies, we are getting lazier and obese. Scientists have long suggested that obesity is an inflammation of the body and severely reduces our immunity. Thus, with the present lifestyle, our immune system never gets stretched and tested. I have a feeling that in the coming decades we will have many more such epidemics unless we strengthen our bodies and minds.

One of the best ways to reduce stress and improve our body is by developing a healthy and emotionally stable brain. This is easily achieved by practicing spirituality. India’s spiritual traditions have always stressed the need for developing a powerful brain through yoga.

Way forward

Spirituality needs to be inculcated in our children and youngsters. It is a difficult task and a dry subject for children. Besides, when the adults and the society are more focused on amassing wealth, running after fame and highlighting the ostentatious lifestyles of the rich and famous, it is difficult to teach the youngsters about spirituality.  

However, what can be taught to the children and youngsters is how to concentrate. Concentration helps in making the brainpower and is the genesis of wisdom. Such a brain will make the person think deeply about issues and help him/her evaluate accordingly the situation when confronted with it. This is probably the best way to teach youngsters about spirituality.

Children should also be exposed to many examples of people leading sustainable and emotionally satisfying lives in much less energy. Such examples need to be shared and emulated.

Once we become spiritual and less greedy, we will reduce our energy and resource consumption by judicious and efficient use of technology. This will help us meet the goals of COP26 for reducing the earth's warming trend. I, therefore, believe that technology guided by spirituality can produce happiness and create a sustainable and emotionally satisfying world.

(The writer, an IIT and US-trained engineer and renewable energy expert, is Director, Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute, Phaltan, Maharashtra. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at anilrajvanshi50@gmail.com)