Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment |
| Written by sushil yadav | ||||||
| Thursday, 12 July 2007 | ||||||
The link between Mind and Social / Environmental-Issues.The fast-paced, consumerist lifestyle of Industrial Society is causing exponential rise in psychological problems besides destroying the environment. All issues are interlinked. Our Minds cannot be spiritual or peaceful when attention-spans are down to nanoseconds, microseconds and milliseconds. Our Minds cannot be spiritual or peaceful if we destroy Nature. Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment.
Subject : In a fast society slow emotions become extinct.
If there are no gaps there is no emotion. Today people are thinking all the time and are mistaking thought (words/ language) for emotion.
There comes a time when there are almost no gaps. People become incapable of experiencing/ tolerating gaps. Emotion ends. Man becomes machine.
A ( travelling )society that speeds up physically experiences every physical slowing-down as Depression / Anxiety. A society that entertains itself daily experiences every non-entertaining moment as Depression / Anxiety.
Scientific/ Industrial/ Financial thinking destroys emotional circuits. A fast (large) society cannot feel pain / remorse / empathy. A fast (large) society will always be cruel to Animals/ Trees/ Air/ Water/ Land and to Itself.
There is a link between visual / verbal speed ( in perception, memory,
Emotion can intensify / sustain only when visual and verbal processing
The degree of difficulty of an emotion depends upon the degree of
Subjects (preferably actors specialising in tragedy / tragic roles )
(1) Human suffering. Subjects will be asked to intensify and sustain the subjective feeling of pain/ grief for the sufferer. The chemical changes associated with the emotion in the body(blood) would be measured by appropriate methods.
The silent video film will be shown at different speeds :
(1) Intensity of emotion increases with the decrease in visual speed. The above co-relations will be valid for all subjects -even for those who cannot feel pain/ grief. Such subjects will experience emotion associated with boredom/ discomfort/ restlessness/ irritability/ uneasiness. The chemicals released will be different but the co-relation between visual speed and amount of chemical will be same( the breathing rates will be different/ fast). All subjects will experience some kind of emotion. If scientists can discover 4000 different chemicals in cigarette-smoke then they can certainly detect the few chemicals released in blood when weexperience higher-level emotions like pain, empathy, compassion, remorse etc…
In the 2nd stage of experiment we shall replace the silent video film with a Narrator ( Audio only ) and repeat the procedure thereby establishing the link between intensity of emotion and verbal speed. The narrator will slow down verbal speed by-- speaking slowly, stretching words, repetition of words/ sentences & making use of
Please note: (2) Pain / remorse / empathy cannot be experienced in a society in which visual (verbal) speed and breathing- rates are fast . It is impossible.
In the last century man has made thousands of movies / films on various
Tragedy-films provide direct proof / evidence of the link between pain
Pain can intensify / sustain only when visual ( and verbal ) speed slows
One thousand years ago visuals would change only when man physically
Today man sits in front of TV / Computer and watches the rapidly
He sits in a vehicle ( car / train / bus ) and as it moves he watches
He turns the pages of a book / newspaper / magazine and sees many
In ancient times verbal processing was “live” in nature—ie it happened when people actually spoke.
If we cannot focus on slow visuals / words we cannot experience emotions associated with slow visuals /words.
(a) visual processing ( slow visuals ) Today there are many kinds of fast thinking :
(1) visual processing ( fast visuals )
(3), (4) & (5) are associated with Numbers / Symbols / Equations /
As long as the mind is doing this kind of thinking it cannot feel any
In a fast society slow emotions become extinct. Emotion is what remains in the mind when visual/ verbal processing slows down (stops/ freezes)
If we attempt to understand why (and how ) they feel more emotion we can learn a lot about emotion. Writers, poets, actors, painters ( and other artists )
Writers
Poets
Actors
Painters
All these people do visual & verbal processing - whole day - every day. Most of the city people doing mental work either do this kind of mental processing which is associated with Numbers / Symbols/ Equations / Graphs / Circuits / Diagrams / Money / Accounting etc… or they do fast visual ( verbal ) processing whole day - every day. This kind of thinking ( processing ) has come into existence only during the last 200 years and has destroyed our emotional ability ( circuits ).
Suppose the maximum intensity(and duration) of a particular emotion that
Let us suppose the maximum intensity(and duration) of that particular emotion ever
Now suppose A & B are made subjects on a particular day and are asked
A - 90 units
If A & B are then asked to indicate the intensity &duration of emotion on a scale
A - 9
Who is right and who is wrong ?
Self- assessment ( self rating ) can be accurate only if people have
Emotion can intensify / sustain only when visual / verbal processing slows down ( stops / freezes ). In an Industrial (thinking) society people experience very little emotion because of fast ( visual / verbal / scientific / industrial / business ) thinking. Suppose the maximum intensity and duration of a particular emotion ( for most people ) in a fast society has reduced to 5 units ( from 100 units that people used to experience in earlier /slower societies ).
If such people experience 4 units of emotion they will give themselves a
Words can be spoken - words can be read - words can be heard. Emotion is a subjective-experience. Other examples of subjective experience are taste, smell, touch, headache, stomach pain. One can understand the difference this way : When we eat an apple we can feel the taste of apple. Apple can give us the taste of apple - but apple is not taste. If we pour apple juice into a glass - the glass will not feel the taste - it does not have the ability to feel taste. If a person eats an apple he will feel the taste - because he has the ability to generate taste from apple. Words/ Visuals can evoke, intensify and sustain emotions - but words/ visuals are not emotions.
In mathematics there is easy mathematics and difficult mathematics. Everyone can add 2+4 within microseconds. A PhD level problem of mathematics would take hours [or more] to solve - and that too only by someone who has spent 20 - 25 years learning mathematics upto PhD level. Same way in the field of emotions there are easy emotions and difficult emotions. Easy emotions are evoked within nanoseconds, microseconds and milliseconds - anger, lust, fear, pleasure, entertainment and excitement are some examples. These emotions are associated with fast breathing and heart-rate. These emotions don"t require gaps between thinking to evoke, intensify and sustain. These are the emotions that can be found everywhere in today's fast society. Then there are difficult emotions - which require ability and years of effort to develop - emotions associated with pain, compassion and peaceful states of mind are some examples. These emotions are associated with slow breathing and heart-rate. These emotions require freezing of thought - freezing of visuals and words - huge amounts of gaps between thinking - to evoke, intensify and sustain.
Two things that have destroyed Environment are - Overpopulation and Overconsumerism. Science and Technology is responsible for both these problems. World population was less than 1 billion in the year 1800. Nature had its way of controlling population through disease and death caused by bacteria and virus. When man made medicines/ antibiotics he created disaster - population increased very rapidly. In the absence of Science, Technology, Industrialization/ Industrial Revolution the two problems of overpopulation and overconsumerism would not exist.
IQ always has an element of change in it – IQ is about trying to make/ discover/ invent something new all the time.
EQ is about sustainment of the same feeling/experience over a period of time. When we experience any higher-level emotion for 10 minutes we experience the same feeling( subjective experience) over and over again for 10 minutes.
IQ and EQ are contradictory.
(9) A thinking species destroys the planet.
This planet is on the verge of total destruction.
The cause of destruction is – overactivity.
The cause of overactivity is – Intelligence. Intelligence is a curse - a disease - a disability - an abnormality. Intelligence is the biggest cause/ source of destruction in this world. [In fact Intelligence is the only cause of destruction in this world other than natural causes]
Life was never good in the past. Life will never be good in future. Life can never be good.
There is Physical suffering - There is Mental suffering.
In pre-industrial society there were physical diseases caused by virus and bacteria.
We avoid mental suffering by working ceaselessly. There is no higher purpose behind work.
People do not work because they want to work. The energy generated by the food we eat forces us to work ceaselessly. Energy = Energy[Physical Work] + Energy[Mental Work] + Energy[Suffering/ Subjective Experience] All three energies on the right side are inversely proportional to one another. When we do hard physical work or hard mental work or a combination of physical work and mental work almost all energy is used up in doing work. When we stop physical work and mental work the unused energy is experienced as suffering/ anxiety/ restlessness/ discomfort. This suffering is so intense - so unbearable - that most people cannot stop physical activity and mental activity simultaneously for even 2 minutes.
People do not work because they want to work. People work because they cannot stop working. It does not matter what kind of work we do - whether it is physical work or any kind of mental work. As soon as we stop working we suffer from restlessness, anxiety, uneasiness and discomfort. [ In Yoga and Meditation the goal is to stop Physical Activity and Mental Activity simultaneously - and then transform the subjective-experience of restlessness/ anxiety/ suffering into peace. This requires ability and years of effort ]
For most people it is a choice between physical and mental work.
Man can do the same physical work every day. When man used to do physical work ( farming and related activities ) he could do the same repetitive work day after day- generation after generation. After the Industrial Revolution when man switched-over to mental work he began a never ending process of making new machines / things / products-- a process which can only end with the complete destruction of environment ( planet ). When society switches over from physical work to mental work it starts making thousands of consumer goods. People start calling them necessities. They are not necessities at all - 90% of consumer goods that we see today did not exist 50 years ago. Food, Water, Air, Little clothing, Little Shelter - these are necessities. Close your nose and stop breathing for a few minutes - you will then know what necessity is. Stop drinking water for a few days - you will then know what necessity is. Stop eating food for a few days - you will then know what necessity is. Today people are making thousands of consumer goods - not because they are necessities - but because they cannot stop making them. People cannot stop doing work - After switching over to mental work they will keep on making thousands of unnecessary consumer goods. Industrial Society is destroying necessary things[Animals,Trees,Air,Water and Land] for makng unnecessary things[Consumer Goods]. This is the reason why the switch-over from physical work to mental work is so destructive. This is the point of no-return - once this is crossed the destruction of Environment/ Nature is inevitable. If we live a simple life there is individual suffering - but no largescale destruction of Environment. If we live a consumerist life there is individual suffering - plus largescale destruction of Environment. The nature of mental work is such that man has to do new mental work every day- in fact he has to do new mental work every moment- Man cannot repeat in the next moment the mental work that he has already done in the previous moment. A mathematician cannot solve the same problem of mathematics every day- once he has solved it he will be forced to take up a new( unsolved) problem. Even when he is solving one particular problem he has to move from one step to another - there is a continuous change involved -- there is no constancy at any stage. An engineer cannot design the same machine again and again –once he has made a machine he will try to make changes/ design a new one. A writer cannot write the same article every day- he will be forced to write something new every day/ every moment (This is also the reason behind endless discussions/ debates/ arguments).
Let us examine how much discussion we are collectively having in Industrial Society every day.
Millions of pages in print – newspapers / books / magazines. Now add to this all the conversation (discussion) we are having through radio / television / telephone and several other media every day. And add to this all the discussion we are having through face-to-face interaction. The volume of discussion per individual in one week is greater than the total discussion someone living in pre-industrial society would have in his entire life.
There is too much discussion in modern society.
A society that does mental work will argue itself to destruction [extinction] A society that does mental work will debate itself to destruction [extinction]
Discussions / Debates / Arguments – these are creations of a society that has switched-over from physical work to mental work. Discussions / Debates / Arguments – these are diseases of a society that has switched-over from physical work to mental work.
We cannot do physical-work and mental-work simultaneously.
There is an inverse relationship between physical-work and mental-work.
If we want to do physical work we have to reduce mental activity by the same proportion. There is very little discussion / debate / argument in societies that do physical work - ie, agriculture-based societies - And this is the reason why they are millions of times saner than industrial societies.
Change is an inherent feature of mental work. Since change is an inherent feature of mental work - a society that does mental work can never be at peace with itself – it is impossible. A society that does mental work will always be restless. Only those societies that do physical work [agriculture and related activities] can find contentment and peace.
To save the [ remaining ] environment from destruction man will have to To save the mind from mental diseases man will have to return back to physical work [ smaller communities ].
Industrial Society has collectively killed billions of Animals and Trees [ Remember - plant and animal species developed over a period of millions ofyears] It has also killed most of Water and Air [ Please note - polluting Water and Air is equivalent to killing Water and Air ] The soil was not fertile when the earth was created. It became fertile - very slowly - over a period of millions of years. And look what man has done - He has covered millions and millions of hectares of land with cement and concrete. All the land that has been covered with cement and concrete has been killed. Man has stockpiled thousands of tonnes of highly radioactive nuclear material and nuclear waste which is going to remain highly radioactive and carcinogenic for the next thousands of years - and which has already leaked into the environment hundreds of times. There is an arsenal of 50,000 nuclear missiles that can destroy the planet several times over.
Lawyers and Judges are trying to catch a few criminals.
Psychologists and Psychiatrists are trying to classify a few people as abnormal.
Industrial Society is collectively making millions of tonnes of weapons and explosives [of all kinds] every year – and then it wonders why there is so much violence in this world. Big Mystery. If you make millions of tonnes of weapons and explosives on earth they are going to be used on earth – they are not going to be used on Mars.
This is not the purpose of life. Destroy Shopping Culture.
No one deserves more.
There was a time when Man knew nothing about the number of species and millions of species existed.
After destroying millions of highly-developed species on earth Man is today searching for a few molecules of life in outer-space. If a few microbes, a few molecules of methane / water are found on Mars - it becomes the newspaper headline. They call it progress.
Nature can exist
(1) before man.
Environment can be saved only if we stop production of most [ more than 99% ] of the consumer goods we are making today. Environment cannot be saved by recycling. The attempt of an industrial society to save the environment by recycling is like shooting someone 10,000 times and then trying to save him by taking out one bullet.
Material things don't bring peace and happiness. Today billions of people have got things which even Kings did not have in the past. Car, computer, television, fridge, telephone - no King ever had these things. But people are still restless and unhappy. Industrial Society is consuming psychiatric drugs/ sleeping pills by tonnes and tonnes. A very large percentage of the population is surviving on precription drugs, illegal drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. One-third of the population has become fat like elephants. People talk about increase in lifespan. What is the use of increased lifespan if people have to resort to Drugs, Alcohol and Cigarettes to pull through life. And just wait a few more years - the average lifespan will soon become zero - human life will cease to exist on earth. Consumerist-Lifestyle is just not sustainable. If we do not immediately return to living a very simple and frugal life then very soon there will be no human life on earth. We would need several planets[earths] to sustain the present lifestyle.
It was not possible to have world wars 1000 years ago. World Wars became possible only when Science and Technology developed aeroplanes, ships and other carriers which could transport millions of troops and millions of tonnes of weapons[once again a creation of science and technology] from one corner of the globe to another. And today one does'nt even need all these to fight a war. One just needs to move finger-tips to launch missiles that can destroy the planet several times over. Right at this moment there are several countries fighting wars with one another. There is internal war going on in almost half of the the countries of the world. All these wars are being fuelled and sustained by billions of tonnes of weapons produced by the Military-Industrial Complex every year.
And it is going to get worse and worse every day. Science and Technology has made this world [millions of times] more violent and unsafe than before. Science and Technology has produced billions of tonnes of weapons and explosives - chemical, biological and nuclear weapons - millions of tonnes of Radioactive material [ which will soon be used to make dirty radioactive bombs - which are going to contaminate the environment for hundreds and thousands of years]. Science and Technology is the real terrorist.
What are the charges against Environmental Activists? - Destruction of property? - endangering human life? The Military Industrial Complex is doing much more damage to property - it is going around carpet bombing entire countries - flattening entire countries. The Military Industrial Complex is endangering much more human life - it is actually killing - killing millions in War/ Violence - directly or indirectly. Who is the real Terrorist? - Environmentalists or Industrial Society? The human race has been destroying/ killing animals, trees, air, water, land and people from the very beginning of civilization. Science and Technology has increased this destructive capacity millions of times. Every man is a serial-killer. The per-capita destruction of Environment - per capita destruction of Animals, Trees, Air, Water and Land in Industrial Society is thousands of times greater than what it was 1000 years ago - 500 years ago - 200 years ago. Before Industrialization humans killed Environment primarily for Food. After industrialization humans are killing environment for Food and [ unnecessary]Consumer Goods. Industrial Society is destroying necessary things[Animals, Trees, Air, Water and Land] for making unnecessary things[Consumer Goods]. The Military Industrial Complex has killed millions of people in War/ Violence. It has decimated all plant and animal species. It has destroyed all ecosystems. It has polluted and poisioned the Sky, Land and Oceans. It has raped and plundered "Mother Earth" in the name of Progress and Development. The crimes of "Military Industrial Complex"are millions of times greater than the crimes of Environmentalists. Comparing the crimes of Environmentalists with the crimes of "Military Industrial Complex" is like comparing the Lamp with the Sun.
The entire Industrial Society is a Terrorist.
Psychologists say -- Think Positive.
Arctic ice is melting – Glaciers are melting – Rivers are drying up.
Fish population in Oceans is down to 1/3 of what it was 100 years ago.
Pollution levels are going sky-high and valley-deep.
There used to be millions of members in most species of Animals and Birds. Now they are down to thousands and hundreds.
Weather is getting more and more irregular and unpredictable.
Metal everywhere - Concrete everywhere - Plastic everywhere.
This is a world that has become completely incapable of feeling Pain, Compassion, Remorse and Guilt.
They will be holding Seminars, Conferences and Global-Summits to save the Environment.
There is an important point which the human-species needs to understand. People think they can save the Environment by doing something. We can never save the environment by doing something. It is overactivity that has destroyed environment in the first place. Human-species is the only one out of millions of species that has indulged in overactivity on this planet [ And for this very reason the human speciesis going to exist on earth for the least amount of time] And it is not Mild Overactivity – It is Excessive Overactivity – Exponential Overactivity. We cannot save the environment by doing something. We can only save it by doing less of what we have been doing - much less of what we have been doing. If we want to save environment we will have to reduce human activity [overactivity] by 99%.
A few birds have got infected with bird-flu and Man has started killing millions of birds.
Sometime ago there was Mad Cow disease and Man started killing hundreds of thousands of cows.
It is Man who has killed millions of people in Wars and other forms of Violence – and can kill millions more any time in future.
Man has decimated all Animal and Plant species – polluted the Sky and Oceans - and poisioned every square inch of earth. In a mere 200 - 300 years Industrial Society has destroyed all that Nature laboriously created over a period of millions of years.
The so-called Rational and Civilized Man should follow the same logic here - and destroy the entire human race. Please note : If you indulge in Factory Farming – If you torture the birds – confine millions of them in prison like conditions – depriving them of Sunlight and the freedom to walk and fly – you are creating an environment for the spread of virus and disease.
Destruction is an inherent feature of Development.
Progress = Destruction of Nature.
We can have Sustainable Lifestyle.
Development can never be sustainable.
Development and Sustainability are opposites.
Sustainable Living is associated with consuming less – being satisfied with a simple and frugal life.
Sustainable lifestyle requires Constancy.
Development is associated with Change. Industrial Societies can never be sustainable – When you make thousands of consumer goods you kill Nature - you kill Animals, Trees, Air, Water and Land. A Society that does mental work [city based] can never be sustainable - it will keep on making consumer goods - destroying the environment moment by moment. Only agriculture-based societies that do physical work can be sustainable.
Stationary Walk.
Man cannot repair and restore Nature/ Environment - because man did not make Nature/ Environment. Once a Forest is destroyed - it is gone for millions of years. One cannot create a Forest in 5 or 50 years - it takes millions of years to make a forest - containing millions of species of animals, insects, birds, plants and trees. Man can create a plantation in 5 or 50 years - not a forest. The only way to save Environment is by not destroying it - leave it alone - leave it undisturbed. If you destroy Environment you cannot repair and restore it.
I work in order to feed my family. Today man is putting a lot more than Food on the Table. Cars, Computers, ipods, Aeroplanes, 200 TV Channels, Luxury Yatchs, Caribbean Vacations, Palatial Homes, Video Phones, Designer Clothes, Designer Drugs, Cosmetic Surgery … The list is endless.
The more you put on your table the more you kill Animals and Trees. The more you put on your table the more you kill Water, Air and Land. The more you put on your table the more you kill Mountains and Valleys. The more you put on your table the more you kill the Sky and Oceans - the Rivers and Lakes.
We need just a few things to live. Billions of people are engaged in making, buying and selling of thousands of consumer goods.
Go back to Simple Living.
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