Greed has forced us to resort to immoral practices
Even Satan must be seeking refuge from the clutches of modern man
Mushtaq Hurra
Seeking material comforts and pleasures is the nature of every human being. Man by nature loves and likes to have different luxuries of life. Even religions of the world do not denounce it. But, it should not be sought through illegitimate, unethical and illegal ways.
Most of the longings and wishes push a man closer to materialism because wishes need sources to fulfill them. We have examples of Sahaaba (RA) who were rich and affluent but their sources of income and ways of earning were morally upright and ethically sound.
But, today people who claim to represent the modern age have sunken so deep into the ocean of longings and wishes that he hardly care about the ways and means. Hook or crook has become the principle of life. And the modern man can go to any extent to fulfill his wishes.
We have examples of different corrupt practices of people, but, today, I want to take my readers to our impure thoughts and the consequences there off. When greed and avarice replaces compassion and empathy from our hearts, we turn wild. And the wild can go to any extent.
Wild very often behave like predators that kill others to extinguish the fire of their bellies. They hardly know or care about basic human values. Our ancestors would not dare to poison even rats. But, we the scholastically developed and technologically advanced beasts kill innocents for some pennies and bucks.
The claimants of modern civilization have become blind to the extent that they sell poison in the name of medicine which are supposed to heal up the wounds of sick and dying people. We have dozens of examples where spurious or substandard drugs were seized. The vices like jealousy and envy are monopolizing our souls, and consequently, our souls have become impure .
Fruits and vegetables are considered to be the magical foods because they are not only sweet and juicy but also help our bodies to fight certain diseases and ailments. These edibles are used across the globe by the people of all ages. Many fruits and vegetables are used in medicinal industry for their miraculous and extraordinary characteristics. Who can forget the maxim of “An apple a day keeps the doctor away “.
In olden times, medical science was least advanced. The modern technological advent and human resource expertise was quite meager. But the incidence of deadly diseases was very low. It was probably the purity of edibles which would keep people healthy and fit. No doubt, the life style of our ancestors was very active but there were other factors as well which would determine their state of health. Pure water, pure foods and purity of thought were probably the secrets of their jocund and healthy lives because joyous life is directly proportional to healthy life.
The fruits and vegetables which would detoxify our bodies, are no more the antidotes, people are looking for. The callous man has lost his wits because he is axing his own feet for some handful of bucks. It is our insensitivity and callousness which has made our favourite fruits and vegetables as poisonous as Hemlock.
Artificial fruit ripeners and other chemicals sprayed on our favourite edibles, have turned them poisonous. Bananas, mangoes and other fruits are treated with different chemicals to attract the customers. Even vegetables are treated with different hazardous chemicals, leaving them unsafe for human consumption.
We have a tradition of visiting our ailing relatives and neighbors, in Kashmir. We never pay such visits empty-handed. Bananas, oranges, grapes, pomegranates etc… are often taken as a gift. Though we can take other edibles with us but there is a philosophy behind it. The solid reason for taking fruits with us, displays that these fruits will help the sick to recover quickly. Thus, it is an accepted truth that fruits have a healing touch. But, we are well aware about the circumstances, through which our fruits are passed.
We all are well aware about the fact that we have left our water resources degraded qualitatively and quantitatively. The purity of our water was known to one and all. One of India’s former prime ministers would procure her drinking water daily from globally famous Cheshma Shahi Srinagar.
Purity was synonymous to Kashmir. Now, one cannot dare to wash feet in the water of Dal Lake and other water bodies of Kashmir valley. River Jhelum is also exhibiting our sad state of affairs. Heaps of polythene in its bosom are witness to our callousness. Even, our high altitude water bodies are now at stake. The growing human intervention at these places is surely a cause of concern for all of us.
Spices and other edibles are not as pure as they were earlier. Packed chilli powder, turmeric and other spices are adulterated by our own people, and sold openly in the markets that too on exorbitant rates. This is one of the underlying reasons for growing deadly ailments in our valley. Artificial colours are added to edibles to lure common people.
We have not left the purest milk untouched. People add water to it to double their earnings, milkman prepare canisters of milk from packed skimmed milk and sell it in the name of pure cow milk to city dwellers. Big industrialists add unhealthy stuff to packed milk, and nobody dares to say a word or two. How sad! Such treacherous and dishonest ways have not only won us the rage of Allah (SWT) but we have lost our recognition of being part of a decent civilization which had its own sparkling glory. We have probably brought bad name to a religion which propagates truth, honesty and sincerity.
Our greed has not spared even animals. Bran, the animal fodder is adulterated. We haven’t left Cow and poultry feed as well. People, who don’t pity mute animals, can’t be expected to have compassion, kindness and generosity. Devil and Greed might be ashamed of our deeds. Satan must be seeking refuge from the clutches of modern man. We all should deeply ponder over it.
(The writer is a Teacher , columnist. He can be reached at [email protected])
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