Today’s world is
changing very fast. More and more people are joining the rat race of this
consumer life. The urge to earn more money quickly, have bigger homes, drive
bigger and faster cars, and do everything fast has made our lives over busy.
There is an ever increasing demand for gadgets that do more work in less time.
The demand for items that require more time and physical effort is decreasing.
Newer technology is constantly replacing the slower older ones. In 1984 when the
computer age started and the Internet age followed, businesses would consider
themselves lucky if they could get 1 megabyte per second connection. Now, the
Internet connections of the order of terabytes are available. Computers have
also become powerful during the last 10 years from booting up to starting up.
Man’s love for speed is the reason the Wright brothers invented the airplane. And that small
invention led man in pursuit of supersonic jets screaming past the sound
barrier. Thousands of years ago, no man would have dreamed of running 100 metres
in 10 seconds, whereas today there are so many runners like Usain Bolt who have
broken that limit. Maybe this record will also be broken. Our traveling speeds
have also increased in leaps and bounds during the last century. It used to
take us 3 months to travel from Durban to India. Whereas today it takes only 14
hours for the same distance. The kitchen is not
left far behind either in this race of speed. When I was growing up it used to
take hours to cook food using wood and coal stoves. Now, the wood stoves are
replaced by gas and electric stoves. Then microwave cooking became the latest
innovation. Food can be now prepared in a few minutes.
Technology has changed
our lives in every aspect. When I was young, to make a phone call we needed to book
the call with the operator, then came automatic exchanges and we would crank
the phone and get the operator to connect us to the number we gave him. Then
came digital phones and exchange so we could dial direct anywhere in the world.
Now we have the greatest menace in our lives, actually another appendage,
the mobile phone that later came to be known as the cell phone. I think even Graeme
Bell would have been upset with this device. This is the worst of all of
technology. It causes cancer and distorts a child’s mind. As parents, we give this
gadget to our children so that they are out of our space. Well, it has
introduced in the child’s life a new dimension and experience about life and
life’s activities. I ask all parents to take away cell phones from school going
children and see what results are produced. This gadget and its social media is
the only activity that interests the child of this generation. I, as the head
of the Gayathri Peedam, totally ban cell phones at the ashram. If your child
comes to the ashram with their cell phone and I catch him or her, the
phone will be confiscated and put in the fire and the parent will be fined
R1000.00.
With this I say enjoy
this evening’s programme.
Hari Om.
