Whichever way one looks at it, the doomsday predictions appear an imminent reality. If a catastrophic conflict between the good and the evil could portend the end of the world, the day of reckoning is not far off!
But the definitions of good and bad are as vague as the end of the day and the beginning of the night; for if the setting sun is the harbinger of the ominous night, a celestial phenomenon announces the end of the day!
Tsunami, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and other man-made hazards and disasters have in their own ways contributed to the impending end.
A proliferation of various strains of virus and bacteria immune to all sorts of treatment has been bothering mankind; even scientific advancements have ceased to be succour for tormented bodies!
Major social and political upheavals occurring around the globe have been threatening to destroy the world. Terrorism is a way of life now. In the present era, a normal day necessarily needs to have a series of bomb blasts and other acrimonious attacks meant to destabilize a system “ a system that has neither a head nor a tail!
People have learnt to live with the horrors of a past holocaust and the present day cataclysm. A popular uprising in the country against bourgeois decadence meant to usher in a proletarian culture has catalysed into a virtual war against the state.
Man, it is said, is an intelligent animal! However, man and intelligence have grown miles apart with the ‘brains’ quotient deserting him. For all purposes, man is thus reduced to a beast - a creature that cannot distinguish between right and wrong.
Filial relations, sibling love, parental care, the institution of marriage; all these have come to mean contrived emotions and misplaced relationships. Today the steady decline in the moral values of the society is more than evident.
Man and God were never intended to grow apart, for religion and religious beliefs have always been held dear by humans.
The proliferation of a class of people, who apparently ‘prosper’ exploiting the faith of the masses, disturbing communal harmony, is a testimony of this blatant truth.
Another alarming aspect of this ‘devotion sans any passion’ has been the portrayal of religious fanaticism as the new face of international terrorism. Religious dogmas and principles have always governed the day-to-day life of mortals so such so that quite often a hallowed conviction is mistaken for superstition.
Religious orders and institutions where the ordinary layman is imparted knowledge about one’s religion by priests and clerics are today tainted by accusations of gross irregularities.
The Church in various parts of the world has been shaken up by allegations of sexual misconduct by priests over the last few years. During his weeklong tour of Canada last year, Pope Francis apologized for the ‘evil’ of clergy sex abuse, vowing that Catholic Church leaders must pledge to ‘never again’ allow such atrocities to occur.
In the early days of Islam, fatwa(s) were pronounced by distinguished intellectuals to provide guidance to scholars, judges and citizens on how subtle points of Islamic law should be understood, interpreted or applied.
Today, a ‘fatwa’ has come to signify a death sentence and seen as the handiest of weapons for religious extremists.
It so appears that the collective endeavours of numerous academics and exponents of religious scriptures are not enough to rekindle the hopes of a lot many faithful. Prophets and Messiahs have trodden this earth, many maligned and some made to bear the brunt of their own crosses for the sincerity of their thoughts, pure and sublime.
But the new genre of ‘swamis’ and ‘gurus’ moving around in swanky cars and preaching out of their air-conditioned and thermal-controlled sprawling ‘ashrams’ command a following that could make the Almighty squirm in distress. It is not God who is revered today but the ‘God-men’ who rule the roost under the guise of spirituality.
Sports and games have always been a means of relaxation, a pastime for man from ancient times; but no longer!
Organizing sporting events has virtually turned into a commercial jamboree, a financial bonanza. The sports and the sportspersons have become pawns in a game of high financial stakes.
Players are being auctioned and the teams being bid for! Is there no differentiation between man and commodity! Oh Lord, this is what recreation has come to - a business proposition!
Education as a learning and teaching process is being sacrificed at the altar of commercialism.
Purportedly, we are in that period of time where the human race finds itself enchanted and is easily swayed by a host of mischievous absurdities.
A well-rehearsed disregard for incidents and happenings that warn of the perils to come characterize the generation today.
Mankind’s sinful nature which is unfortunately ‘blooming’ under ideal and favourable conditions is indeed a cause for concern.
It is a popular belief that when the universe crumbles under the collective weight of the sins committed by mankind, the Lord incarnate will appear as the Supreme Chastiser. But in sharp contrast to the apocalyptic beliefs what can be done when man himself is hell-bent on considering himself omnipotent!
A widely read news, views and analysis website recently mentioned in its editorial that, “The ‘Doomsday’ clock has been advanced further due to the on-going Ukraine war, which in reality is a war between Russia and the US-led West and their collaborators elsewhere.”
As a dramatic and catastrophic conflict, especially one seen as likely to destroy the world or the human race, the word Armageddon does raise scary pictures of the looming devastation.
But hasn’t mankind already devised its own annihilation!
