1. Good and evil: Right and wrong, good and bad, virtue and sin and divine and demonic tendencies have been playing hide and seek with the feelings of man since times immemorial. Usually, gods and goddesses symbolize all that is good and virtuous in life and they provide an inspiration to the people to lead happy, peaceful, purposeful and satisfying lives in an environment of love, affection, understanding and goodwill, gradually developing fraternal links with almost all elements of the creation. The nature is richly endowed and all that is needed, is to live and work in harmony to make this little planet, not only slightly better, but much better than what it is. Devils represent the other side of the coin and have always been there to brainwash people to disrupt and demolish all that is good in life. Those who draw inspiration from their demonic and devilish tendencies, become cruel and ruthless and start relying on weapons of awe and terror.
Devasur Sangram, the mythological struggle between gods and goddesses and devils and demons is a reflection of traditional animosity and struggle between forces of goodness and evil. Rawan the learned, talented and powerful king of gold studded Lanka had risen to the ranks of some of the most gifted celebrities of the universe, when his devilish and demonic tendencies placed him in confrontation with Ram, who was an embodiment of goodness, virtue and divinity. The conflict between Ram and Rawan is a symbolic representation of a conflict between the forces of goodness and evil, where after a prolonged struggle, forces of evil were destroyed and ultimately goodness prevailed. Mahabharat is a typical representation of total war between forces of goodness and forces of evil, where all devices and weapons of war were extensively used and millions of people lost their lives.
The world is replete with stories of all types of ambitious people, who spent the best part of their lives unleashing untold wars and conflict, massacring and uprooting millions of people. The first world war and second world war were conflicts between ambitious people, who had an obsession to dominate the world and those who cherished individual freedom. Since then, mini-wars and conflicts have been going on in almost all parts of the world for some reason or the other and it seems that people have got used to the conditions of insecurity, hardship and suffering almost everywhere.
2. Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Second World War in Europe ended, when Germany signed the instrument of surrender on 8 May 1945. Pacific war was still going on, in spite of the ultimatum to Japan on 26 July 1945 to surrender. All types of plans for the invasion of Japan were being made, which involved casualties running into millions of lives on both sides. That was the time when atom bombs had been developed and tested in USA and a B-29 Superfortress fitted with one of the atom bombs took off from a pacific island and dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan on 6 August 1945. Another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki in Japan on 9 August 1945. Loss of life at Hiroshima during the first two to four months was of the order of 90000 to 160000. Loss of life at Nagaski was of the order of 60000 to 80000 during the first two to four months. Apart from the loss of life due to direct hits, the damage due to radiation, physical disabilities and psychological trauma, maimed millions of people and added to their sufferings for many more years to come. After some dithering, Japan agreed to surrender on 15 August 1945 and the instrument of surrender was signed on 2 September 1945, thereby bringing an end to the Pacific War.
It is still debatable, whether the decision to drop the atom bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was good or bad.
3. Nuclear Weapons: The development of nuclear weapons has gone on unabated, since the days of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. USA and Russia have nuclear weapons stockpiles, running into thousands. Then there are other nuclear weapons countries claiming to have developed hundreds of nuclear weapons and apart from this, a number of countries and organizations are sitting on the periphery and are feverishly involved in the development of some sort of nuclear devices or dirty bombs. All told, it can be safely assumed, that, if for any reasons, whatsoever, the sparks start flying someday and nuclear explosions are triggered, the world has sufficient stockpiles of nuclear devices to destroy totally, all that stands to-day in the name of growth, development and civilization.
In spite of the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the chilling prospects, images and consequences of a nuclear war, which can be triggered at any time, it is very difficult to say, whether the development and stockpiling of nuclear weapons is good or bad.
4. Role of Force: Force has always been a dominant factor in human relations. In the good old days, physically powerful people became tribal leaders, kings and emperors. Their power, influence and strength was gauged by the number of people gathered by them under their banner. Gradually, skill, tools and weapons started playing their role. Numbers continued to be important, but, skill, tactics and weapons started stealing the show. Gunpowder brought about a revolutionary change in the dynamics of force. And the race was on for more weapons, better weapons, sophisticated weapons and the weapons of mass destruction. No holds were barred. Some minor conflicts, somewhere, flared into major conflicts, bringing untold casualties and miseries to thousands and hundreds of thousands of people. Every country spends a fortune on maintaining standing armies and defense networks. Open borders have become fenced borders with all types of bunkers and missiles. There is no peace, safety or security anywhere and if there happens to be some semblance of peace somewhere, it happens to be uneasy peace.
5. Human Beings: Human beings are a wonderful creation of nature. Every human being is different physically, mentally and emotionally with all types of dreams, aspirations and egos. Their circumstances are different, when they are born. They run through different opportunities as they grow up and ultimately, they follow different paths in life. Those who have the tenacity to rise from the heap and have the perseverance to keep going, realize their cherished dreams. Every region, every country and almost every nook and corner of the world, had its share of heroes, who blazed trails, so that, others could see light and keep moving. The list includes leaders, intellectuals, innovators and host of other people, who provided a push to the activities of this planet, in their own modest ways. Then there are millions of rags to riches and success stories floating round the world, as living monuments of the undying spirit, courage and perseverance of men.
During the last few decades, the world has changed beyond recognition. Internet has brought all available knowledge and information on the finger tips of people. Computers, mobile phones, i-phones, i-pads and social net-working sites have shrunk the world and people chat with each other, at almost all hours. There is globalization of business, trade and industry. Multinationals have set up their shops almost everywhere. All malls are full and are doing roaring business. High rise buildings dominate the skylines of all cities. Millions of people are on the move every day and every hour by rail, road, and air. There is tremendous material progress. The number of millionaires and billionaires is on the rise in almost every country. Growth and development are the keywords. It is a mad race, which does not seem to have an end, leaving millions of people, sweating and struggling in the trail.
6. Conclusion: In nature, every element and every system is different, but, they work in harmony and provide support to each other. In a family, all individual members are different, but, they look after each other’s concerns and keep moving towards their cherished goals. In a village, hamlet or neighbourhood, people share their joys and sorrows and gradually develop fraternal bonds, which are a source of inspiration, strength and support for everybody. Similarly, in this world, every individual is different, every group of persons is different, every region and every nation is different. Their resources, their aspirations and dreams and their physical and intellectual capacities are different, but, everybody cherishes freedom and happy and satisfying lives. All successful people of the world were individuals, whose ideas and actions initiated the process of change and brought puffs of hope and succour to millions and millions of people, who rose from the heap and helped in transformation of the world. To-day, we have the know how, we have the technical and management skills and the physical and financial resources to keep pushing for some sort of dream, where all living beings on the planet are aroused and have sufficient opportunities to get involved in satisfying productive activities, deeply concerned for each other and working shoulder to shoulder with all heads and thumbs up.