Thank you Net!

When computers were slowly entering into the lanes and bylanes of our lives many years ago, many thought that it was an Alladin’s magic lamp, which could provide solutions to many of the problems which haunted humanity, and they were hopeful that the machine would soon compete with the human mind in providing solutions, not only mathematical and scientific, but also may take hold of the lives of ordinary mortals. On the other side of the spectrum were people who were very skeptical about the role and function of computers in our lives. They considered the computer as an agent of the devil, or the evil one to use a non-religious word! They were not only cautious, but also warned humanity of the great disaster that maybe brought about by the machine. Many years after the computer was born, the skeptics were face to face with a greater danger to their sanity and sanctity, the advent of the World Wide Web. The world was placed in front of us on a platter, and it is for us to take it or not, but it has sneaked into all that we can think of and is the spirit that pervades the earth.

It would be futile for me to speak for or against the computers and how they have shaped the world today, and information technology has brought the world within our fists, as one cellular phone company has its slogan as. The internet has opened a sea of information for us; there is a danger of being drowned in this sea, but one may also find rich treasures in it, and make use of them for one’s own growth. Often when confronted with problems, perhaps the best friend one may turn today is the www.google.com. And invariably there may be solutions that may make you smile, and very seldom does the internet turn you down. There is anything you want in the net, but I have seen that for a discerning mind, it has all the riches one may seek. It is a double edged sword; one may use it for self-defense, at the same time it could be used to kill one and others. The choice is ours.

In the modern world, people have become so busy that they have very little time for other persons. Time is the most expensive thing in the world today for some, and they may not be able to spare even a few moments to listen to others and give counsel. One has to try to find one’s own solutions to the problems that confront one today, and can no longer look to another for help and support. Over the years, the internet has come to fill the vacuum created by the modern times. A ready reckoner, friend in need, guide in trouble – that is what the internet today is. Let me illustrate this point with an illustration. Before I left the country for a month-long visit to the Europe, I had to reload the Windows in my laptop, and subsequently the program I frequently use, including the Microsoft Office. Since I did the loading just before I was to leave the city, I did not care to install some of the programs (in computer language drivers) required to run internet (LAN driver). When I reached Brussels, I realized I had not loaded this particular driver, meant for this particular brand of laptop. I had not taken the original CD given at the time of purchase of the laptop which contained the necessary driver. I knew where I had to look for help. I went to the internet and looked for the driver, and in an hour, I was running internet from my laptop.

I know it is not the time to shower encomium on the internet, but I have realized that many a time, it had solved many of the problems which might have cost me time as well as pinched my purse. If the internet has in a sense killed the markets and made many a technocrat unemployed, it is also true that it has opened the gates of opportunities to willing souls, at the least price. You might get anything you want without paying a penny, and you don’t even need to run around looking for that, it is given to you on a platter at your study or reading room, or anywhere you are with your laptop and an internet connection. Most of the well-known books are available online, not only for a price, but also free. There I can find every forbidden subject on earth freely available, there are also everything that is sacred. The beauty of the internet is that it has brought together into a matrimonial alliance sacred and profane, religious and secular, this worldly and other worldly, mundane and spiritual; whatever it be, you will get what you are looking for. Isn’t that a beautiful thing.

Today I would like to pause for a while to reflect on what the world has become thanks to the advancement of technology. It has opened the floodgates of grace to enter into every nook and cranny of our little world. I would like to thank the millions of men and women who have spent millions of hours to crunch the world to fit to our purses, tastes and fancies. I would like to remember the countless number of persons who have generously offered fruit of their labor, so that humanity may enjoy the benefits. I would like to think with gratitude all those who have foregone their earnings and payments in order to make available their sweat and toil for the less privileged. It is not that life would be meaningless without the internet and the email, but life has been ennobled because of them. I would like to call the internet as a channel of grace, which has the potentiality to turn the world into a home of peace and serenity; but as is wont, wherever grace resides, sinfulness to hides beneath her skin. But I will have a plea to make : let us not throw the baby together with the bath water! (Brussels)