A society without humanity lacks civility no matter how sophisticated it might appear in terms of its education, material progress and intellectual development, says Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj Ji

Lately, one word that is being used over and over on all media platforms is ‘civil society’. Today, if we look at any debate on a news channel or any editorial in a newspaper, it revolves around civil rights and society. But why has this topic become a top discussion issue? To know the answer for this question, we need to first understand what is civil society all about. In simple words, a civilised society is based on the rule of law and natural justice, it is based on self-respect and the dignity of the human individual. In a civilised society, one has a sense of security, enjoys one’s rights without hindrance and does one’s duty towards others with a sense of responsibility and co-operation, care and good wishes for all. If we look at our surroundings, can we call the current society we live in to be civilised? Most of us would say ‘No.’ Because when there are so many cases of rape, murder, child-abuse, wife-bashing, dacoits, violence, etc, we can’t call it a civilised society? With an increase in crime rate, litigation cases, an individualistic approach, wherein one does not even know one’s next-door neighbour, it certainly can’t be called even a society. Massive deforestation, expansion of large cities, lynchings and using violent gadgets and weapons to hit people — with such things happening all around, how does a society become civilised? Undoubtedly, today, there is better sanitation, civic sense, discipline and etiquette but civility is a much beyond all of this.

We may come across many who can be called as ‘sensible,’ but may lack moral sense, which is one of the biggest reasons of an increasing arms race, environmental pollution and population growth. Hence, one may have his five senses functioning properly but if he does not have this sixth sense, which is the moral sense or the sense of human responsibility, then without it, we would not be looked at as humans; but only as beings. And a society whose members lack humanity is not a civilised society no matter how sophisticated and advanced they might be in terms of their education, intellectual development and material progress. Hence, it’s important to understand that the real problem, underlying all problems, whether these be labelled as economic, social, political, communal or by whatever other name, is man. There is no problem ahead of a man, who violates human values, cares only about himself and who only wants to reach his fulfillment and ambitions, irrespective of what may happen to others.

The current society might have made a marvellous progress in various fields but emotionally, it is very weak. Man has not been able to control his impulsiveness, ambitions, anger and anxiety. There is, thus, a lot of imbalance, created by rapid and great advancement in science and technology on the one hand and absence of parallel progress in emotional maturity, self-control and ethical abilities on the other. This has resulted in many problems that we are facing today. We should, therefore, realise that a thorough observance of values is, all through the millennia, essential to ensure peace, happiness and health. And today, it has become a million times more essential now that man’s capacity to commit high crimes has increased unimaginably and unreasonably.

Let us, therefore, understand what a ‘civilised society’ really is and how important it is to follow and inculcate in ourselves values if we wish a better world to live in. It would benefit everyone collectively rather than just catering to any one person. Remember, there is no perfect vacuum in the world. So if the values leave their place, vices will occupy it. And it’s a lesson from history that vices lead to a downfall of civilisations. We must, therefore, remember that all sufferings are due to presence of vices and absence of moral, human, social and spiritual values. So, we must learn the knowledge and practise meditation to inculcate values right away. Let “now or never” be our slogan. This is the ultimate solution to the puzzle of life.