In 2025, Dickens would have observed: “we live in the worst of times”. The Educated, part educated, semi-literate and the riff-raff across societies, in fact almost everyone is running after big or small doses of money, fame and power. Opportunities stem from affiliations and connections, not merit. Opportunity Cost is no Opportunity Loss. People are doing anything-from raping 7 year girls to stuffing murdered bodies into large trolley bags for disposal through even hired cabbies in Calcutta. Of course in this melee, the conscientious Chief Minister of the State has announced no spitting on roads and public places.
To walk the path of righteousness has always required courage & conviction. But in 21st Century to walk “with the Lord” is wholly defined by power & position on public display. The Ambani Family is redefining Indian marriages; Amitabh Bachaan and the Khans are redefining powerful style statements shared in the media; the in-fighting political classes are redefining electorate priorities. And the public across all classes are lapping it all up through the media. And in this process, the area of human freedom of inquiry has become a frontier. Freedom appears lost. We are losing the ability to be true to ourselves. Our weakness, as observed long ago by Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) is embedded in an emerging system making us lose our strength to apply principles.
Einstein described human illusion being that reality when finally, & irrevocably humans consciously realize they are part of the “whole” i.e. part of the Universe & therefore acceptably limited by Time & Space. But we are nurtured to use the “pictures in our heads than critical thinking.” We live in our “best of times.”
21st Century schizoid humans revel in varieties of optical illusions of their Consciousness. Thoughts and feelings-wise We experience ourselves separated from the rest of Reality that Einstein projects. And it sure hurts. Our debilitating bovine intelligence is oddly at odds with Nature’s game-plan. We have begun the march toward extinction. And no one realizes this situation because of muted contradictions
With money in abundance, happiness is in recess mode. Humans are infatuated by power, revelry and pomposity because these are the causes they seek to serve in life. And thus behavior stems from seeking opportunities through affiliations and connections, not merit. As proof we need recall the mayhem in two different and well-established Indian Universities in Odisha (Bhubaneswar) and West Bengal (Calcutta) in February and early March 2025. Piled on is the other glaring example of a reputed 31-year Podcaster accused of broadcasting what the SC of India thankfully calls expressing “anything and everything over social media under the guise of free speech” in its out-reach to the Central & State Governments.
We may wonder if India’s Supreme Court is limited by constraints when it describes the words used (by the instant litigant podcaster): – “will put to shame every parent, daughter, sister as well as brother and society as a whole”. Vandalism of any variety must be immediately condemned by the laws of any land. The UAE has summarily executed a few Indians in March 2025 convicted of murder. These executions have been concurrently reported in Indian newspapers alongside the news of the 2 Universities’ mayhem that also relate to abetment to suicide & murder (wordings of the cases in the local Indian police station)
Can the moral high of citizens be augmented and regulated? The Constitution after all, is an instrument for expressing the will of the people in the best interests of State Policies. But the Indian State refuses to take the initiative to creatively raise the Consciousness quotient of community of citizens. We therefore have a situation where other philosophies are technically upholding the equal validity of all religions espousing potential divinity in every human being. But no one is innovating on integrating Ethics/Morals within communities. Are we missing the wood for the tree, altogether missing out the overall context?
Current transgressions would be unimaginable in times of Vivekananda, Aurobindo and Rabindranath. They believed with their lives Science is the search for Truth. But India has lagged behind to sustain this pursuit. Post 1947 the Era of Science & Technology has spread an erroneous logic of State-Power across global theatres. Where basic human behavior lacks Truth & Spirituality takes a backseat (refer Einstein), this transgression is romping about influencing behavior across Judgements & State Policies.
The following predictions based on very judicious long-term analysis of the trajectory of our human race into the not too distant 2050 circa, therefore needs a quick review. Man has actually become a loner, influenced by instinct and the disintegrating environment. But if facts still have any priority over fiction, it is worth being informed:
- By 2050, over half the world population will be suffering from obesity. This is a physical ailment triggering erratic behavior
- By 2050, most humans will suffer from mental derangement. With Total Fertility Rates reduced to much below average, senior citizens will be bulk of world population. Pollution-related health problems will be evidenced in respiratory, psychological, hypertension and diabetes linked diseases. The ‘unregulated’ Pharma Sector will have a run for its money
- By 2050, Ocean Currents shall have turned totally vicious. This implies climate and soil, which are weakening wholesale, will have deteriorated beyond Notwithstanding Floods, & air-pollution, these 3 factors will convert the world into a huge Mental Asylum.
What troubles me is our World will have lost its beauty on account of human transgressions.
Can Artificial Intelligence effectively manage these disruptions? What is most critical is our immediate ability to standardize human behavior. Within Universities can neuro-linguistic programs legalize behavior? Quantum Computers under Qubit technology have immense capabilities to flag-off deviations in Behavior. India surely does not lag behind in IT skills. What is needed is long-term thinking. Sadly, we do not even know if the powers that control us belong to the category of Brute Forces or Forces of Reason! Ideological purity is in short supply. No leader holds the “mandate of Heaven”.
India abounds in intellectualism and divisiveness. If our country is converting into urban complexities, then our peoples need to rapidly integrate. The discipline of our army must spread into universities & large communities ASAP. Yes, divisiveness has to give way to sound indoctrination. Without integrating community behavior under Quantum Computers, there appears no alternative for survival. Given that the odds are against us; the prevalent WARLORD domination must give way to a Constitutional mandated QUICK RESPONSE TIME agenda for better change. Given our commitment to Democracy there appears no other alternative to strategic and tactical maneuvers for our progeny.
Can the current Human Delusion be converted to Human Illusion; I wonder?
Prof. Partho S. Sengupta from fringes of Calcutta!
Behavioral Sciences Area/Master – NLP Trainer/Practitioner;
Former Member – Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC);
The writer can be reached at [email protected]
