In today's world, where means of communication are fast, news and views quickly spread over the whole world and attract the attention of millions of people. This points to the increasing need to use one's freedom and power of expression, after applying one's sound judgement. We all saw how a few years ago a French newspaper’s piece of caricature was judged as derogatory to a particular religion and its founder.
And hence, the followers of that religion at large raised its voice against the publication. Similarly, there are many films and social media videos that have the effect of slow poisoning on the mind of the people because of a high percentage of the ingredients of violence, sex, anger, etc. in them. The repetition of such material in one film after another sooner or later corrodes the moral fibre of man and corrupts his mind. As a result of which, man's thinking processes are polluted and subsequently the whole society reels under its deleterious effect.
However, the makers of such material always give the argument that the masses like it even though the fact of the matter is that it is these makers who have actually vulgarised the taste of the masses by means of their spoiling stuff. This kind of material must be definitely affecting the viewer’s hormonal secretions and their nervous, muscular, digestive and other systems even though it goes unnoticed. It must be affecting their heart, brain, lungs and morals as well. Isn’t it? It must be having a de-civilising influence and must be dehumanising the emotional life of people. And, yet very little is our attention on this aspect of art, literature and culture.
Countries all over the world are now paying attention to the drug-problem. Some of them have even taken legislative measures to give capital punishment to those who indulge in drug-addiction that is eating into the vitals of their nation and is incapacitating their youth and is, therefore, very dangerous. But surprisingly, there is no serious thought being given to the dangers caused by such visual material that are as bad as drugs. They cause rust to a person's character, sap his mind's vitality and make him a physical and mental wreck. It is high time that nations or their spiritual elite devote full attention to this problem lest all their efforts to establish values and to give a spiritual touch to people's life-style would be blown off and carried away by the typhonic effect of such reading or viewing material.
The writer is a spiritual educator and popular columnist for publications across India, Nepal and the UK. He can be contacted at nikunjji@gmail.com / www.brahmakumaris.com
