Idle Mind- Devil's Workshop

Idle mind – devils workshop

Have you ever wondered how the proverbs that we constantly use came into being? Our ancestors and forefathers must have coined them after years of research and methodical experiences in life. This leads us to believe that common occurrences in the days gone by must have been the basis for such proverbs and we keep using them even today since things haven’t changed.

How often have we wondered about the aptness of these proverbs in modern day life? One such proverb is “An idle mind is a devil’s workshop”. In the good old days an idle mind must have been a pain to our ancestors as it is for the administrators and rulers of today. The idle mind must have been the scourge in society upsetting life and its flow.

It must have been the idle mind that carved out a treacherous path a path of revolution that led to destruction and mayhem in society, a path that did no good to society but kept it on tenterhooks and made life uneasy for all and sundry. Suffice it is therefore to believe that the mind should not be idle, because it leads to destructive thinking.   Let us examine one aspect of the idle mind in today’s environment.

There are many aspects to the problem of terrorism of today, but let us dwell on the subject of an idle mind leading to such activities. Can an idle mind be catapulted to achieve immense destruction? That is the question we are examining. Today we see that most of the terrorists and self styled revolutionaries (foot soldiers) are people who have joined the destructive forces simply because they had nothing much to do and in such times of idle thinking the proponents of destructive theory preached and converted them to their cause to cause bloodshed and mayhem in society.

Most of the destructive forces occupy very low ratings in society on account of their inherent backwardness due to short money supply, low caste factor, education or inadequate infrastructure in their areas that lead to lesser opportunities in society though there are always exceptions. We are not talking about the generals/group leaders but about the foot soldiers commanded by these radicalized/indoctrinate self appointed generals.

Sometimes it is their helplessness with regard to oppression by the majority factor or rulers in society who are hell bent on distorting the opportunities available for their own benefits. See the Maoist problem which has grown in proportion due to the areas being backward and the rulers not able to bring development into such areas. Coupled with exploitation of land resources by the ruling elite, the downtrodden are up with their backs to the wall and are forced to fight for survival which often takes the form of extremism or supporting revolutionaries who are perceived to be people with an outlook that matches the outlook of these affected people in relation to their fight for survival and against the exploiting system.

The Maoist in themselves have an ideology and doctrines to follow, which is lapped up by their hardcore supporters and those who believe in usurping power and ruling through the barrel of the gun. They are very few in numbers but they are able to wean away many more due to their support to such causes and their ability to procure arms and fight the authorities. In certain areas they have become a law unto themselves and carry out kangaroo courts and mete out justice to their local population. They are so conspicuous by their presence in every day matters that the local population has no alternative but to follow their dictates.

The people who join them are the ones who have had a raw deal and yearn to fight back as also the ones who are not into anything concrete in life and are therefore weaned away by the authority and high idealism that the Maoist profess to live by. The Maoist blow up infrastructure and schools which increases the backwardness of the local population.

Look at the problem of the Taliban and the area from where they come. Analyze the rise of the foot soldiers in Nepal the extremists who cross the borders with impunity. See the insurgents in the North East, everywhere we see lack of development leading to people remaining idle and taking to disruptive activities. Provide development in these affected areas and the people have things to look forward to while the young ones will understand the power of education and look forward to developmental activities.

The one angle solution to such a problem is to keep the mind occupied with education, job opportunities, developmental activities, self help groups and generally increasing the productivity in society. If the country achieves progress in good measure some of it is bound to rub off on the areas hitherto underdeveloped but more so if the quantum of development is seen on the ground.

 If you keep someone busy productive he or she will have no time for anything else and will not graduate to illegal and self destructive activities. It is not always necessary to count the returns or productivity in terms of money made but it is important to see that the person is grossly engaged in direct proportion to the amount of spare time in hand. Please remember that we are only discussing one angle to this problem as there are many other ingredients that go into the making of a disruptive person.

World over it is seen that development is the answer to the suffocation and helplessness of the people and they are bound to reciprocate in equal measure. Development puts all the idle minds to use and does not give them an opportunity to reflect on the helplessness or exploitation. Education broadens the horizons of the people and helps to engage the mind in constructive activities. If only there was enough development going on in the areas from where the disruptive forces do their shopping we would not have so many disgruntled people taking on the powers that be and relative peace and calm would return.

Of course as already mentioned this is only putting on the table one angle of the cause of disruption in society and there are always exceptions to the rules. In our daily lives too it is good to keep ourselves engrossed in work or constructive activities to keep off negative thoughts because an idle mind is the foundation to the inauguration of a devil’s workshop.

Robin Varghese

Mail to: robin_vargh@yahoo.com

(article inspired from the Maoists problem)