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Machinery:
Something else which disturbs the peace is machinery, which
even if it facilitates the world's production and help to spread
civilisation have nevertheless made the world lose much of its
tranquillity. The quietness of sounds has been lost and this has
happened so quickly that the calmness of the nerves has been
lost.
Machines in our mechanical age work quickly and accurately
and require their operators to be just as quick and precise.
Because of this, their nerves are always keyed up in case they
make a mistake or the machine does something dangerous,
which would affect their production, their livelihood, their pay
bonuses and reports.
Often machines are to blame for the problems of
unemployment. One machine may be able to do more work
than 20 or 30 or even 50 workers.
The appearance of machines at the beginning of the
Renaissance, five centuries ago, was known in history as the
"Industrial Revolution". But how much greater is the
development of technology in our present age!
Unemployment undoubtedly affects the peacefulness of the
world, since there exists a class made up of a vast number of
workers who are anxious about their fate and livelihood.
Mahatma Gandhi used to hate the use of machines and called
his people to work with their hands.
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There is a big difference between the age in which the peasant
used to water his field from a water wheel, calmly and happily
following the water as it ran peacefully through the field, and
the age in which the water descends in a fast, forceful jet which
he runs panting behind in order to transfer it from one trough to
another, before it overflows and is drowned by the water.
We do not want at this point to discuss the subject of
technology from the economic point of view; this is not the aim
of the book in your hands. Its aim is simply to show the effects
that machines can have upon calmness, from the aspect of their
noise and effect upon the senses, and from the aspect of the
unemployment which they can cause and the effect which this
can have upon disturbing spiritual peace.
In addition to this, machines which pollute the environment with
smoke and fumes, and the adverse effect that this can have upon
health can also make the individual lose his tranquillity.
Sounds, Lights and Colours
Loud sounds disturb peace, whether they come from trains,
cars, alarm clocks, motorcycles, aeroplanes or loudspeakers at
parties and meetings, even the sounds of people passing in the
streets and the sounds of the sellers in the over populated
suburbs.
The clamour of sound in the city makes people lose the
calmness of their senses, especially if these sounds are loud and
invasive and continually unchecked.
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Even in people's ordinary conversations, there are some who
talk quietly so that you can hardly hear their voice, and others
who cause such a racket when they talk that the place loses its
peace and their listeners feel as if they are caught up in an
argument or a fight.
The calm approach to conversation means that the person
speaks at the level required by his listener, without raising his
voice unnecessarily. This is what calm people do. Peace lovers
do not feel relaxed when loud or sharp voices are used as this
disturbs their senses.
The recluse Saint Arsanious, when he heard the sound of reeds
moved by the wind, said: "What is this earthquake?" because his
ears had become acutely sensitive, , being accustomed to a calm
atmosphere.
Telephones then can sometimes be a reason for making some
people lose their calmness. If someone uses them too much or
for too long, telephones can make him lose his awareness of the
value of his time, or make him feel that he has lost his peace of
mind or that his actions are unproductive. Therefore those who
wish to spend time quietly should keep far away from
telephones and avoid using them, or use them sparingly, only
for emergencies.
Colours also have a certain effect on the soul besides
influencing the one who looks at them. The green colour, for
example, is a peaceful colour, as is light blue, and comes in
contrast to the colours like red, which can be glaring unless it is
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simply part of a pattern and just used to give it a particular
beauty.
This explains why many people choose colours for the walls of
their homes that are restful to the eyes, and the same goes for
the colours of their furniture and clothes; and choose flowers of
soothing colours for their gardens.
Just as we mentioned colours, we can also mention lights.
Strong lights irritate and tire the eyes and nerves. Strong
headlights on cars, for example, strain the eyes of drivers
coming in the opposite direction. We might perhaps see some
streets in the big cities fitted with softer lights in a special
colour which is kinder to the eyes, a kind of yellowish colour.
Also churches, when they are lit by candles, have a calmer
atmosphere which is more conducive to awe and peace, than
when they are lit by the glare of artificial lights.
We have spoken of the factors that work against calmness of
the senses, let us move on to another factor which disturbs
peace:
b.
Against The Calmness of The Spirit
1. There are many factors which disturb calmness of the spirit
and these include the mistakes of others. Their behaviour may
be hurtful, worrying or irritating to the individual and result in a
loss of tranquillity. Their mistakes may be actually harmful.
Perhaps they may cause fights or struggles or make
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attempts to annoy the other. Thus the person can lose his
tranquillity, because of a quarrelsome neighbour, or an annoying
colleague at work, or even at church. This occurs because
people's mistakes have caused him harm or put him in a state of
constant strain or tension because he is anticipating problems as
a result of these mistakes.
The teacher may lose his calmness because of a pupil's
behaviour. A father or mother may lose their calmness because
of their child's errors. The behaviour of certain individuals
among people might harm the peace of the entire country.
2.
A person may lose his calmness because he is living with
people who are not calm. If he lives with a person who is
anxious, disturbed or afraid, he may be affected by that person's
mistakes. That person's fear or disturbed state may also be
passed on to him. On the other hand, living with calm people
brings calmness to the spirit.
There are many psychological aspects that a person absorbs
from others, good and bad. One of the famous men of letters
wrote, "Tell me who your friend is and I will tell you who you
are."
Therefore it is not unusual for you to feel upset if you remain
for a long time in a place where there has been a disturbance
because of what you hear of other people's conversations. It is
equally likely if you live with a person who is very sceptical,
that his misgivings will flow into your heart and thoughts
without your intending it.
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3.
Another element that causes loss of peace is the news
and the media. Look at how often the radio and television
broadcasts, newspapers, magazines and publishers present
upsetting news that disturbs people. It affects their thoughts and
senses so that some of them start to imagine that the world is
going to end soon, or that disasters are about to happen.
These news reports may follow in rapid succession, so that no
sooner has the person recovered from listening to one piece of
news than another equally upsetting follows it. Thus the
individual lives in a state of constant tension.
There are journalists who think that to stir-up the people is the
sign of successful news broadcasting. They therefore choose
dramatic titles that arouse or news items that provoke,
irrespective of the effect they might have on the hearts of the
people!
The same applies to the news people relate to each other in their
conversations: their tales of problems, adversities and pains, on
a general level, or on the individual and family level. There are
some who relate such things so dramatically that they convey
their emotion to the listener and he gets upset too.
People live in a state of constant tug-of-war, being pulled this
way and that by a succession of news reports. If someone
wants to live quietly he should try his utmost to get as far away
as he can from upsetting news, or to keep its influence over him
under control.
4.
Personal problems are the most serious thing that make
someone lose his peace of mind.
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Young people's minds are disturbed by the slightest problem.
Adults, however may be upset by a problem which seems to be
irresolvable, if they then arrive at a solution their mind again
becomes calm.
The restless person wants all people around him to be
thoroughly upset if a problem ever occurs, and he may say, "I
won't let this matter go by just like that! I know what I'll do!!".
It may well be that his rude behaviour causes another problem
worse than the original one. A person may lose his calmness in
the face of a personal problem or one that affects people in
general, such as bad transport for example, or a boring routine
or economic problems and rising prices.
We can cite a third kind of factor which disturbs peace which is: tasbeha.org/content/hh_books/Calmness/index.html