Where are we as Indians on the path towards intellectual evolution?

I have for quite some time wanted to write on this topic and a recent heated discussion with one of my friends has lead me to venture onto this thorny path. I say thorny as this path is which hurts us deep in our hearts. We are not ready to acknowledge that we have failed and that too failed miserably. People may call it their opinion but what they so easily forget is that there is vast difference between ignorance and a difference in opinion. You may say that the world is flat and that is what is your opinion and live with it and hopefully pass it on to your generation with such a tight knit veil of arrogance and stubbornness that people will actually be convinced in spite of the blatant facts that it could truly be possible, and disregard the facts. Let the world be flat, live our life happily and arrogantly , and die. What is that we leave behind….

If I may ,I would like to answer the same truthfully.

A generation of idiots.

People who are far and large stupid and never would like to look at a thing from another perspective and apply logic and learning to preconceived notions.

At this point I gladly remember my father and mother for my upbringing. I was never told what caste I was from, what religion I should blindly follow. Though at times I am speechless and dumbstruck when people ask me as to who I am. I answer that I am a Hindu, sometime I answer that I am a normal human being. But to this day I never really know the right answer. If I really had to say from my heart, “I am MITIN”. Nothing more, nothing less would suffice.

I look at all religions , even my own with the same awe, hint of suspicion and humility to learning.

When I really think, this is the fundamental question that we have trickled down to. No matter how much technologically advanced we become, no matter how many millions of dollars worth of deals we do, we still don’t know who we are. We’re not the India of the pre Independence era when people were simple, humble and had “values”. Nor have we come to be the “Americanised”. We are lost somewhere in between, where we boast of our traditional values and where women are still not given their rightful place in the society. We have started to go to the McDonalds and the KFC’s of today and still have not one clue why do we go there and what all does it stand for.

All this does not essentially means that all is wrong in our society. There are exceptions, but sadly for my India’s sake they are just a handful. I pray I may be wrong, but this is what the society at large is and this is what I have to endure .  I’ve seen that it is not a good option to try and preach what is right. People look up to highly confident people like Ramdev, Anna, Modi and the same. I don’t either condone or agree with their beliefs but I want people to have logic behind what they see to believe in these people. One good speech and doing does not turn someone into a saint or a leader. People just want someone to tell that what should they do and then shower him/her with all the riches. When I tell them the methodology to follow to realize the truth, I am pelted with stone and shoed away.

I heed to the people in this country of mine that it is time that we grow, rather evolve into more intelligent beings else I see us just apes in front of laptops.