State of Flux

Evils prevailing in the society upset most of us and we keep wondering whether a time would ever come when there would be no evil. Some of us even try to reduce, remove or eradicate the evil. Many also regretfully compare the present with the past and worry about the future. Their concern is to be

well appreciated, but the situation has to be seen more objectively. I am of the view that the society has never been free from evil though the form of evil keeps changing with time. When we read history, we find that many evils which do not exist today existed in the past and the reverse is also true, as today we see many evils which were non-existent in the past. Similarly, in today’s society, there are many good things which were nonexistent in the past.

Thus, evil and good are only an indication of negative and positive tendencies. They both have to coexist though their form and effect may change with time. Everything will come to a standstill if either of them is missing. A battery needs both positive and negative terminals if the current has to flow. Similarly, the whole dynamics of the society will come to a halt if any of its components is missing. The situation can be compared with the ‘State of Flux’ which is a continuous beam consisting of positive, negative and neutral particles. Both goodness and evil have a role to play. It is, therefore, pointless to think of a society which is totally free of evil.

The world will not change. You have to change yourself.

Rakesh Mittal IAS