A popular conversation topic in recent times has been whether the world is going to end...?
Humans have come to experience a barrage of natural and self-inflicted disasters. Frequent Tsunamis, Torrential rains, droughts all around the world have made lives of millions of people miserable. Some European countries are in deep economic crisis with unemployment rates reaching unprecedented figures. People who once lead affluent lifestyles in such countries are now in deep poverty. If not for organizations like Red Cross many would have starved to death. US too, is barely hanging on and trying to avoid a so called ‘Fiscal Cliff’. And then there is the Middle East becoming increasingly volatile. The Syrian issue is dragging on shedding more and more blood. Gaza strip has heated up as Israel and Palestine are preparing for battle. If Gaza exploded it would inevitably mean several other countries including US being dragged on to the ‘Wholly War’. Iran being so keen on having nuclear weapons will make things more complex. If a war erupts in Middle East the possibility of nuclear weapon usage could not be ruled out. Such critical issues weighing in on the human race and number of them getting increased day by day seem to indicate that it could have a snow balling effect which can wipe out humans from the face of the earth before the dawn of 2013.
Well.... as everything else the world is going to end. But definitely not in 12/12/2012 nor in 21/12/2012 neither during any foreseeable future.Just because the Mayan's didn't bother to continue documenting their calendar beyond 12/12/2012 doesn't mean the world will end.Obviously they had to stop it somewhere. The fact that it ends on December this year, is merely a coincidence. I'm not an expert of Buddhism. But as per my limited knowledge of Buddhism there is a lot of time till we reach the end of the world.
However current debacles faced by humans can't be neglected. But we have to realize that with the advancement of information technology something that happened on the other side of the world will be known by everyone in a blink of an eye. 200 or 300 years back there might have been the same kind of issues facing different parts of the world. US might have fought a civil war while tribal battles of Middle East were as bloody as today. People in other parts of the world might have fought through the same kinds of hardships as they are undergoing now. The difference being back then people in one part of the world were not aware of what people on the other parts of the world were going through. Moreover there were no TV channels or social media which highlighted all the worst things about humanity and hardships bestowed upon humans by nature. Therefore people didn't have a detailed view of all the issues faced by humanity as a whole, giving an impression that the end is neigh.
But it is true that the problems humans are facing will increase in number and in severity as the future unravels. That is the nature of the world. That is how the world will eventually burn out. But the ultimate tipping point is far, far away. This said the combined psyche of many people around the world currently, is that even if the world wouldn't end, there will be events of cataclysmic nature happing at the end of this year. Such events would consume lives of thousand if not millions of people. We need to remember that in this day and age there will be opportunists who will prey on such expectations. There have been instances where secret agencies marshaled and fueled psyche of the public to topple governments. It is said that when 9/11 attacks were carried out, some diplomats saw it as an opportunity to go and destroy Iraq. It is reasoned that the general feeling of the public at that time served as the license to go on that path, not necessarily because Iraq had anything to do with the 9/11 attacks.Such opportunists can prey on the public psyche that there will be cataclysmic events so as to actually materialize them for their own gain. May be it can be a bloody war or a nuclear bomb or a nuclear accident. So 12/2012 provides an opportunity for such sinisters to materialize their ulterior motives. But even such events are highly unlikely to materialize and even if they materialize would not have an impact so high that the entire human race is eradicated.
Simply put if humans continue to exercise sound judgment and don’t jump into premature conclusions when faced with hardships and show the same kind of resolve that they have showed during the past so many years,then the next month is just going to be like any other average month in the calendar !!!
