The Power Of The Press
By Karmayogi
Martin Luther’s revolt against the Church and the priest was shaped into
social power by the printing press. The Church until then prevented the
laity from reading the Bible. The newly emerging printing technology put
hundreds of thousands of copies of the Bible in the hands of the
population.
It was just a matter of time before the age-old Catholic Europe lost
half of its population to Protestantism. It is a frequent phenomenon
that behind major movements or revolutions there is a JOURNAL, a daily
newspaper which has shaped the nation’s opinion in its favour.
The daily newspaper, other periodicals, and TV have proliferated in
recent times. They are not playing the role of newspapers during the
Freedom Movement which fully carried the message of Freedom. India needs
her newspapers and other media to fully voice her developmental
aspirations.
Newspapers give news; they do not reflect the aspirations of the
population for abundant prosperity. Actually what India needs just now
more than this is a chain of JOURNALS — inspired men of wisdom who
value the SPIRITUAL tradition of the land, not religious rituals. India
is full of wise men of vast experience in modern life.
They know full well that the FUTURE IS NOT FOR RITUALS. If rituals and
ceremonies go, spirituality does not vanish, only its superstitious,
dead part will vanish.
Spirit is invaluable. Modern life is not something one can escape
whether one likes it or not. Original approaches are called for from
ripe souls to find a spiritual message for the future generations.
One has to think of modern life in terms of the ancient Spirit with the
brilliance of a thousand suns. Life is not to be shunned. The Gita is
the jewel of our treasured scriptures.
Its call is for the mature soul to quickly reach moksha. It has no
message for the enlightened collective. We need a message for mankind,
rather humankind, as to how to live spiritually, not a message to shun
life. People all over India are spiritual in their inner core. The
hidden spirit struggles to emerge.
Their experiences are educative to the whole of the nation. The Press is
POWER. Journals from all corners of India should spring up giving a
clarion call to the Spirit and reporting the responses of the Infinite
Spirit in finite MAN.