It's the classic Bollywood script. A young boy wearing specks is sitting on his study table, seriously studying for his examinations. His mother comes, caresses him, and says, “Oh dear! You have been studying since morning. It's lunch time. Come on, take some rest, and have lunch.” The boy politely replies, “Mother, just five minutes more, about to finish this chapter, will join you soon!”
Now the modern twist…
The boy is sincerely sitting on his couch... His mother arrives… and… intermission!
Hey friends! You will be rewarded with a wonderful piece of information if you are able to guess correctly what will happen next in this script. Just answer a simple questionnaire given below. You need to answer them in 'yes' or 'no' only. And yes, the more yeses you score, the better will be your prediction as to what will happen next in the script! Let's begin before the interval is over...
1. Do you need a TV to rest or fall asleep after a tough day?
2. Do the television shows remain high in your mind even when you are not watching TV?
3. Do you spend more time with a TV set than with your associates and family members?
4. Is switching off the TV immediately a difficult task for you?
5. Skipping watching television even for one day makes you somewhat uncomfortable?
6. Do you ever robotically surf through channels, looking for something to gaze at?
7. Do you just bang everything and rush to your TV set so as not to miss even a single second of your favourite TV show?
8. Have any friends or relatives commented that you watch a lot of TV?
Oh! The break is over. So, how many 'Yeses'? And, what will your mother do when you offer her so many yeses? Yes, Exactly! You have guessed right! And so, here goes the scene as per the script after the intermission...
Mother quietly arrives. She lifts her hand, and... Caresses her son? NO! Instead, a thunderous reaction comes into picture and she lifts her hand and slaps him, shouting, “Switch off the TV immediately, do you understand? Since morning you have been watching it! Don't you have to study?
You have got such weak eyesight and a high lens prescription... All due to this idiot box! Switch it off, right now!”
Certainly, today, it's no longer simply a bollywood script but the real story of every home. And, not just children rather one and all, be it toddlers or elderly, everybody is seen glued to this idiot box, with its endless bombardment of images.
It is really startling that for some, watching television consumes their whole day. In fact, statistics project that, in 2004, an average adult wasted 1,669 hours (approximately 70 days) in watching television. As per the data, on an average, more than 13 years of a person's life go in front of this idiot box. Imagine what did one accomplish in these 13 years of his life?
Another dangerous role of television in today's hectic world is its use as a 'babysitter'. Parents make their children sit in front of the TV for hours as they go about accomplishing household chores. But is this “babysitter” a harmless electronic gadget? What consequence does it have on children? What kind of behaviour is budding in them? They respond with aggression, take to wrong habits, become hostile over trifle matters, and always linger in a restless mode. This is well evident from the fact that, on an average, by the age of 18, children witness nearly 16,000 TV murders! Yet another cruel epidemic caused by TV is obesity among children. Assessing 40 recent studies involving TV and childhood obesity, Kaiser Permanente study found a lucid link between the amount of time children watch TV and their weight.
What else are you offered from “TV addiction”? Researchers monitored the brain waves (by the use of EEG) of people to see their reactions to TV. They were signalled six to eight times a day arbitrarily over the period of a week. During the period, whenever they heard a beep sound, they were asked to write down what they were doing and how they were feeling. The studies demonstrated less mental stimulation in these participants, as measured by alpha brain-wave production, during TV watching than during reading. The experiment further showed that even after the TV was turned off, the participants were still very inert as if all vigour had left them. This clearly indicates that watching TV results in an anesthetizing effect on the body which is similar to that of a tranquilizer. Drowsiness arises and one may even become depressed if he continues watching TV for long hours.
So, no wonder if we call this idiot box the 'plug-in monster'! This chic, entertaining, and harmless appearing box is actually responsible for a large number of modern society's ills.
Then what's the way to wean off this modern drug?
Dear TV viewers, you watch television so as to gain happiness or to get away from loneliness. Unfortunately, you end up in having opposites of both the desired states. Akhand Gyan won't ask the viewers to stop watching television. But, it places a wonderful choice as to which television to watch! Don't get perplexed! You just need to switch off this outer “idiot box” and turn on the inner television. Inner television? Yes, that's the “wisdom box” wherein you enjoy the divine wonders of the inner world and delve in eternal bliss!
When we tune ourselves to the divine world within, it doesn't give a numbing effect of a drug but energizes us from the core. However, in order to turn ON this 'SUPER REAL' television, you need an eternal power-supply, which you won't get from any electricity powerhouses. For this, you need to resort to a Perfect Master, who alone can switch on your inner television by opening your Third Eye.
Not just that, this supply will remain available 24x7, unlike the deceitful power outages that occur during your favourite shows!
Jmjki ..very nice