Monkey with fire

There is a saying in marathi language which means something like if a light (fire) gets into hands of a monkey then there is danger of he burning out the whole jungle. He does not know what fire is, he does not know what fire can do!

Mankind today is not far afar from such a monkey. It has developed technology, it has developed scientific tools. But do not know all the powers of those tools, do not know what all effects it may have. And he has developed tools a zillion times more powerful than the torch in the hands of a monkey.Monkey would run away from the burning forest out of shear fear. But man won't. He has much faith in his tools and believes that the same tools which has flamed the fire would somehow douse it.

Many a times man is aware of the risks and havoks his tools and actions can wreck. But he does not care. Many a times he is aware of many ways that he can put his tools to use, but does not know which way to choose. Then he does something, just for the sake of doing and he does so often and often. SO often that it becomes his habit - to do things just for the sake of doing, keep doing, more and more. He forgets why he is doing what he is doing and after a while just stops caring about this 'why'? His tools, his science, his technology can give answers only to 'how' - how things work etc. Answer to this 'why' would be his purpose. Without a purpose he his at loss, lost in the jungle confused and scared. So shoves his purpose into his tools so that using those toold, doing things by those tools becomes a purpose - by definition.

I find an interesting differentiation related to such 'why'. All the technological developement has come about by 'doing'. In a way, science is a doing culture. In comparison, in the old Indian philosophy there is a lot of thought on 'being'. Focus is less on actions and more on this 'being' that directs all its actions. There were lots of observations. Observations not in the spcialized, isolated, liners way. But observing the being of humankind, observing the interplay of all facets. Observing the exteranl and taking and digesting with internal. This cohesion of internal and external creates a sense of being which, in turn, expresses into 'purpose'.