Problems ...

JP wrote in his blog today:

For most of my adult life, I’ve been bemused, perplexed, sometimes irritated and occasionally completely taken aback by the error messages spewed out by the applications we build and use. Over the last twenty-five years or so, I’ve watched them improve, but at speeds that make glaciers look agile.

Today, while looking at technorati, I saw this:

Something is wrong! We know about it, and are working furiously to fix it. Please check back later and probably everything will be back up and running.


Problems!

So many problems!

9-11 happened. The space shuttle crashed. The war in Iraq. Laptop batteries exploded. North Korea conducted a nuclear test. The list could go on and on.

Why are we living amidst so many problems today? Was it different earlier?

In the precision instruments manufacturing enterprise I am managing on behalf of my family, we are facing several problems. Some of them are daunting, and produce dismay and despair. But when I read about things like exploding laptop batteries, with companies like Sony involved – it does help to bring a sense of balance.

I guess, with the business of life getting more complex, problems too multiply. But it’s also the case that with the advance of democratic, human rights and social justice consciousness, and a large section of humanity connected and communicating, things are now more transparent than they used to be.

Equally, the notion that life is meant to be free of problems – is childish. Life will be full of problems. And living through this life means confronting and addressing the problems, and learning thereby.

I also wish one’s own problems, and the awareness of problems all around, makes people more understanding and tolerant of others.

I am reminded of the last words of the Buddha (recorded in the Pali texts):

Vaya-dhamma sankhara
Appamadena sampadetha.

“All created things are impermanent .
Strive diligently."

Or as the Lord of Death taught Nachiket in the Katha Upanishad:

"Get up! Wake up! Seek the guidance of an illumined teacher and realize the Self. Sharp like a razor's edge is the path, the sages say, difficult to traverse."