23 Apr 2010 —
Question
Q161: Lost Values?
Question 161:
“Are values being lost in today’s modern world? What lost value do you miss the most?”
Please reflect deeply and sincerely on the matter before answering. Please make your answer clear and brief (maximum 5 or 6 lines).
True Love
It makes me very sad to see young girls get pregnant and young kids engage in sexual activities. You can see them and they have so much innocence but for some reason they act in this way. So I pray to Amma to please rescue these children.
The values which I feel missing the most are Humility, Faith, Empathy, Caring for others’ feelings… I know I will have to work hard to develop these qualities and to live them..
Yes. We have lost so many values in this modern world of today. In the olden days three to four families used to stay harmoniously together as a joint family. But now, even in a family, there is so much conflict. Tolerance I feel is the value which we have lost today.
People who really care about each other. Openness of the heart. Tenderness.
Mutual trust in each other is missing in the modern world. This seems to stem from the fear that one cannot trust anyone. Lack of simplicity also makes people chase something or the other and result in a stressful life. I wish we could resort to simpler living with genuine respect and trust for one another.
Compassion appears to be lost and almost gone for good.
Even in spiritual communities, I have witnessed much anger and resentment amongst disciples that have lived together for a long time. This is merely a reflection of the world outside. Compassion and a kind word with a smile is most needed today.
A sense of spiritual striving, of practicing a path in order to find Ultimate Truth.
Courtesy, and Gratitude to the almighty for the blessings received.
We all are ignorant to the KRIPA which is always essential in life… Amma says this in her speech every time but i continue to ruin the kripa with my Ahankaram.
Today we should let go of some values like Ahamkaram at a Gurus feet, and take up practicing values like seva, sadhana, satsang etc..
Those who are in power are not true models. Well educated people are money thirsty and selfish and will do anything for money. Unconditional love is rare and a gathering without alcohol is considered substandard. We worship not great people but show-man. Why can’t we select AMMA as brand ambassador of Kerala?
innocence
Yes, definitely, moral values are being lost nowadays. From my personal experience, people are becoming more & more selfish. They do not see other human beings as their own (just opposite to what AMMA does!). I think every person should be loved & cared for. Otherwise we will be indirectly going towards our own destruction, as the soul is same in everybody & will have working machines, not human beings.
I tend to think on the contrary. Values are not lost at all!
Dear Amma, with your help, I could understand now that the values are not originated from outside, it is from you. When I show good attitudes and behavior to the people around me, they always show those great values back to me and toward other people. Your grace helped me to see the values from inside out.
of course. I feel all the precious values are being lost nowadays. In olden days the great Upanishad statements like respect for mother, father, guru, dharma were folllowed by all in all Ashrams. But in this very modern time our own children are not ready to give much importance to these precious values. Now it is very rare to find a joint family which is going on smoothly. In Ancient the senior most member of the family was given all respect by each and every member of the family. The members used to pray God together, and eat together. But now, father may go to the Club, mother to temple, son to play cricket and daughter to shopping.
when i think about values being lost i try to look out for people acting according to dharma. that brings the most happiness to me.
Yes, the loss of values has gone on through the ages but got worse with the industrial age when work related values like punctuality, obsession with productivity, success and courtesy became most important. The values I miss most is the natural love, respect, humility, and adoration of the Guru and God that people in the past seemed to have. In the modern times if people even have an iota of such feelings, they have to hide it from the neighbors as it is looked down upon.
Yes. One should follow the olden days culture. Nowadays in public places unmarried young girls and boys behave awkwardly holding each others hand in the name of love. This should be banned in public places. Culture should be cultivated among the youngsters.
Yes we have lost almost all our values: Love, Compassion, selflessness, dharma, care and love for each other, Forbearance everything… Nowadays what you see even in your house is anger, competition, lack of respect for each other, selfishness, how to make more money, make money through adharmic ways, rather than live in harmony.
Everyone loves themselves only… but I don’t think they really love themselves becoz if they really did they would be following the real spiritual principles in life…
I miss the value of the heart. Too much importance is given to the intellect/intelligence quotient. People are constantly measuring self (and others’) worth by intelligence alone. Reinstate the culture of the heart please. The brain aint fool proof and the heart aint dumb either.
in today’s modern era people have lost faith in themselves. They are not aware of self realization.
Love.
THE DHARMA IS MINIMIZING.
Respect for elders, elders mature behaviour, patience, slow and steady progress instead of greed motivated urges, wisdom instead of cleverness. In the USA this is almost not existing. The bright side is we still have people around who can sense and know the difference. After a few more generations, these people also will go away…
I don’t remember the world being any different from the way it is now. I am 45 years old and I grew up surrounded by violence, aggression and disrespect. What has changed?
The ” Value ” of Values.
Truth.
This modern world has lost good sense.
Integrity, honesty, faithfulness, selflessness, generosity, and most importantly (and sadly) true and genuine Love. 🙁
I think there was a harmony when the previous generations were living. A harmony with each other and a harmony with nature. Our ancestors used to plant trees, cultivate, bathe in ponds, have cattle and spend a lot of their time in spiritual activities in their own family temple or homes. All this was possible because of the inner sense of harmony, the give and take attitude and humility. I think we have lost this inner balance a lot and i would say that, that harmony is what i wish we had.
Love for the world and also…the reality that Love is everywhere, which is gradually going down these days.
We’ve lost the mind to care for the nature around us. Especially in cities. We think this tree or that tree does not belong to us and is cared for by someone else so we do not stop to water it or touch it or commune with it. Many city walkers pay more attention to advertisements than they do to the birds and living beings that surround them. All living things need our love!
unconditional love
kindness
This is one of the saddest things happening today. I work with kids and I see clearly the loss of values. I am not old, but I was lucky to have had a wonderful, creative, free of stress childhood. Today, people put material things before people…and the outside seems to be increasingly more important than the inside. So many children grow up, completely strangers to nature. They are scared to get dirt on their hands, and the mothers are ready with an anti-bacterial wipe as soon as they do. And no one even flinches when they see blood, or guns, or death. It is so troubling. I think that some people don’t even remember what values are…the values they have are not learned from their parents, but imposed by television and internet. It’s really troubling…
Values never get lost. they are like God always waiting for us to embrace them. it is us who get lost in this material world. but eventually life’s experiences make us see the importance of values. Amma teaches us through Her life that instead of discussing lost values, if we can just cultivate right values into our life, each one of us can positively affect at least a few people around us and that is enough for the world to become a better place.
The physical body, with its blood circulating, brain and nervous system, is damaged even as a baby is in mother’s womb as the parents do not carry divine thoughts in their minds. The effect is that child is born with the weak body and mind and has no strength for the senses and mind control. Hence the degenerated values in the society. Only a Most Blessed Master like AMMA can transform these children.