O’ seekers ! When severe adverse times are upon us, do not waste your time in unnecessary usage of social media !

Nowadays, people are becoming slaves of social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, Instagram. As a result, they are spending their invaluable time in watching unnecessary and useless content.

1. Harmful effects of viewing
WhatsApp messages continuously

1A. Making different groups : In general, the following types of WhatsApp groups are formed, which comprise related individuals.

1. Group of people in relationship (siblings, cousins, in-laws)

2. Group of school-mates

3. Group of college-mates

4. Group of friends in office

5. Group of other colleagues

6. Group of members of co-operative housing society

7. Group of newly-made friends on trips to tourist spots

8. Group of people who have similar hobbies, same vocations such as doctors, artists of different streams, salesmen as per region, similar people in a town.

Many such groups are created. Each group has 10 to 100 or more participants.

Some or other person in each group keeps sending messages. Participants are also used to this and they keep checking for new messages every now and then.

1B. Remaining always active in the group : Many participants in the group keep sending messages to pass time, such as – Wishing Good Morning, Good Night, Wishes on Chaturthi or Ekadashi, different types of good thoughts, jokes on various topics, poems, lectures, videos of different genres, pictures of different programmes – throughout the day. Participants continuously keep exchanging new or old songs, different good or bad pictures, etc. without a break. One new fads is to post selfies on social media continuously. (Due to such posts, which has pictures of girls, criminal elements take undue advantage and develop friendship with the girls and later deceive them. Many such cases are published almost every day. – Editor)

1C. Competition in being active in the group : In many groups, there is competition amongst the members – ‘My message should be the first one’ or should be forwarded as soon as possible. Many participants are Online continuously. When you send a message, you get to know if the other person has read it or not based on the blue check marks. It is as if they are waiting for your message eagerly.

2. Unnecessary use of social media
is a terrible addiction

Even social media is an addiction similar to alcohol or other substances. Children as well as adults are getting addicted to this. All this has a negative effect on the interactions within the family. Due to this, there are quarrels between spouses. Similarly, this has resulted in divorces too. This addiction has now taken a frightful form.

This results in tremendous waste of manpower everywhere. At the same time, there is degeneration of society. Since people are getting trapped in this addiction, they develop desires to view and watch undesirable content.

As per a proverb – | ‘द्रष्टा दृश्यवशात् बद्ध: |’, (Viewer gets entangles in what he sees), the use of smartphones is proving to be detrimental to society instead of being beneficial.

3. Serious harmful effects caused
due to unnecessary use of social media

A. Continuous use of a smartphone causes physical ailments such as headache, neck and eye-related problems, as well as mental/ psychological disorders.

B. People become aloof and lonely.

C. Frequent quarrels in the family since children and other family members continuously use smartphones. Also, it creates a distance and communication gap between the parents and their wards.

D. Many incidents have been published as news of children committing suicide, since the parents did not provide them smartphones.

E. Husband, wife or both who spend increasingly more time on smartphones has resulted in divorces.

F. Unnecessary use of social media is reducing efficiency, as people are engrossed in a virtual world of social media.

4. Important aspects for
the seekers to understand

A. Dear seekers, it is not necessary to give time and attention to colleagues in social media circles/ groups.

1. Seekers perform spiritual practice physically by renouncing activities related to Maya (The Great Illusion). However, some of them are mentally engrossed in the social media groups. It should be remembered that ‘Subtle dimension is far more superior to the physical dimension’. Reading or watching humour, entertainment, unnecessary write-ups, news, etc. imprint new sanskars on us. We are creating various new thoughts. As a result, a lot of time is wasted, which can be utilised for spiritual practice.

2. The social media groups exchange different posts about someone’s birthday, getting a new job or promotion, or someone winning a prize. Since we are participants in the group, we read or watch the posts, and respond to them, which wastes a lot of valuable time. If there are posts about someone not being well or someone expiring, it becomes imperative to respond to such posts.

3. Since we are participants, everyone else has some expectations from us. It may not be possible to satisfy their expectations, which can be distressful for us.

We should study how essential this is while paerforming spiritual practice. Based on this, we can plan to utilise time wisely.

B. Effect on seekers on reading social media messages on smartphones in the night

1. Many times, seekers spend half-an -hour to one hour or even more during the night reading messages.

2. Since messages are read in the night, seekers keep thinking about them until they fall asleep. Sometimes, this leads to stress for some seekers.

C. Since time is wasted in reading social media messages, watching videos and thinking about them (which is unnecessary for spiritual practice), it creates a covering of negative energies around seekers. If seekers sleep with such a covering, distress due to negative energies increase more. It adversely affects their next day right from waking up to performing satseva.

Sadguru Rajendra Shinde, Sanatan Ashram, Devad, Panvel, Maharashtra.