It is believed that the universe originated 13.7 billion years ago. With the big bang all the material for everything that exists was scattered in the vast space. The material resulted in the formation of galaxies, stars, planets, and satellites. The material of the planet earth was also formed at the very beginning but it assembled and reassembled the current shape though a long history extending from 4.6 billion years ago till today.
This is the only planet habitable for diverse forms of life and the climax of these species reached in the origin of human life. Humans shape and are shaped by the history. They have immensely affected the geography, topography and other features of the earth. In the process men got changed from their primitive to the modern forms. This progression of human species continues even today and is going to continue till the posterity.
Moreover, human history is not static and stationary; it rather is dynamic, flexible and undergoes consistent and persistent changes. This is the reason why in Buddhism it is said that there is nothing beyond change except the law of change. While the changes take place, the changing human history leaves some marks, and some lessons which make us aware about the state of the past generations and gives an indication about the conditions that would be there in the future. Hence, the study of human history is of immense importance to get enlightened about the past and make forecasts about the future.
The lessons of history are innumerable and numerous and every individual should learn some of the fundamental ones because it is not possible to learn about all the events and occurrences of the past life by a single man. Knowing about the main lessons that the history teaches could make human life successful and sustainable. There is no option to neglect the history as it is said that one who neglects history is condemned to repeat it. Here we will confine ourselves with one of the greatest lessons of the world history.
This lesson taught by the human history is that after every height there is a fall. After power there is decay and after great wealth there mostly has been witnessed destitution. This lesson is proved by the history at every instance and in every age. The great races, species and civilizations that once inhabited the earth became extinct and the process of extinction was completed with and unprecedented pace. Nobody could have imagined during the hay day of these species that they would go extinct or would be thrown to a position of secondary importance in the subsequent ages.
The earth has been ruled by many animal species like the great reptiles, amphibians and others but today the age is of the mammals and among the mammals it is the man who rules. Those species were very much powerful and well established on the earth. If we consider the level of control they had on the available resources of the earth and the control over the other species their extinction puzzles. Though many reasons are given for the extinction but none is absolutely convincing.
Like those species it seems that man is in complete control and nobody has the power to displace him. The nature has been curbed to a great extent and man has reached to other planets in the Solar System. But this progress of man is no guarantee that he will not face the kind of threats that the other species faced and got extinct.
In light of the threats that have emerged in the modern times it seems that the fate of humans goes in the same direction as the earlier species met. The progress and development that man has reached contains the seeds of destruction in them and man is doing very little to avoid the threats to the development and progress, and threats of the development and progress. In a sense man is deliberately allowing those threats to accentuate for the simple reason that he knows that the threats are there and is doing very little about them. If he is not eliminating the threats he is complicating them. Who knows the human species might also be confined to a page in history of the universe, where nobody will be left to read that page.
Coming to power structure of human history it presents a picture which shows that the power shifts from one civilization to the other. One civilization during one period was considered as invincible and the arbiter and owner of the earth. Second civilization does the same in the subsequent time. Imaging the decay of these civilizations during the height of their glory would have been thought as an utter folly. But the decay came and only traces of these great civilizations can be found in the modern age.
Some of the civilizations reached to such a stage which is in some respects comparable to the modern one. The drainage system, and town planning, and the trade and commerce and many developments like in the field of art, culture, architecture, language and writing of the Indus Valley Civilizations and other development of the other civilizations baffle a modern observer. One wonders that how in such a remote past the people could have reached to such a progress. But, something happened that these civilizations are there only in the traces. The traces have been discovered only after hectic efforts and without those efforts even their traces would not have been found and these civilizations would have remained unknown and undiscovered.
The civilization of today has reached to great progress and development but again it cannot take the progress and development for granted, it has to keep the lessons of the history in view to sustain and keep sustaining. This civilization has to desist from committing the same mistakes that were committed by the civilization gone by. It has not to become callous and careless, it has to work and keep working to keep progressing and developing. It has to ensure that the generations that are to follow will get their due, and get that in full.
If we move forward in the human history we find that great empires and kings emerged in the world scene. Some of the empires and kings conquered great swaths of land and geography. There were few who ruled the major portion of the world during the zenith of their rule. The Alexander and Napoleon, Julius Caesar and Ptolomac, Ashoka and Akbar, Czar and Louis, all these were great rulers of the past. They at their best seemed undefeatable. There was no power on the face of the earth which was thought capable of defeating them but all of them were defeated during their lifetimes or after them. The rule that they build brick by brick was shattered and decimated within no time.
In the same way many countries of the current times seem invincible, they have gained such a power and military might that if they cannot win but they cannot be defeated. The technological advancement and economic progress of these countries is so great that they really seem invincible. But, that is only the one side of the story, the other is that greater the power of a country, economic and military, the greater are her chances of decay and defeat. Any slum in the technological advancement or any regression in the economics could bring these countries down to the level of rubble within no time.
Many of these countries are committing the same very mistakes which the nations in the past did. They engage themselves in such endeavors and adventures which bring more harm than benefit. The United States of America is the prime example of this over adventurous attitude. She gets involved in some conflicts which could have been easily averted and avoided. But, the adamant leadership of this country goes for the moves and maneuvers.
This is the reason behind the beginning of the decline of the United States. The current day US is not the one which was during the Cold War days and before. Today her sway has been challenged by the Taliban of Afghanistan which is not even a nation but a group. The US leadership has impliedly accepted the defeat at the hands of the Taliban. Moreover, she is facing the challenges from the emerging powers like China and India. If the US wants to not face the fate of her predecessor, the Great Britain, she has to stop acting like that country, else the clock is ticking.
India is an emerging power in the world but the state of affairs currently is that her march for progress might be halted or even might get reversed. In the blindness of power the country fails to initiate and implement the policies which are in the best interest of the country. She instead frames the policies which are intended to improve her influence at the world state without correcting the chronic ills that she is beset with.
She is using the military might where diplomacy and compassion are needed. She is behaving exactly the decayed countries of the past without reaching to their level of success. She should make course corrections otherwise the time is passing too fast for her to repair the damage which is especially caused by the ultranationalists. What does these ultranationalists do doesn’t need any mention at the moment for the news media is full with their stories of subversion and sabotage.
The history as such is a storehouse of knowledge and lessons. The wisdom that history imparts to the great student of history, whether it is an individual or a nation, aids that student to build a sustainable future. All the nations and people of the world should try to build that in a shape and structure that could last for long.
Majority of the countries are not following the rout that should have been followed by them but still it is not too late. History still has some time left for these countries to make course corrections. If they fail to make these corrections and change their haughty attitude to a human and humane one, they are bound to face a painful doom. Time for them is ripe to make change their behavior and make use of the historically accumulated knowledge and wisdom constructively. If still they fail, the failure may be too costly.
Fayaz Ganaie can be reached at fayaz.greatstep@gmail.com