The Bible legend says that the absence of toil or work i.e., idleness was a circumstance of the first man’s blessed state before the fall. Adam is the name given (Genesis 1–5) to the first man. And Eve is the name given to the first woman. Before the Fall, Adam and Eve had lived in unbroken communion with God. They were living in a state of idleness, innocence and trusted Him (Genesis 2:25).
In Genesis 3, a serpent tempts the woman: You shall not surely die. For God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3: 4 – 5). Desiring this knowledge, the woman eats the forbidden fruit and gives some to the man, who also eats it. They become aware of their nakedness and make fig-leaf clothes, and hide themselves when God approaches. When confronted, Adam tells God that Eve gave him the fruit to eat, and Eve tells God that the serpent deceived her into eating it. God then curses the serpent, the woman, then the man, and expels the man and woman from the Garden before they ate of the tree of eternal life.
The fallen man, too, has retained a love of idleness and no work. He wants to simply stay idle. This curse still lies heavy on the human race. It is not only because we have to earn our bread by the sweat of our brow, but also because our moral nature is such that we are unable to be idle and at peace. A secret voice warns that for us idleness is a sin.
If it were possible for a man to discover a mode of existence in which he could feel that, though idle, he was of use to the world and fulfilling his duty, he would have attained to one facet of primeval bliss. I feel that such a state of idleness is reached by man of today. In fact, such a state of obligatory and unimpeachable idleness is enjoyed by the entire society – the government services, IT professionals, and all other members of the society. It is just this compulsory and irreproachable idleness which has always constituted and will constitute the chief attraction. That is why people want to join in the politics, the government services etc.
This inherent idleness is the chief characteristic of the modern society. Everyone looks for a job where there is less or no work, job security, quick promotions and idle existence. No one wants physical labor or sweat of the brow. Let me give you few examples:
1. We do not want the labor of cooking food, but want the Swiggy to deliver.
2. No walking…. but Uber.
3. No cash payments – G-Pay
The above are but few examples. I shall leave the rest to your imagination. Am I interpreting correctly the good of idleness?
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
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