WHY READ?

ON READING
FRANCIS BACON HAS SO APTLY SAID:
“Reading makes a full man.”
Reading was a hobby which was extensively pursued in the medieval age. The advent of the printing press gave further impetus to the art of reading. When television was not preponderant, reading was the most extensive form of propagation of ideas mostly in the form of books and periodicals.
Unfortunately, today books have been to a certain extent been replaced by Facebook, twitter and social media. Communication has become less informative and more of gossip! Pursuit of knowledge is now becoming an oddity.
If one practices discretion and reads judiciously the world of internet has opened before us a plethora of reading opportunities. Books that were disappearing due to dearth of readers have now become universally available in the form of e-books or books in electronic form.
Human culture, history, philosophy, etc are so rich and varied that one needs a lifetime to even get a spoonful from the ocean of this knowledge. If we do not swim in this ocean of knowledge, how are we any different from animals that live a conditioned life?
The object of knowledge is to free us from the shackles of conditioning and reading is the medium for achieving that.
It is my opinion, in this age of neurotic people who can fleece anybody of any object having any material value, reading is an ideal substitute for human company. There is no dearth of negative people around us. Books can be ideal companions.
Books can only instruct and never harm. I have never heard of anybody falling ill due to over reading!
In today’s time where knowledge may be the cheapest commodity in the market, buying a Kindle reader is not a big deal. A Kindle reader will give more knowledge and pleasure to the judicious reader than most other people around can give him or her. Or the smell of paper in a well written book can also be a source of great pleasure in addition to its contents.
JAMES THOMSON has so aptly stated:
“Give a man a pipe he can smoke, Give a man a book he can read:
And his home is bright with a calm delight, Though the room is poor indeed.”
