Influence of Media

Our knowledge is influenced, in large measure, by the media that surround us these days. What are we reading? What type of TV programmes are we watching?What are we searching on the Internet? A pure mind is nurtured by imbibing sattvika stimuli. This in turn leads to sattvika knowledge, sattvika vision and goals. Often people from diverse ethnic or cultural backgrounds are unable to differentiate culture from lifestyle. This creates a lot of confusion among parents and especially children living outside India, who get influenced by the company they keep and their environment. Read the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Read the Iliad and the Odyssey. Read books, watch programmes or visit websites that will hold up high ideals before you, stimulate deep thought and inspire good values in you. If you’re a parent, seed your child’s mind with a love for high-minded—as opposed to highbrow, trendy or so-called arty—literature and TV. Even when something light-hearted is desired, there is a vast range of materials that can entertain without putting a sheen on the crass, violent or vulgar.