It’s a profound thought—and in reality, quite freeing—to know that you are “only an instrument” in the bigger scheme of things. But when you think about it, especially in the context of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, from where this truth originates, this “mere instrument” has the power to create or destroy, sin or save, and change the course of the future.
As someone deeply invested in the creation of technologies and products, my mission has always been clear: more technologies and more products, from India to the globe. But with this mission comes a question that lingers at the back of my mind.
𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐚—we are only instruments in the larger scheme. Yet, when I reflect on the products we’ve built—take the smartphone, for example—I often wonder, is the phone just an instrument too? Should I feel responsible for its impact, or should I take solace in the belief that I am simply an instrument in the process?
I ask myself this question time and again, especially in the realm of Big Data and social engineering. The platforms we create can be used for good, or they can be exploited in ways we never intended. We may build the platform, but the way people choose to use it is entirely out of our control. This duality—of empowering and potentially enabling—continues to challenge me.
Should I feel the weight of responsibility, or should I accept that we are nimitta matra, merely players in a much larger, more complex play?