Power or No Power?

I stumbled upon a very interesting quote, by Homi J. Bhabha, which he made much ahead of the time. The quote is about power, made by this genius scientist from India around 20 years ago. Bhabha made this comment when someone argued that nuclear power was too costly and hence India should not go for it. The quote is as follows-

No power is costlier than ‘no power’.

This statement is an eternal truth- being true for all the times throughout the human history and future. Power opens up the doors to progress and prosperity. In India, we can observe that the states which assured uninterrupted power supply at affordable costs, became home to the industrial growth and hence prosperity. Efforts to install inter country gas pipe lines, thirst for the nuclear power, tall windmills and wide-spread solar plants coherently tell us the same point- no power is costlier than ‘no power’.

Does this quote stand true in spiritual context?

In his book ‘power’, Bertrand Russell has thoroughly explained the role power plays in our lives. I trust in his theory, but somehow, I find what Kabir says to be more realistic as far as the inner world is concerned. In his nice two liner, Kabir says-

 Soil tells the potter, “you might think that you are squeezing me under your feet; but surely will come a day when you will be squeezed under me!”

In these two lines, Kabir tells us how fragile we all are. This Doha of Kabir also enlightens us about the fluctuating nature of power. It will sound too philosophical if I say nothing in this world is permanent. The blunt fact is, the power has no place in spiritual world! Power is the driving factor in today’s world; in the inner world, power has no value.
I would even go a step ahead and would dare to say that the spiritual journey starts when one realizes that no power is going to last forever- be it power accumulated through knowledge, force, money or whatsoever.
Lord Buddha leaving his palace at a tender age realized this truth at a very early stage; we have not yet! Homi J. Bhabha is so true if we look at the physical world; truer are the Kabir’s words if we look within us.