Great civilizations - why do they fail?

     Yesterday I watched the historical drama film 'Agora' released in 2009 that was originally in Spanish and translated to English. The movie revolves around a philosopher, mathematician and astronomer called Hypatia, played by Rachel Weisz, during the Roman empire and her discoveries to understand heliocentric model of solar system in the midst of turmoil of religious unrest. Its quiet unfortunate that such a great civilization which was so advanced in thinking, culture and acceptance was lost to the mob riots. As the movie depicts, Roman empire has taught us gender equality, social acceptance, creative and forward thinking but also the other side of the fall due to religious intolerance and unguided domination.

      Agora, named after public gathering in ancient Greece (Alexandria in particular), is an exceptionally great movie to understand why civilizations have failed in the past. Roman empire prospered as it was more advanced than other cultures. Be it in the field of arts, philosophy, law, politics, economy, or warfare they were more sophisticated than most in those era(or probably even today). We have a lot to learn from their forward thinking nature. Their beliefs, attitudes, values are commendable.Yes, no doubt, their era was a success. 

       But what led to the decline of such an empire?

       Be it external attacks of Goths or other Barbarian tribes or the internal conflicts due to religious intolerance or domination, over-reliance on slave labor, it fell. The loss is such for the humans as  an advanced civilization like Romans could have taught us more than what we are now. No wonder the improper mass mobilization in the name of religion can destroy the knowledge and culture. 

      That is a huge learning for Indians, as the internal religious conflicts are always used as a placard by certain politicians to gain their popularity. Indeed what lies beneath these conflicts are improper communication or incomplete knowledge on religious aspects leading to ill-provoked mob.  Yes India is on the verge of becoming the super power in the next decade, owing to good leadership at the center. But the caution lies in the death of such great movements by internal enemies.

        Let the true knowledge survive and humanity prosper.