A Continence plays an important factor to preserve the vitality and subtlity of the mind. A mind which operates at the sensual level cannot think finer thoughts. Along with subtility of thought comes the intutive faculty which helps a person to do any work better. So continence is essential for excellence in any field of activity, spiritual or secular. When we look back at the six areas identified above, we see that science and language start off as a necessity, and as the civilisation matures, they extend as training fields for thought.
Technology remains as a means to fulfil the basic necessities of man.
But today's civilisation has taken it a bit too far and made it a goal in itself. If technology does not help the society's thought pattern to develop into more and more subtle realms, it is a digression from the basic course. Social culture and customs have developed in societies to train the minds of the people into subtler realms and to avoid gross thoughts. Religion is the summit of this process of development of the mind. It demands the most subtle of minds to scale its heights and this is the goal of civilisations.