WE AND MOTHER NATURE

Om Vasundharaya Vidmahe Bhutadhatraya Dhimahi Tanno Bhumih Prachodayat

”Om, Let me meditate on the Earth The One who provides all, bless us with abundance, And let the Goddess of Earth illuminate my mind.”

Nature is divine, not lifeless

Mother earth is a goddess and all the features of nature which we term with so called geographical names as mountains, caves, rocks, woods, trees, plants, medicinal herbs, rivers, and lakes have divine forms of representations. Apart from this,nature is a manifestation of God. Different planets, seas, mountains, rivers, birds, beasts, human beings, demigods, and all that we can conceive are the different parts and limbs of the Lord’s Universal form (SB 2.2.41). The significance of worshipping nature is very prominent from age-old traditions, our ancestors set us an example of worshipping nature with great reverence and deep gratitude.

What is our relationship with Earth and its importance?

Atharva Veda - Mata Bhumi putroham prithivyah

Meaning "Earth is my mother I am her son”. Thus, the relationship between earth and us is the same as that of mother and child.

If you lose your relationship with nature, you lose your relationship with humanity.

-Krishnamurti

Nowadays,by investing most of our time in electronic gadgets, we are developing instantaneous expectations in whatever activity we do and are overpowered by sense gratification resulting in irritation,frustration etc. By this, we are losing many qualities required for the sustenance of relationships like humanity, tolerance, peace, gratitude, sensitivity, serving with love, etc.But, when we observe nature closely we can see that everything in nature takes time like the growth of plants or the ripening of fruit. So, by staying close to nature, we can develop many good qualities like tolerance, goodness etc.

Selflessness of Nature

When we are taking something from someone but not feeling gratitude for them it implies we are mentally ill. So, what to talk about mother nature? She is giving us her beautiful gifts in abundance and we are taking them incessantly. But what is our mood during and after the reception? It’s only a matter of selfishness, greed, and forgetfulness. We are insensible and inattentive towards nature about her beauty, her love and care, what we are taking, how much we are taking, what we are giving back to her and what’s the impact of it. This same insensitivity and inattentiveness spread even into our relationships and pulluing us to turn to gadget-friendly beings rather eco-friendly human beings.

(Our devices provide the appearance of connectedness. The risk is that they establish a new manner of connecting in which we are always in contact but emotionally disconnected).

Regaining relationship with nature

We don’t

• Sit with our backs touching the tree trunk but recline in a plastic chair.

• Step outside and breathe fresh air, but sit inside and end up inhaling toxic gases from ACs and artificial air generated by fans.

• Go out to dance in the rain, smell the fragrance of mud and listen to enlivening sounds of nature, but close the doors and turn on TVs to hear television lying sounds.

• Water plants in our house but take so much food and medicines from them.

• Live in our real relationships but appreciate the false bonding of imaginary relationships depicted in Tvs.

How can we develop our love for nature without spending time with it? Every natural aspect of nature is altered by us through pollution, chemicals, and pesticides. How can we feel the real beauty, smell, taste, touch, and vision of it? Through all these acts, we are unable to relish the real wealth of nature. Let us spend time with nature and develop sustainably without causing destruction to it and regain our relationship with it.

What is sustainable living?

Living in harmony with nature is sustainable living. The act itself means internalizing gratitude for mother nature with an understanding that there exists an interconnection among everything existing on earth.

How are we interconnected?

Vedic vision

(Maha Upanishad 6.71–75)

Ayam Nijah Paro Veti Ganana Laghucetasaam

Udaracaritaanaam Tu Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

This is mine, that is his, say the small minded,

The wise believe that the entire earth is one family.

(Vasudha=earth, iva=is, kutumbakam=family)

Analogical vision

We all are one family. Plants and trees connected to earth are the youngest members of our family like the babies embraced by mothers. Four-legged animals little older than them are like babies crawling on the floor. Humans walking upright are the eldest members of the family. Hence, it is our responsibility to care for our younger siblings. Just like the suffering or death of one member in a family of similar species affects the whole family, the death or suffering of any life form in this great global family also affects the whole life forms. We cannot expect to harm any other life form without harming ourselves. So, losing any life form on earth means losing part of ourselves, our own survival.

(Source: thedailyguardian.com)

Research-oriented vision

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), a Scientist of the romantics observed that all the aspects of nature are interconnected. Humboldt made a note that when forests get destroyed, springs and riverbeds dry up, the forest floor gets oversaturated with rain as the tree foliage no more protects it and so the soil gets loosened, and various flora and fauna die. This meant that if one aspect of nature is affected, other parts of nature would also be affected(for good or evil).

Nurturing nature nurtures you and hurting nature hurts you.

Effect for good

dasha-kūpa-samā vāpī, dasha-vāpī-samo hradaḥ |

dasha-hrada-samaḥ putro, dasha-putra-samo drumaḥ ||

Matsya-purāṇa 154:512

Translation : A pond equals ten wells, a reservoir equals ten ponds. A son equals ten reservoirs, and a tree equals ten sons(Those who plant trees, for them they are like sons). There is no doubt that because of those trees, man attains heaven after his death(Mahabharata Anu parva 58/27).

धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः

Dharma protects us when we protect it. It is our dharma to protect and take care of mother nature. When we act in ways of conserving nature, a sustainable way of living will be balanced. Small deeds of action like : when a handful of plantation seeds are nurtured with little soil and water for some days of its life, they will nourish us with their pure air, food, love, and care for our complete life. Most of us react to the presence of trees with a pleasant, relaxed, comfortable feeling. A commonly said fact :sow a seed, they turn into trees and they stand in sunlight to give us shade, take the harsh hurt when hit by a stone to give us a sweet fruit, and suffer the destruction for our protection. Nature qualitatively and quantitatively multiplies our little offerings and returns us its gifts in pure form.

Effect for evil

As per the Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog’s syllabus earthquakes occur due to cow slaughter. In 2015 Animal rights communities argued that Einstein's pain wave theory created because of the Gadhimai festival(a ritual where 5,00,000 animals were slaughtered) was responsible for Nepal's earthquake. “A New Approach” book of Dr. Madan Mohan Bajaj aims that regular butchering of innocent animals on a massive scale for several years creates pain waves that pass over the earth’s crust because of the noise and tension generated by the animals subjected to slaughter. These sound waves exert a lot of strain on a rock resulting in the movement of the tectonic plates and cracks in a particular direction leading to earthquakes. (Acoustic Anisotropy caused by Einsteinian Pain Waves (EPW) generated by dying animals.)