There is a rhythm to everything in the cosmos—the wind, the rain, the waves, the flow of our breath and our heartbeat. Similarly, there is a rhythm in life. Our thoughts and actions create the rhythm and melody of our lives. When the rhythm of our thoughts is lost, it reflects in our actions. Today, the air is becoming more and more polluted; the water as well. Rivers are drying up. Forests are being destroyed. New diseases are spreading. If this continues, a huge disaster is in store for all of nature and humanity.
The current generation lives as if it has no relationship with Nature. Everything around us is artificial. Today, we eat fruit and grains grown with artificial fertilisers and pesticides. We add preservatives to increase their shelf-life. Like this, consciously or unconsciously, we are continuously eating poison. As a result, so many new diseases are appearing. In fact, long ago, the average lifespan was more than 100. But today people only live 80 years or less and more than 75 percent of the population suffer from some disease or other.
Not only has the food we eat and the water we drink become polluted, but even the air we breathe has also become full of toxins. Because of this, humanity’s immune system is weakening. In a few years, we may have to walk around with air tanks to breathe, like astronauts in outer space. Due to our increasing alienation from Nature, it is becoming more difficult for us to survive. Even the animals and plants we raise and cultivate are disconnecting from Nature. Wild plants survive regardless of the weather, adapting to Nature’s conditions. But houseplants cannot withstand pests on their own and have to be sprayed with pesticides. They need special care.
Nature is like a duck that lays golden eggs. But if we kill the duck and try to snatch all the golden eggs at once, we will lose everything. We have to protect Nature in order to ensure our survival as well as the survival of future generations. Nature is the wish-fulfilling tree that gives humanity all abundance. But today, our situation is like that of a fool sawing off the very branch on which he is sitting. Nature nurtures us throughout our lives. It patiently bears our weight our entire life. Just as a child is obligated to his birth mother, we should all feel an obligation and responsibility towards Mother Nature. If we forget this responsibility, it is equal to forgetting our own self. If we forget Nature, we will cease to exist.
In the old days, there was no specific need for environmental preservation because protecting Nature was part of worshiping God and life itself. More than remembering “God”, the people used to love and serve Nature and society. They saw the Creator through the creation. They loved, worshiped and protected Nature as the visible form of God.
Let us try to reawaken this attitude. At present, the biggest threat to mankind is not a third world war, but the loss of Nature’s harmony and our widening separation from Nature. We should develop the awareness of a person at gunpoint. Only then can humanity survive. Life becomes fulfilled when humankind and Nature move together, hand in hand, in harmony.
When melody and rhythm complement each other, the music becomes beautiful and pleasing to the ear. Likewise, when people live in accordance with the laws of Nature, life becomes like a beautiful song. Nature is a huge flower garden. The beauty of this garden is complete only when all of these exist as a unity, thereby spreading the vibrations of love and oneness. May all our minds become one in love. Let us work together to prevent these diverse flowers from withering away, so that the garden may remain eternally beautiful.The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader