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Nature accepts you with all your flaws. She has taken you in her arms like a mother. Despite the harm humankind has caused her, she never judges and gives you all that you need. You need to realise that you are connected with her.
Spend some time in nature — planting trees, growing vegetables, or doing something you can enjoy at home too. You can take a pot, plant some seeds, and find joy in watching them sprout into healthy plants. You’ll see your enthusiasm grow, and so will your connection with nature.
Environmental consciousness is inbuilt in human beings. Throughout history, we have always adored nature in India. We have revered the mountains, rivers, the sun, the moon and trees as deities. In fact, ancient cultures all over the world have exhibited
a deep reverence for nature.
The Aboriginals and Maoris, the native tribes of Australia and New Zealand respectively, have always honoured the mountains, the Earth, the rivers and the trees. So we need to bring that idea back. This planet Earth is very sacred. We need to honour it.
When we see God in nature, it makes us more sensitive about how we treat her. Then we cannot help but be environmentally conscious.
If you observe nature, the five elements in it — fire, water, air, space and earth — are often in opposition to each other. There are also species in the animal kingdom that are hostile to one another, and yet there is a perfect balance in nature. You will not find any other species littering the forests. Waste is recycled. There is much to learn from nature.
You can learn from it only when there is reverence. Today, there is a pressing need to revive the ancient practice of honouring and conserving nature. It is only when we started moving away from nature that we started polluting it.
Today, it has become necessary to free the human mind from stress and greed and bring back that reverence. Care for the planet comes from a peaceful individual, where one begins to see the planet as part of oneself.
In fact, a study conducted at our research centre found a correlation between meditative practices and improvements in the “collective effect” in environmental action. The collective effect refers to community participation and behavioural change towards the environment.
Fortunately, the younger generation is more concerned about the environment today. They are far less consumeristic than previous generations. This is a welcome change. Forty-five years ago, when I would speak about the need to preserve and honour the environment, people would wonder what I was talking about.
Many believed that damage to the ecosystem was an inevitable by-product of technological progress. Today, we know that this is not necessarily so. Sustainable development can be assured only when the ecosystem is protected. What we develop today should not become a noose around our necks tomorrow.
Sustainable development is development that keeps in mind the long-term effects of our actions and benefits humanity.
Tradition, technology and truth need to be reviewed and revived from time to time. Ancient knowledge and modern science should go hand in hand. There is no need to see them as contradictory. Just because something is ancient, we should not discard it, and just because something is modern, we need not blindly accept it. We need to evaluate what is beneficial.
For instance, a return to natural farming and other time-tested agricultural practices can play a significant role in creating a healthier and more sustainable model of development. Despite advances in chemical fertilisers, genetically modified seeds and pesticides, ancient methods using cow-based farming inputs have proven to be healthier, cost-effective and more sustainable alternatives in the long run.
We need to find ways of maintaining harmony in the environment while advancing in science and technology by harnessing non-polluting and renewable sources of energy.
The author is a humanitarian leader, spiritual teacher and an ambassador of peace. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
