They remind us that we are all in the same boat. Nature knows no political boundaries

The news of a 7.5 magnitude powerful earthquake that hit western Japan on the first day of 2024, has raised an alarm worldwide about the unpredictable natural calamities that are going to take place in the coming days. Scary images of collapsed buildings, cracked roads, power outages and people running out of their houses with their children, have made everyone think of one question – What If This Happened To Me? Natural Disasters are such a phenomenon that whenever they occur anywhere in the world, the majority of the people in all nations sympathise with the victims and try to aid them in whatever way they can. That is because the scale of natural disasters overawes humans, making them feel helpless against the forces of nature.

As mentioned above, in most people the fear of a similar disaster striking them prompts many to help the victims of disasters elsewhere, as they believe they too will need the help of others, if such a tragedy strikes. At such times, barriers that divide people in normal times like nationality, religion, ideology, race, social status etc. get dissolved and old animosities are forgotten as everyone comes together in the face of a calamity. Isn’t it tragic that it takes a major disaster to bring out humanity in humans? Why must it be so? Why cannot we show the same charity and compassion for fellow humans in normal times? The majority of us would not be able to answer these questions because we have all become too selfish and short-sighted. That is why today a lot of rich people are willing to squander their wealth wastefully but not share it with the less fortunate. Let alone helping others, greed, selfishness and hatred born of chauvinism and religious bigotry have so blinded humans that they are not even helping themselves. Today we see that there are countries that spend trillions on fighting a destructive war against each other which brings no solution to either side. Instead of putting the feelings of animosity behind them and getting on with the task of nation-building, these countries keep on fighting each other creating mass destruction.

Over the past few decades, almost every major developed country has spent billions and trillions of rupees to arm themselves against their opponent. Today, while most countries have big armies, very few developed and developing nations have actual money to educate, clothe, shelter or even provide clean drinking water to all their people. Isn’t it pathetic? Such a deplorable state of affairs would not have existed had there been a feeling of oneness and brotherhood between all the nations, especially the neighbouring nations from the beginning.

Hence, natural disasters like the recent earthquake remind us that we are all in the same boat. Remember!! Nature knows no political boundaries. When rich and poor, the powerful and weak, are all rendered destitute by a hurricane or earthquake, the irrelevance of man-made distinctions of class, creed, race etc. becomes clear. But sadly, this realisation doesn't come to us in normal times; it has to be forced upon us by natural calamities. And it lasts only as long as the memory of the calamity remains fresh.

Therefore, we need to take a lesson from these disasters and work to develop a sense of universal brotherhood in all people. So let us come together in our times of tribulations forgetting all our differences and help each other to build a universe where our future generations can live in harmony & peace.

(The writer is a spiritual educator & popular columnist, views are personal)