It isn’t too late to change our course towards more sustainable and environment-friendly practices, says Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj Ji
Recently, two back to back cyclones in India – Amphan and Nisarga — reminded us of an important lesson that, nature, like time, is a great leveller and highly unpredictable. In May 2020, the east Indian city of Kolkata was devastated by a powerful cyclone, which killed at least 84 people across India and Bangladesh. Thousands of trees were uprooted in the city, electricity and telephone lines were brought down, and houses were flattened. Many of Kolkata’s roads were flooded and majority of the people were left without power. In one stroke, nature dealt a blow that evened out not only certain geological edges but also a lot of human irregularities.
Historically, humankind has been ravaged by natural disasters and every single one of them has somehow influenced the way our society has turned out. That applies to the recent cyclonic storms as well as the worldwide natural disasters that shook the earth tens of thousands of years ago. But what can we learn from these natural calamities? Well, one thing that humans should understand clearly is that for sheer power, nature has no rival. Within a few minutes, any one of the nature’s elements can erase all traces of life, property and habitation on any scale. Days after the cyclone, the governments of respective states are still trying to pick up some clues from the shambles for pre-empting such disasters in future. Several scientific studies and technical interventions have been proposed to this end but we cannot overlook the fact that natural disasters have their origin in human activities.
But how? It’s simple! We humans have been slaughtering the elements of nature like the golden egg-laying goose. For long, nature has been bearing the ruthless onslaught by greedy humans on its vital resources. It is this over-exploitation that has resulted in grave ecological imbalances, which have brought the world to the brink of unpredictable disasters. Since years, scientists and environmental activists, on their part, have been warning us about the unpredictable disasters that our callous activities could bring. However, despite their repeated warnings, the truth seems to elude human reasoning. The blind carnage wrought upon nature by our crass consumerism continues unabated. We still continue to over-indulge in materialistic pleasures, continue to make bigger cars, dams and buildings, dig deeper into the earth and ocean for resources, release more and more toxins into the air, water and soil and explode deadlier bombs under the earth and the ocean. Instead of taking serious note of our wrong actions and corrupt attitude, we have been trying to explain away calamities as aberrations that can be tackled by some technology or smart calculations. Isn’t it pathetic?
Recent cyclones, brought in their wake, disaster management measures for future like better early warning systems, etc. But that does not strike at the root of the problem. If humans do not stop meddling with nature, one day, all its elements may react together with greater force, making the predictions of the doom’s day a reality. Then it will be impossible even to provide relief and rehabilitation.
We should never forget a fact that the outer world is a reflection of our inner world. In reality, the epicentre of natural calamities lies in the human mind. It is mental pollution that leads to environmental hazards. The human minds of today have become so vicious that natural disasters of much greater magnitude are imminent. Most of the excesses committed by humans upon nature stem from vices such as greed, ego, anger, lust and attachment. Hence, the lasting remedy to all these problems lies in the purification of human minds by the removal of these vices. It’s still not too late. Even now, there is time to change our course towards more sustainable, nature-friendly practices. It only requires a change in our mindset — from that of acquisition and consumption to one of sharing and caring. Remember, the recent hazardous events may well be nature’s warnings for us. If we continue living the way we have so far, we may very well bring bigger disasters upon ourselves and of the kind that will change the face of the earth, forever.