The first part of this piece was
to highlight that nature is not a constant phenomenon but rather is constantly altering
its character, changing its behavior, modifying its shape and structure.
Geologically it is always in a lurch due to multiple forces and energies which
are reacting with each other at all times. Humans instead of accepting and
living with nature as it changes, has decided in his wisdom to modify and challenge
nature. Human endeavor is to create a stable living condition for itself based
on a presumptuous assumption that he could outlast nature and survive defying whatever
conditions thrown at him. Such arrogance would be fatal in the short run. The end
result for sure is that planet would survive humans just like it has it has
seen the end of dinosaurs.
This second piece is to take a
closer look at things around us and hope that wisdom dawns on us.
When we see a tree some rather strange kind of peace and happiness creeps into our heart. A dense forest with huge and tall trees makes us wonder and increases the happiness manifolds. Picture of a dense rain forest enchants our imagination. The thoughts that come to our mind is not that of suffering and fighting but of some wonderful tranquility, which cannot be easily expressed in words. We long for some holidays in the peace and quiet of the forest, sit under a tree, near a stream, watch some animals go on with their life. It is not merely the fresh oxygen that attracts us to the trees. We also are envious of the harmony with which it exists with nature. We wish to share and become a part of this amity.
Let us not a silly moment assume
that trees are unintelligent creatures. Trees have feelings and they take care
of their friends. Trees together fend off the harshness of nature. They protect
the animals living in their midst and also the smaller plant life. They ensure that
life in whatever form survives in the forest or the wild. They have never
fought nature but rather have prostrated themselves to the vagaries of nature
if such a condition does come about like an earthquake or flood or wildfire. They
have survived. Plant life and vegetation existed on this planet since the beginning
of life itself. Today we humans extract coal from under the ground. Can we
spare a second to think as to how do the todays trees survive when their
ancestors were burnt to coal?
The vibrations that emanate from
a tree or a forest are not that of a violent being which is uncomfortable in
its existence. Had that been so, we would never venture anywhere near them.
Tree bear up with nature, are not bothered with fighting against nature, continue
with their peaceful coexistence, serve one and all with every aspect of its being,
and these are the qualities that draw us towards them because we find these
missing in us. In the bottom of our heart we realise that trees are wiser than
us humans and we seek this wisdom from them.
Moving on, the wise amongst us
have said that there are two basic purposes of life. One is to simply be happy without
reason and the other is to help other life forms coexist in peace. But since
wisdom is an inflation driven over valued fictional commodity, we no more care
for it. Commonly amongst us, we believe that it is not possible to be happy
without reason. Essentially it needs some materialistic thing in our lives to
make us happy. Be it money, wealth, tangible as well as intangible commodity and
property, which will prove one amongst us to be superior to the other, pander
to our desires and bloat our personal ego. In the process we do accept that it
is perfectly fine to destroy one another since we have twisted the phrase ‘survival
of the fittest’ to its vilest and basest interpretation. When we no more care
for fellow humans, to care for other life forms is a far-fetched argument and
to abide by which would be foolish and coercive. We deem it too extravagant and
against our fundamental human rights of survival.
Look at the havoc we have
unleashed on our planet. To imagine that we propose to inhabit neighboring
planets is so preposterous. But then to seek and desire more has been a stable
human trait. We human have always been omnivorous and have therefore moved to more
and more greener pastures hunting for food in the form of animals and fruits.
The advent of agriculture diverted the desire of more and more to cultivable
land. We then destroyed the trees and drove away the animals to make more and
more land ours. Once villages were formed, we wanted better facilities and made
them into towns and cities. Humans from villages wanted to move into cities and
those from smaller cities to bigger cities. People from undeveloped countries wanted
to move to developed countries. In this pursuit of more and better, we have
battered the natural environment, we have hunted some birds and animals to
extinction, and we have made the planet a big uncontrollable mess. So now we
seek the next.
We no more seem to understand the
definition of the word development. The western world took to materialism in a
big way and considered themselves developed. Is it material wealth alone which
signifies development? Is it development when such wealth is concentrated in
the hands of only a few? Does the acquisition of material wealth through the
destruction of natural environment and brutal repression as well as
exploitation of fellow humans and animals connote development? We have
witnessed recent history when the mighty western powers brought in
globalization, forcing the undeveloped countries to accept WTO and other trade
agreements so that they would be able to expand their market and grow further rich.
Today when they realise that instead of their products, it is their jobs that have
flown to those poor under developed countries all these agreements are being retracted
and globalization is being revered. Similarly with climate change agreement, when
the western countries grew economically they used only fossil fuel. Now when
the under developed countries want to grow jogs through factories, the western
countries want these undeveloped countries to retain forest cover, use no
fossil fuel, and probably continue to remain poor, forever. We humans don’t even
realise what our pursuits are costing us in terms of human sufferings. Policies
have always been framed and implemented without considering their long term consequences
on this planet and on every other life form. One such consequence we face today
is global warming. Can any one country be insulated from the effects of global
warming when the planet itself is getting warm, throwing rain, snow, floods,
heat waves into unpredictable patterns. Migration has always been a human
methodology to overcome difficult conditions set by nature. Today as a
consequence to our short sighted policies (economic as well as political) we
are witnessing countries blocking its borders and not permitting human
migration. Is this the meaning and intent of development?
We humans need to understand and accept
that it is false education that has lead us to this futile path, for which the
destination is self-destruction alone. We are ruled by fear rather than love.
We are short-sighted and selfish. Our religions are all worthless and we
worship false gods. Unless we learn to sacrifice our personal interests and
even ourselves for the common good of all, unless we learn to gauge the impact
of our policies on the last man standing in the poorest country, unless we
balance our needs and desires with those of animals and plants who share this
planet with us, unless we use our talents and capabilities for the common benefit
instead of personal benefit, we are doomed. Fortunately a few individuals who
have become incomprehensibly rich in material terms realise this and have
turned into philanthropists, channeling their wealth towards uplifting the living
condition of the poor and those of animals who can’t speak out their
sufferings.
The trees are mocking us our so
called development. Can we make them our Guru and emulate them?
