This is the talk given by Swami Chinmayananda at K C College Hall, Mumbai on 16th July 1992. With interesting stories and new insights, He has beautifully cited the modern confusion around our understanding of ecology.
The Charles River
Charles river in Boston – a beautiful river – but every 10 yards there is a board “Don’t touch the water” – it is so poisoned. The fishes are floating; seeing them the birds come and eat them. A week later, they drop down from the trees. A river is pure water flowing down from the mountains, but enroute by way of refuse from the factories and various other ways, we are pouring poison into it. Then you complain that the river is polluted.
The Great Confusion About Ecology
So it is the greatest confusion today that something is wrong with the outside world – the ecology, something wrong with the Creator. The Creator is supplying you with the best possible things – it is your unintelligent behavior which is spoiling it. In the West this vision has not come. In their scriptures or in their science – they think only in terms of physical, anatomical activity or psychological activities or emotions.
They have never expanded to think of the macrocosm, the totality of the universe due to the extreme ego and selfishness. Our vision is limited to our country, our community – look at the chaos in Eastern Europe, Afghanistan – politically they fought so much and now they are themselves fighting. Who is to be the leader – you or me? As a consequence, the country goes to the background, but that doesn’t matter. That is the arrogant ego, utter selfishness.
These dangerous features in each one of us together becomes the cause for the entire disturbance in the world, the ecology. You are not free to think as you like.
Free thinking is a stupid idea of the democratic concept.
Do you know that it is the thought that becomes the action?
And if everybody is allowed to think as he likes, what would be your action?
You create something and my thoughts are to destroy it.
Story: The King and His Men
A king in India, when he was travelling, stopped at a particular place. He was very insistent that he must have early morning dip in the tank. So when he was going to the bedroom he ordered the commander, “See that the tank is made tomorrow for my early bath.” “Yes sir.” The commander split the men into 2 groups and ordered everybody – one group to dig from 8 pm to midnight and the other group will relieve you and complete it.
The first batch came, started and they retired. The second batch came – they did not know exactly what they had to do. They saw a big hole there, so they started filling it. Early morning when the king came, there was a beautiful land, ready for cultivation! All of them were working hard, honestly and loyally, but they had no knowledge. Thought is to be aligned with a certain system, a certain scheme, a certain pattern which will be creative, useful to all others and to yourself.
Destructive Thoughts
Destructive thoughts are accepted in all religions as sin. It is not that somebody has written out that these are sins – No. Those kinds of thoughts which will ultimately create destructive action are called sin. You have to reject them and live a nobler life, meritorious life. Try to pursue Punya (merits) and not Paap (sins). You think that these are all stampeding upon freedom.
Freedom is not freedom to do what you like. Freedom is, not to do what is dangerous to me and to other social members of the community. These spiritual values are not at all recognised in the western world and they cry out that there is pollution in nature and it is almost threatening us. I am not saying that industry must end in the world. Let them be there, but uncurbed freedom to have endless greed is to be ended.
These spiritual values will lead man to a new way of life – a concern for the macrocosm – not thinking just of me, my wife and children’s happiness; what happens to others, who cares? In the scam, a Musalman got 3 crores. When asked why he did this, he said, “I am a Muslim and we Muslims came to this country to loot, so it is our dharma to loot. Hindus should not do it.” What I mean is – even when they do such an act of criminality they do not feel anything. So long as this attitude – purely materialistic and secular, with no touch of spirituality, nature or ecology will continue to be disturbed by our actions. It is an echo.
The Ecology
A brahmachari went to a Himalayan valley and came back to me and said, “I will never go back there.” I asked, “Brahmachariji, why not?” He said, “That valley is always insulting me.” “What do you mean?” “The valley tells me that I am a stupid fellow, I am an idiot.” How is it possible? He goes into the valley and cries out, “You are an idiot, you are a fool” Three times, he gets it back – “You are a fool.” It is only an echo.
That is why it is called EC(H)OLOGY!!
Nature is only echoing our behavior. Instead of saying ‘ you are an idiot, why not go there and say, “I love you?”; three times you will hear “I love you”. The echo is honest, it will not say anything other than what you are giving out. You cannot love nature unless you have love for humanity or community. To love means readiness to make sacrifices for the beloved. Love without sacrifice is not love. When a father loves the son, he is ready to sacrifice his comforts in order to educate his son. I love my country – why – it is a nice place to loot! I must be ready to make sacrifices, even give up my life for the country. So love without sacrifice is not love at all.
Nature is Forgiving
In the plant kingdom there is no sacrifice – self preservation is the only thing. Even the small plants near the tree cannot grow. In animals, there is sacrifice. They even die to save their young ones. So we must make sacrifices if we love the country.
In the Bible also it is said, “Love is God.” So, so long as we don’t have love in us, nature will continue to misbehave. Clouds are there, but no rain. So they are trying cloud-seeding – this is all they can think. Nobody thinks of having a communal prayer – a change of attitude. We don’t want to change. We must apologise to nature, say that we have misbehaved and we are sorry.
Nature is always forgiving. You are destroying nature’s harmony and saying that nature is misbehaving. All the time we are talking of how to adjust the outer world. We never turn our attention to the source of the problems – YOU.
YOU have to change. You change and the world will change.
If the microcosm changes, macrocosm will also change. We always say Japan is such a small country, yet is so developed; why are we not developing? When each individual has got that idea and lives those values, development will come. We don’t want to do that; we just want to sit and enjoy – that way you cannot develop.
Swamiji, you are being idealistic. Okay, you continue – I will watch the destruction and I will not watch for very long, because I am already old. But it is my duty to tell you that until we change, the world cannot change.
We must have a healthier intellectual attitude towards ecology.
Reference: Talk given by Pujya Gurudev at K C College Hall, Mumbai on 16th July 1992