Apr 23, 2002, 02.45am IST
INDU JAIN.
Today, there is a worldwide movement to protect the environment. but this concern has been part of the indian ethos since ages. the five basic elements — kshiti, soil, jal, water, panak, fire, gagan, sky or ether and sameer, air from which life has emerged — have all been objects of worship, forming an integral part of indian tradition. the elements are deified, as they are believed to be protectors of jeevan tatva, life. but they can protect and bless us only if we give them due respect. love and respect for nature is inherent in our culture; this is a unique feature of india’s value system and philosophy. we regard our rivers as we would our own mother. we worship them. when we float a diya, lamp, on the dancing waves of the holy ganga, yamuna or kaveri, we are only paying tribute to them. worshipping them is only an expression of our gratitude for all that they have given us. our civilisation has flourished along river banks. these rivers have brought many of us closer to one another. rivers are symbols of patience. the great ganga originating at gangotri, journeys patiently to kolkata. quenching the thirst of the plains of northern india, the ganga carries her blessings to millions. so holy is she that a mere dip in her waters cleanses us of all our sins. every drop of water is precious. this is evident from the following lines of the medieval hindi poet raheem: ‘‘rahiman pani rakhiye, /bin pani sab soon /pani gaye na ubare, /moti manus ehoon.’’ the poet says that we must preserve every drop of water, for, a single drop saved inside the oyster’s shell, forms a pearl. the word pani is also used to describe the grace and dignity of man. thus, preserving pani is as essential as preserving one’s own grace and dignity. we revere nature. whether it is the tulsi chaura in our courtyard or the batt tree which is believed to protect the marital bliss of a woman or the holy peepal, all trees are considered to be equally important. this tradition of worshipping trees and relating them to our lives is found nowhere else. this is a unique tradition. by teaching us to worship nature our great sages gave us the key to survive on earth. science today is trying to convince us how important vegetation is for our lives — something that our forefathers did centuries ago. protection of forests is an important part of environmental concerns. today, cleaning the waters of the ganga is crucial to our existence. but, unless we enrich this duty with a sense of respect and devotion, we will be unable to succeed in this mission. our forefathers had understood the heart of the matter. they knew that only a sense of gratitude and an understanding of our interdependency will help us realise how much we owe to mother nature. despite this ancient wisdom, we are yet to grasp the gravity of the situation. so what we need today is to recreate this respectful attitude towards nature. to reach this message to each individual — that the environment is not a dead object, but a living thing — should be our topmost priority. this is vital for our survival. hence the responsibility to save the ganga from damage should be undertaken with a sense of gratitude and humility. but this cannot be imposed on us — it has to come from within. we need to find a way to kindle this spirit within ourselves in order to make us fully aware of our responsibility to nature. only then will we understand that the neem tree outside our home is much more than just a source of datun or nimodi. neem purifies the air we breathe in, it is a source of healing. the ecological imbalance we observe today is the outcome of the ill-treatment we’ve meted out to nature. if only we stop this and show some sensitivity, she too, in turn, would shower her blessings on us. our relationship with mother nature cannot be one-sided. mother earth has nurtured life in her lap. at the very least, we can save her anchal from further destruction and pollution by protecting the flora and fauna that gives us our life- sustenance. the various save-the- environment fronts, fora and organisations, which are trying to save the environment from further degradation today, will succeed in their efforts only when this is combined with a deep sense of respect for nature. we have to believe that our survival depends on the survival of nature. to protect the environment is to protect ourselves. this feeling must come from our inner self. the scene today looks gloomy, but we should continue to nurture the hope to improve. as the poet says, khiza ka rang gehra ho chala hai har taraf, lekin /abhi ummeed baki hai, koi patta hara dhoonde. though the prospects for the environment are bleak, yet, there is hope that we’ll find a green leaf somewhere...’’.
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