Ecology-The Modern Confusion-II

Swami Chinmayananda

oi-Staff

By Super

Monday, March 25, 2013, 9:13

When we talk of moral values and ethical principles, everybody says you should not put shackles on the freedom of man,and he can live as he likes. If you do that you are disturbing nature's balance. Uncontrollable greed, utter selfishness, no capacity to sacrifice for the sake of others, these are the values that we are living today in the name of secularism and materialism. The ultimate result is - I don't care if! keep destroying the trees because I get immediate some profit, what happens tomorrow is not my business.

In my grandfather's time these trees were good; they are more than 200 years old; what does it matter? So, within 20 minutes, with a mechanised saw I just pull them down and get some money. My immediate. profit alone I care for; what happens in my children's and their children's time, that is not my business. I never meant it., I don't want it. This is condition throughout the world.

So long as our values are so low, we are disturbing the nature. Nature has infinite patience. She lets you make mistakes after mistakes like a loving mother allowing the child to do mischief. But nature when once decides to punish, you cannot stop her. She comes out like Bhadrakali - pure anger-and the destruction she can bring about is too much. Nature doesn't care whether beings are here or not - she wipes everything clean and rebuilds an entire generation. How many plants and animals have become extinct?

Nature is always creative in her destruction. So this ecological confusion today is the greatest confusion and it is not created by anybody, it is the very logic of objective sciences. They think only in terms of objective world. They try to remedy the outer world of circumstances but they never turn to subjective individuality. They don't say that you take good food, exercise and slowly grow in health, your reflection will be better. No let us improve the mirror, clean it, re-shine it. They never realise that the subjective man must change.

Science tells me that the water that I drink must be boiled, filtered etc., But I say "In my grandfather's time they drank the same water." The water in the world is poisoned now, by various ways. When you put it like this we understand. But when it is said that subjectively unless we change, the outer world cannot change, we don't understand. The outer pollution in air, water etc. is only reflection of our inner pollution. The higher values have been given up and we are living like animals purely for our pleasure and comfort. There is nothing beyond me and my family. My immediate profit. Even educated people who are the great leaders of this country, whom you and I voted and sent to Delhi- what are they doing? And you can't blame them - they are the products of the age . THINK .....