23 May 2020, Amritapuri
~from Amma’s message during corona times
We have begun to see this entire world as a business. Not as a family. When we see the world as an economy or as a business, we can only appreciate the prospect of unlimited growth. However, such growth isn’t always beneficial. Cancer cells have limitless growth, and this is why they kill the individual. Likewise, the growth that doesn’t help society isn’t the right type of growth. It will bring destruction to society and the individual.
We now only have the attitude of “Take! Take! Take!” In a home with four people, there are four cars. Some homes with four people have eight cars. And speed is of prime importance. Instead of travelling 10 hours by road, people take a flight to reach in one hour. Since life itself has become so fast, now death has also caught up to speed.
Increased crop production and other inventions were made to decrease global starvation and its resulting deaths. Larger tomatoes, mango-tree hybrids that flower in three years, etc, were invented as a response to curb hunger. We came up with artificial ways, such as injecting hormones, as a result, people are consuming toxic food.
Moreover, trees have been cut down resulting in more polluted air. The soil has been polluted with chemical fertilisers and earth’s life-span has decreased. The soil adversely affected that it has ceased to respond to manure. Factory pollutants have contaminated the air, and this is what we are breathing in today. Rivers are polluted. Chlorine is being added indiscriminately to water now in some areas. We also have to be careful about this. Chlorine should be added only in the prescribed amount. High levels of chlorine in water lead to cancer and acidity.
The atmosphere is unable to provide us with enough immunity. And what we eat does not serve to boost our immunity either. Low immunity in food and low immunity in our body has made our bodies weak. Children are unable to recover from simple bacteria without antibiotics these days. All this has happened in the course of just a few years. Now they are looking for new medicines. The human body has become weak.
Take the case of hybrid plants. They need to be fertilised and sprayed regularly for protection. If this spray is not regularly given, they are easily afflicted with pests. They get covered with tiny worms that will destroy the plant. The plant does not have the innate strength to fight the worms. Hybrid cows, hybrid breeds of poultry & hybrid plants will only grow in favourable climates. The surrounding temperature has to be regulated. Special coops and food are also needed. Native cows, poultry and plants don’t need all this to grow. Human beings are also becoming like these hybrid animals and plants. Soon we may have to live on earth with breathing tanks like people going to the moon. Nowadays people are allergic to everything.
Whether plants, flowers, fruits or vegetables, Nature shares her bounty with animals and human beings alike. Birds and animals help plants disperse their seeds and spread their reach. Trees offer shade to animals and shelter to birds. Animal and bird droppings provide organic fertiliser to trees and plants. Trees and plants beautify the earth with their leaves and flowers. In Nature, we see beautiful pictures of love, unity and interdependence everywhere. This is what the people of this land of Bharatam termed as yajña samskara. Our life on this planet has been made possible due to the combined effort of all these creatures. Rivers, trees, honeybees, butterflies, earthworms—they all play a part in our existence. Without them we will not be able to exist.
A plane cannot fly with a broken engine; nor can it fly if a single vital screw is missing. Even the smallest thing is important and has its place. All these things have come together to create and sustain us. If we consider Nature as a tree, we can say that its roots, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits are all its creatures. The tree will be complete only if all these come together. If one of these parts is destroyed, very soon all the other parts will also be destroyed.
If there is no Nature, there will be no human race or human culture. But even if there is no human race, Nature will continue to exist and flourish. We can think of this pandemic as a warning from Nature to treat her with respect and to protect her. This is a time for human beings, who pride themselves as supremely powerful, to confront their own weaknesses. The time has come for us to realise this.
It is the duty of human beings to protect all living creatures, seeing Nature as our mother and other creatures as our brothers and sisters. It is high time that this awareness rises in us.