Take care of nature and nature will take care of you

                                  Take care of nature and nature will take care of you

The striking features of nature are its richness in variety, orderliness and rhythm. The world of nature is very varied. But still there is an order. There is no clash seen anywhere regarding shelter and food. Of all the created ones, man is supposed to be the supreme because he is credited with discrimination.

The scriptures declare that the entire outside world consisting of earth, sky, the Sun, the moon and the stars, the plant kingdom, animals and birds , the rivers and oceans was created first and then the man. The entire paraphernalia is essential for man to exist and enjoy it and lead a fruitful life. Even now man finds comfort in the lap of nature when he is tired or stressed.

Nature, and the world outside is not an inanimate thing. It is a living, pulsating organism. The great  thinkers of ancient India recognized it fully- understanding it as the cosmic form of the Infinite Reality. It is to be cultured and nourished, respected and revered. If  one approaches nature with the right attitude, he can invoke its grace and blessings to benefit humanity.

The third chapter of the Bhagavad Gita explains the ideal relationship between man and nature beautifully. The whole world of cosmic powers and natural phenomena functions instinctively in the service of all. When you cherish nature with give and take spirit in the society or the community, you shall be cherished by the natural forces in turn, and thus mutually cherishing each other you will reach the highest prosperity, peace and joy.
Man has both the qualities evil and good. There is always a constant struggle between the two. With the advent of the scientific revolution and impact of materialism, the qualities like gratitude, love, kindness tend to erode and selfishness, intolerance, greed, pride, egoism, hatred all predominate. These have brought about innumerable evil results like corruption , vulgarity etc. In spite of his conquest over nature, the wild brutal aspect of nature within him has gained upper hand clouding his glorious qualities of compassion, love, forgiveness, gratitude.
He is disharmony with himself. So he exhibits evil thoughts which emit negative waves. It is a universal law that love begets love and hatred returns hatred only with multiple times. Emitting negative thoughts rebounds on him and ultimately man himself may be wiped out from the surface of the earth.
Nature reflects man. Man's behaviour to nature and other beings is the deciding factor. In his vanity, man thinks that he is successful and that he has achieved things. Really speaking, he cannot achieve anything without the help of nature and community. These are all his gifts. He should realize this. There are innumerable stories available in literatures as to nature saved good people and showed its fury in the form of floods, fire, earth quakes etc in destroying the evil. There is an interesting story that tree went as a witness for a honest man in getting him justice. It is said that the sky, earth, trees are eternal witnesses and man cannot hide anything from them. Even birds animals all help a good person. They punish a bad one.
Rama's kingship was governed by righteousness and his rule was based on the welfare of the people.
Rama-rajya, the ideal kingdom on earth, that was the time when social harmony prevailed and people lived in peace. Because the leader was upright, loving and just. It was a golden age of golden deeds.
Rama-rajya is like Milton's version of millennium, a golden age as he expresses in ' Paradise Lost '.
Milton dreams of
New heavens, new earth, ages of endless data,
Founded in righteousness, and peace and love,
To bring forth fruits, joy and eternal bliss.
During Rama's rule, nobody was tempted to do any violence to any body. Every one was healthy and free from diseases. Trees always brought forth fruits and flowers. The rains were on time. Every one

was contented, none spoke falsehood. A man's  good conduct has such purifying effect on the entire atmosphere. All these aspects of Rama-rajya are relevant in any age.
In the same way, any one of you can conquer the universe around you,because you are the center. If you change, the world will also change. We have  forgotten all the beautiful techniques of mastering the world around, improving our country, beautifying our society with human qualities.
Revolutions or changes in the constitution will not change the world or bring peace.
The world outside is ruled by, governed by, determined by us. Each one of us is responsible for the condition of the world today. Let us change the world by changing ourselves. When man realizes oneness of life, unity of consciousness, he will never engage himself in strife or quarrel. This realization is possible  by introspection and using discrimination.
When man is in harmony with himself and the world, peace and prosperity accrue on its own. The great seers of the Vedas always declared that the movement, speech and mind of the people should be harmonious. They should try to understand each other. Their common goal should be public welfare.
What a glorious vision !