Man’s Misbehaviour & Natural Disasters

With India reeling under the disastrous effect of the Uttarakhand Tragedy, of natural disaster, it is prudent to listen to what Bhagawan had spoken about man, his responsibilities towards nature and the cause of natural disasters…Extracted from the Divine Discourse delivered on 13 February 1997.

In the vast cosmos, man is like a speck. Essentially, there is no conflict between man and creation. Just as a child is entitled to enjoy the milk from its mother and the bee is entitled to enjoy the honey from flowers, there can be no objection to man enjoying the resources of Nature.

But as a result of uncontrolled desires and reckless exploitation of natural resources, Nature is exhibiting frightening disorders. Natural calamities like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts and floods are the result of disturbances in the balance of Nature caused by reckless exploitation of natural resources. Mankind today appears like a foolish man who is wielding the axe at the branch of a tree on which he is sitting.

Men have to develop a sense of Spiritual Oneness. Out of that sense of Oneness, Love will grow. Love alone can bind the whole of humanity into one unit.

What do you see in this hall today? Here are people gathered from Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries. What is it that has brought them together in this small village? It is only love and the sense of oneness with others. The bliss of life is embedded in this love. Pure bliss is derived from this love. When this love is shared with others you have the bliss of collective joy. When your life dances on the waves of this love it attains the fulfilment of humanness.

Man today does not recognise this sense of oneness. Man does not mean the body alone. Man has the mind, the intellect and the Atma. It is the combination of all these that constitutes true humanness. When the balance among these four constituents is upset, man is plunged in troubles. When man maintains the balance among these four, the nation will prosper.

Man is considering Nature as entirely a creation of providence for his enjoyment. This is a mistake.

Nature exists for enjoyment by man according to certain limits. Scientists today are exploring the powers of Nature with a view to enjoying them without limit. They want to bring all those powers under human control for their unrestricted enjoyment. This is responsible for so many of the natural disasters that we witness today.

II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II