The creations of nature in all its splendor of mountains, oceans, forests and sky, the flora and fauna and of course man himself speak volumes of the glories of God. Surely God could not have created this breathtaking and bountiful environment only for the appeasement of our eyes.
Man’s curiosity and capability has lead him to construct his own amazing world in midst of this divine creation. Nature has been the inspiration and instrument in our survival, growth and progress. At this juncture of human advancement, a question arises is God’s and man’s creation mutually exclusive or can the two worlds co-exist.
Our purpose in the multi-dimensional progress has been to have a better physical life. The underlying cause and consequence of all know-how is wealth. Money is needed to fund research, using this research we set up new industries and this eventually brings more money. It is a closed cycle but had the cycle been confined to man alone, it would not have created the problem of coexistence.
But nature is the backbone of much of our expansion. And probably God also willed it this way. Otherwise why would he provide us with the enormous resource of oil wells. Trees do not need oil to grow, water suffices for them. Or what use the animals have of the deposits of iron-ore, bauxite, mica or coal. Nature’s treasures of minerals, metals, fuels, etc have been consumed by man for his lifestyle needs. So far so good.
The problem commenced from the moment our greed took over our creative and curiosity urge. Wealth creation is undoubtedly man’s right and inevitable for the world’s development. But the knotty question arises when our headway is at the cost of others, lives. We set up huge plants and industries that mint opulent profits. To house these factories large forest covers are axed. One day we might only have concrete walls and no wood to put furniture in them (perhaps the intelligent man has come up with polymers and plastics for that) but we may also not have men to work because with less forests and more carbon dioxide, the oxygen imbalance can be extremely fatal for our lungs. THIS IS NOT SOME PARANOID IMAGINATION, IT IS A REALITY CHECK.
The defending argument that comes up is of employment had these industries not been there. The argument is absolutely valid but sadly employment of poor has never been our goal while setting up these industries. However we surely look for availability of cheapest labour. Making millions is alright but this goal is getting gluttonous and challenging someone’s very survival.
The case in point is the famous and million dollar Shahtoosh shawl industry of Kashmir in . These shawls are made from the fine wool of Tibetan Antelope called Chiru. Hunting of this animal for its wool is banned and the trade is declared illegal by the Chinese and Indian governments. The Chinese government estimates the current rate of poaching is upward 20,000 chirus per year. At this rate this species will be extinct in 5 years.
The manufacturers and traders associations of Kashmir demanded lifting the ban on this trade citing that it rendered thousands of Kashmiris unemployed. But man’s skill is beyond question. The Pashmina shawls of Kashmir are gaining equal popularity in the world markets and if branded and networked properly it leaves no weaver unemployed. But this surely affects the lucrative illegal industry of Shahtoosh with the wide profit margins. Apart from material avarice, we are also the victims of conspicuity. Or else why would we buy ivory bangles, rare snake and crocodile hide purses or mink coats. THIS IS AN EQUATION OF POMPOUS DEMAND AND PROFITABLE SUPPLY.
But our expression of praise is also getting eccentric. We admire a thing in one surrounding but not the other. The small golden fish in the glass bowl looks beautiful in our living room but who cares if we kill thousands of such graceful creatures by choking them of our plastic dumping in their territorial waters. We love those delicate birds in the zoo and sanctuaries. But shrug when tones of oil spills in oceans kill them or the toxic effluent in the city lakes poison them.
The religion of Neo-Paganism worshipped nature because they saw it as the visible existence and manifestation of God. Even Hinduism worships trees and believes in God of water, wind, etc. Only thing is that we are no more hesitant or ashamed to destroy or sully God’s visible form.
To what extent do we rationalize our wealth creation. According to Hindus, wealth is the form of Goddess Lakshmi. But wealth loses its godliness, the moment greed touches it. It is a dangerous game of power and money. Money brings power and power intoxicates. This intoxication incites the urge to conquer and dominate. Alexander conquered men, while this still continues, men conquered it all- land, mountains, oceans, animals and birds. But regretfully we could not conquer our senses that run like untamed horses and destruct everything that comes in the way.
GOD DID NOT GIVE US WINGS BUT WE FLY. And fly not just in the sky but the space and beyond. God must be certainly in awe of our achievement if he hadn’t expected this feat from us. Or he could also be extremely worried and unhappy cogitating that we have already tarnished his most exquisite creation of Earth and its nature, what if we do the same on Mars and Pluto. We are a part of this infinite universe and not vice versa. Nature Is Not Only For Man BUT Also Above Man. Nihilism (radical type of Materialism which rejects all moral values in the name of science and popular revolution) cannot be our way of life because nadir is its only outcome.
