We Must Do Something

By Adi Radhika Dasi, 2007. May 02.
http://smileofkrishna.com/?p=74

It is the nature of human being… till it comes to ourselves, we do not care.

Monday morning we returned back to our village; Krishna-valley. We were quite sleepless and tired, we rested and yesterday we went out for a walk, chanting Hare Krishna mantra. We mentioned to each other of the clean air, fresh aromas, sweet chirping of the birds after the city life of Istanbul and we felt very good. We are able to rediscover the values of our environment only when we stay away. We met with neighbours, villagers, chatted long and laughed.

As our steps continued on the way, a kind of sadness wrapped the happiness I had like a heavy mist slowly slowly sitting down in the evening. Since we left to Turkey - nearly two months - there had been no rain. I dont know whether we mentioned or not, but this winter I lived the first winter in my life without snow. Rain was also quite rare. We continued walking. Everywhere my eyes could reach was carrying the serious signs of drought. All the flowers were budded and blossomed from the unusual warm weather, and the leaves were tired and pale looking. Distinct cracks were lying on earth. I thought… we are in the month of May. What will happen in August?

Inspite of this hard climate condition, we cheered up seeing our young trees growing very nicely and we reached the Goshala. When the temperature doesnt drop down enough in winter, the pests and microbes continue living and this causes various environment problems. In the beginning of spring, our cows got cold for a serious period. We lost our Advaita. We continued walking and to the side of Goshala we saw our sweet calves. We watched, caressed and then walked to the garden of cows. I thought… it takes sensitivity to see how the nature is distressed, but an animal’s distress, her face expression is with us. I have never seen our cows this much tired and stressed. The suffering of the mother earth was appearing through their hearts. I felt pain.

Upon returning home in the evening, while I was washing my hands, a terrible feeling of shame covered my heart. Was it me deserving this water, while outside many living entities are in drought? In seconds, I faced with the fact that global warming, climate change, kyoto protocol… - few of the countlessly named condition we have been hearing around us- HAD REALLY COME.

I dont know how I slept… but as I woke up in morning, I turned to my husband and said, “we have to do something.” Water means life. So, how does this water come? From where it comes and gives life?

There is a verse from Bhagavad-gita in my mind;

annad bhavanti bhutani
parjanyad anna-sambhavaha
yajnad bhavati parjanyo
yajnah karma-samudbhavaha
BG 3.14

“All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties.”

Purport by Srila Prabhupada:
Food grains or vegetables are factually eatables. The human being eats different kinds of food grains, vegetables, fruits, etc., and the animals eat the refuse of the food grains and vegetables, grass, plants, etc. Human beings who are accustomed to eating meat and flesh must also depend on the production of vegetation in order to eat the animals. Therefore, ultimately, we have to depend on the production of the field and not on the production of big factories. The field production is due to sufficient rain from the sky, and such rains are controlled by demigods like Indra, sun, moon, etc., and they are all servants of the Lord. The Lord can be satisfied by sacrifices; therefore, one who cannot perform them will find himself in scarcity—that is the law of nature. Yajna, specifically the sankirtana-yajna prescribed for this age, must therefore be performed to save us at least from scarcity of food supply.

And in Bhagavad-gita 9.19, Krishna says; “O Arjuna, I give heat, and I withhold and send forth the rain.”

I am thoughtfull… surely, we deserved this situation and we deserved even much more. We exploited the nature recklessly and we never even questioned, how, why and who is giving us this opulence? Have we ever become grateful to the rain, fruit and the earth? We are eating what we sow.

In such extreme conditions, some of us blame God, telling He is bad, or even He does not exist. However, the first step of spiritual life is humbleness. It continuously fills our hearts with joy however hard the conditions are. In Vaisnava culture this is described as being lower then a blade of grass.

I am happy, Krishna is giving us this big opportunity. Now it is time to really be conscious every moment, to be heartily grateful and to develop our humbleness. Lets do sankirtana; lets remember Him, lets gather together and chant His holy names.