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'Man and Nature' Part 3
Comprised of Amma’s Answers to Questions on Nature
Amma giving darsahn to girl and parrot

Question: What caused the break in the relationship between Nature and human beings?

Amma: "Because of his selfishness, man today sees Nature as being separate from himself. If a person receives a cut or a wound, it is certainly the awareness that both the left and right hand are “mine” that prompts the one to comfort the other. We don’t have the same concern when an injury happens to someone else, do we? This is because of the attitude that “It is not mine”. The wall of separation between humans and Nature is created mainly by the selfish attitude of humans. They think that Nature has been created only for them to use and exploit in order to fulfill their selfish desires.

This attitude creates a wall, a separation and a distance. It is a frightening truth that modern man has lost his broad-mindedness as a result of the tremendous growth of modern science. Man has found methods to produce a hundred tomatoes from a plant that could otherwise bear only ten fruits. He has also succeeded in doubling their size. While it is true that due to increased production, poverty and starvation have been reduced to a certain extent, man is not very aware of the harmful effects caused by artificial fertilizers and pesticides, which get into his body through the food that he eats. But it is also a fact that such chemicals destroy the cells of the body and make him an easy victim of disease. The number of hospitals have also had to increase, as scientist artificially force plants to yield fruit and seeds in quantities which are far beyond their limits. Science has reached unimaginable heights, but owing to his selfishness, man has lost the clarity to see the truth of things and to act with discrimination.

It is the selfish thought of wanting more that prompts man to use artificial fertilizers and pesticides. It is because of his greed that he does not care to love the plants. A balloon can be inflated only up to a limit. After that it will burst if you keep blowing air into it. Likewise, a seed has a certain limit to the yield it can give. Without taking this into account, if we keep on trying to increase the production by the use of artificial means, it will badly affect the strength and quality of the seed. It also does harm to those who eat it. In olden days only water and natural manure were sufficient for cultivation. But today the situation is different. Pesticides and fertilizers have become part and parcel of farming. So much so, that the immune systems of plants and seeds have become very weak, and have lost their power to fight disease. Through natural methods we can strengthen their power to resist disease. Religion tells us to humbly love everything with reverence. Scientific inventions have managed to vastly increase our production, but at the same time, the quality of everything has decreased.

To cage a bird or an animal is just like putting a human being behind bars. Freedom is the birth right of every living being. Who are we to take that freedom away? By injecting hormones into a hen, we try to make the size of the eggs bigger. We make hens lay two eggs a day, by shutting them in dark cubicles which are opened periodically, in order to create a false impression in the hen that one more day has passed. But by doing so, the hen’s life span is shortened by half, and the eggs lose all their quality. The thought of profit has made man blind and destroyed all his goodness and virtues. This does not mean that we shouldn’t think about increasing production. Not at all. The point is that there is a limit to everything, and crossing that limit is equal to destroying Nature.

It is high time to give serious thought to protecting Nature. The destruction of Nature is the same thing as the destruction of humanity. Trees, animals, birds, plants, forests, mountains, lakes and rivers - everything that exists in Nature - are in desperate need of our kindness, of the compassionate care and protection of man. If we protect them, they, in turn, will protect us. The legendary dinosaur and many other living species have been completely wiped out from the face of the earth, because they could not live in the changing climatic conditions. In a similar manner, if man is not careful, when his selfishness has reached its peak, he too will have to succumb to the same fate.

Only through love and compassion is the protection and preservation of Nature possible. But both these qualities are fast diminishing in human beings. In order to feel real love and compassion, one must realize the oneness of the life force that sustains and is the substratum of the entire universe. This realization can only be attained through a deep study of religion and the observance of spiritual principles."

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Read about the Amma Shop's effort to reduce plastic in the Q4 2021 newsletter >>

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