Question: How serious is the environmental problem?

Amma: "In days gone by, there was a fixed time for everything. It was the practice to do cultivation during a certain month or season, and a particular month was fixed for harvesting. There were no deep tube wells in those days. The farmers depended solely on the water and sunshine which was graciously bestowed by Nature. The people lived in harmony with Nature. They never tried to challenge Nature. Nature was therefore always helpful to man. Nature was his friend. People were completely confident that it would rain if the seeds were sown during a particular time of the month. They also knew the exact time when the crop would be ready for harvest. Everything went smoothly. Nature bestowed both rain and sunshine at the right time, without fail. Excessive or untimely rain never destroyed the crops, nor was there any excess or lack of sunshine. Everything was balanced. Human beings never tried to act against the laws of Nature. Mutual understanding, faith, love, compassion and cooperation existed among people. They loved and worshiped Nature, and in return Nature blessed them with an abundance of natural wealth. Such an attitude alone will help to uplift society as a whole.

But things have changed.

Scientific inventions are highly beneficial. But they should not be against Nature. The constant harm done by human beings has destroyed Nature’s patience. She has begun to retaliate. Natural calamities are greatly increasing. Nature has commenced Her dance of final dissolution. She has lost Her balance owing to the unrighteous actions perpetrated against Her by humans. This is the main cause of all the suffering that human beings are undergoing during this present age .

The scientist who is inventive and who experiments may have love within him. But that love is limited to a narrow channel. It is directed only to the scientific field in which he works. It doesn’t embrace all creation. He is more or less bound to the laboratory where he sits, or to the scientific equipment which he uses. He does not think of real life. He is more interested in finding out whether there is life on the moon or on Mars. He is more interested in inventing nuclear armaments.

A scientist may claim he is trying to find the truth of the empirical world through an analytic approach. He dissects things in order to analyze how they function. If he is given a kitten, he is more interested in using the animal for research than in loving it as a pet. He will measure its rate of breathing, its pulse and blood pressure. In the name of science and the search for truth, he will dissect the animal and examine its organs. Once the kitten has been cut open, it is dead. Life disappears and any possibility for love is gone. Only if there is life is there love. In his search for the truth of life, the scientist unwittingly destroys life itself. Strange!

A rishi is a real lover because he has dived into his own Self, the very core of life and love. He experiences life and love everywhere — above, below, in front, behind — in all directions. Even in hell, even in the nether world, he sees nothing but life and love. For him there is nothing but life and love shining forth with splendor and glory from all directions. Therefore, Mother would say he is ‘a real scientist’. He experiments in the inner laboratory of his own being. He never creates division in life. For him life is one whole. He always dwells in that undivided state of love and life.

The real scientist, the sage, lovingly embraces life and becomes one with it. He never tries to fight with life. While the scientist tries to fight and conquer life, the sage simply surrenders to life and lets it carry him wherever it may. Man has turned against Nature. Man no longer cares about Nature. He is more interested in exploring and experimenting. He is trying to break all bounds. But he does not know that by doing so, he is paving the way for his own destruction. It is like lying on one’s back and spitting up. The spittle will fall on one’s own face.

Today, in addition to the exploitation of Nature, humans are also polluting Her. There was a time when cow dung was used as a disinfectant in India, when children were given their vaccinations. But now, a wound would become septic and the person would die if cow dung were to be applied. The substance that used to be a medicine that healed the wound has now turned into something that causes infection. So much poison must have gone into the cow dung through the grass, hay and oil cakes with which we feed the cows.

Now there is no longer any rain when it is supposed to rain. If it does rain, there is either too little or too much, and it comes too early or too late. It is the same with sunshine. Nowadays humans are trying to exploit Nature. This is why there are floods, droughts and earthquakes, and everything is being destroyed.

There is a tremendous decline in the quality of life. Many people have lost faith. They do not feel any love and compassion, and the team spirit of working together, hand in hand, for the good of all, has been lost. This will have a bad effect on Nature. Nature will withdraw all Her blessings and turn against man. Unimaginable will be Nature’s reaction if man continues like this.

There is a story about a couple who had a liquor shop. The husband always told his wife, "Pray to God that He will bring us more customers." The wife sincerely obeyed her husband’s words. One day, one of their customers noticed that she was praying, and said to her, "Please pray for me also, so that I will get more work".
"What is your job?" asked the wife. "I am a coffin maker,", said the man. This is the present state of the world. It has become a world in which people are only concerned about their own interests."