You are the earth
ON THE OCCASION OF EARTH DAY THIS WEEK, SADHGURU APPEALS FOR AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH TO SAVE PLANET
HOW audacious that we can even think we can allot a day for the earth!
Both day and night happen only because the earth revolves. Our very body is an extract from this planet. For human beings who have forgotten that they have just temporarily come out of the womb of this earth and one day will be sucked back into this earth, this day is a reminder that you are a part of this earth. If humanity has to live for a long time, you have to think and act like the earth and be the earth because that is what you are.
This is the first time in humanity’s history that we have to talk about protecting this planet which has nourished thousands of generations of human beings. None of them ever thought a day would come when we have to take care of the planet. We are like an infant talking about saving the mother. But that’s the reality.
My interest is not ecology, my interest is life. The preservation and nurturing of this planet is not different from aspiring for a good life for ourselves, because there is no good life without a good planet. The very body that we carry is just an outcrop of this planet.
However, our ideas of development and economy have taken us away from this reality. It is time we realise the fanciful ideas we have about life, economy and the world do not work anymore.
We have to do something more mature to make this work. This maturity needs to arise in the business, industry, government, and whoever else is involved in managing or destroying the planet. This has to happen.
Right now we are looking at ecological concerns as an obligation to fulfill. It is not an obligation, it is our life. Somewhere we believe only we are life, and everything else is not life. This is happening because the whole experience of life is limited to the physical sensations of life. What one thinks is life is just his body, so he thinks only he is life, and the rest is not. If you are spiritually aware, then you would naturally know that everything is life. No one would have to tell you to protect the ecology.
People are talking about ecological awareness today not because of overwhelming love for other creatures, but because they have begun to realise that, “My life is under threat right now. If this continues, I will not live, and my children will not live. We have to do something about it.” Someone has reminded you that your survival is under threat. This is a very unfortunate way of caring for other life around us.
Our lives are not separate from each other; our life is an integrated, connected life. How healthy the worms are today will determine how healthy we are tomorrow. Spirituality essentially means an all-inclusive experience. When there is an all-inclusive experience, being concerned and caring about everything around you is very natural because anyone who looks into himself, anyone who turns inward, naturally realises that his existence and the outside existence are not different.
Today, we have the necessary technology, resources and capability to address every fundamental issue on the planet. Never before in the history of humanity have human beings been as capable as we are today. The only thing missing is inclusive consciousness.
In our lives, if we do not do what we cannot do, there is no problem. But if we do not do what we can do, we are a disaster. It is my wish that we as a generation do not become a disaster in every sense.
n Ranked among the fifty most influential people in India, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, visionary and bestselling author. Sadhguru has been conferred the Padma Vibhushan, India’s highest annual civilian award, by the government in 2017, for exceptional and distinguished service.