Maha Mantra For Our Sustainable Development

Dear Friends,

Let us rationally reflect on the following Maha Mantra for our Environmental Rejuvenation and Preservation and it's importance in the context of our present very grave global environmental crises.

Recycle and Reuse eco-friendly waste, Rejuvenate and preserve our great river mothers and their sources our great mountains and forests which are in the process of slow death, promote reforestation wherever possible with zero deforestation as far as possible, Reduce our population growth ethically, and Reduce our desires for luxuries, regulating our way of life ethically through critical character-building ethics education based on the fundamental ethics of our great living ancient civilization as well as of various great religions, which are essentially the same (5Rs).

It is important to note that the IPCC scientists in their latest report released in August 2021 are again warning that their claim about about the deadly consequences of climate change and global warming is true. Scientists are claiming that the deadly effects of global warming and climate change would be: deadly heat waves, wildfires, storms, erratic rains, floods, droughts, reduced agriculture yields, etc., and the burying of coastal villages, towns and cities due to rise of sea level, Himalayan rivers turning seasonal rivers leading to substantial reduction of food yields, etc., vanishing of a great many living species of land, water and sky, etc. A WHO report released in October 2021 says air pollution due to fossil fuels causes 13 deaths per minute, i.e. about more than 65 lakhs per year, worldwide. According to the Living Planet Report 2022 of WWF, about 69 per cent of the wildlife population has declined only in the last 50 years, and many more wildlife species will disappear from our planet Mother Earth in the near future if global warming continues to increase in the present rate. (Https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodeversity/living-planet-report-2022-wildlife-decline-by-69-50years-85438) Unfortunately under the spell of the glamour of the present culture of development of modern civilization, leaders world over world over are showing great apathy to take any substantial step in the right direction to avoid the impending catastrophic consequences of global warming and climate, although the scientists of IPPC of UNO are unanimously claiming that their warming about the impending catastrophic consequences of global warming and climate change is essentially true (See for example the following UNO-Report released on 13/09/2022: https//news.un.org/en/story/2022/09//1126511)

We must know that:

(1) Pure air, pure water and pure food are necessary for good health, and the culture of creating more and more concrete forests to satisfy our greed for wealth and lust for luxuries is bound to create less and less natural forests, which is bound to create less and less pure air, pure water and pure food for the masses which is necessary for our health, and health is necessary for the pursuit of all the four purusharthas, i.e. Dharma, Aartha, Karma and Moksha.

(2)The present culture of development of modern civilization is not sustainable. It produces wealth in some ways which causes greater and greater harm to our invaluable life-and-health-sustaining natural ecosystems of Mother Earth and consumes her limited natural resources substantially more than what she can regenerate.

(3) The Gandhian fundamentally ethics-based, Eco-friendly, village-friendly, agro-friendly, decentralised industrialisation and urbanization of the Gandhian loving and caring non-violent culture of development which is based on the fundamental ethics of all great religions as well as of our great living ancient civilization in the context of our present technological age, is perhaps the only surest permanent rational solution available to us to avoid the impending catastrophic global environmental crises, including the crisis of global warming and climate change, along with the present all-pervasive deep-rooted global moral and spiritual crises.

Let us sincerely try to rejuvenate and preserve our great living ancient civilization of Truth and non-violence establish a secular kingdom of spiritually enlightened righteousness/goodness (Rama Rajya, Kingdom of God), and save India and through it the world at large from the impending catastrophic global ecological crises, including the crisis of global warming and climate change, along with the present all pervasive deep-rooted moral and spiritual crises. To begin with, let us transform some major educational institutes into examples of teaching and research that show the lights of wisdom for this great noble cause for our great country.

With goodwill, love and prayers,

Smt. Rama Rauta