Maha Mantra For Sustainable Development

Dear friends,

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

Recycle and Reuse eco-friendly our 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 report released in August 2021 are warning that their claim about the catastrophic consequences of climate change and global warming is essentially true. The scientists are claiming that if global warming continues to increase in the present rate, then we are bound to face its irreversible catastrophic consequences such as deadly heat waves, wildfires, storms, erratic rains, floods, droughts, reduced agriculture yields, etc., burying of costal villages, towns and cities due to the rise of sea level caused by the melting of Antarctica and Arctic ice sheet and physical expansion of the ocean water, the Himalayan rivers turning seasonal rivers leading to a substantial reduction of food yields, etc., the 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 death of globally about more than 18,500 people every day. According to the Living Planet Report 2022 of WWF, about 69 percent 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 at 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, which Mahatma Gandhi rightly considers to be Satanic, suicidal and a nine days wonder only, leaders 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 change, although the scientists of IPCC of UNO are unanimously claiming that their warming about the impending catastrophic consequences of global warming and climate change is essentially true. Stephen Hawking rightly claims that modern civilisation doesn't know how to avoid the unethical use of science and technology based on selfishness or some base passions like lust for pleasures, greed for wealth, etc.

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, Kama 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 ethically enlightened/rational, 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 consequences of the present very grave global environmental crises in general and the crisis of global warming and climate change in particular, 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 and establish a secular kingdom of ethically, spiritually as well as non-spiritually, enlightened /rational ethical righteousness goodness of justice, liberty and love (Rama Rajya, Kingdom of God), and save India and through it the world at large from the impending catastrophic consequences of global ecological crises in general and the crisis of global warming and climate change in particular, along with the present all pervasive deep-rooted moral and spiritual crises. To begin with, let us transform some major educational institutes into centres of critical/rational moral and spiritual teaching and research of the world, which shows the light moral and spiritual wisdom for this great noble cause of our country and through it the world at large.

Let us remember always the invaluable message of the Bhagavad Gita, the supreme scripture of Yoga: "Lust for pleasures, anger and greed are the triple gates of hell and bring the downfall of one's soul. Hence one must abandon these three." (The Bhagavad Gita,16.21) Let us also always remember the following profoundly valuable environmental messages of the two great noble scientists of the world: Albert Einstein - "If the bee disappears from the surface of the Earth, man would not have more than four years to live." "The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything."

Stephen Hawking - "Life on planet Earth is at risk from a sudden nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus, global warming and climate change, or some other reasons humans have not thought of yet."

With Goodwill, love and prayers, 💕 🙏

Smt. Rama Rauta

President: National Women's Organization, Pune

Founder: Save Ganga Movement

Websites: savegangamovement.org

4gashram.org