Om Sri Sairam

Envirocare: Protecting and Nurturing Nature

Sri Sathya Sai Baba said, “Nature is God’s vesture. The universe is the ‘university’ for man. Man should treat Nature with reverence. He has no right to talk of conquering nature or exploiting the force of Nature. He must proceed to visualise in nature, its God.”  God permeates nature and man should treat and nurture nature with the utmost respect.  Nature teaches man many great lessons, such as, to live selflessly for others, expecting nothing in return.  Just like a tree provides shade to any person that comes underneath it, regardless of who they are, we as humans should always “Love all, Serve all”which is one of Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s core dictums.   Man should love all, including human beings, plants, animals, and entire creation and serve all with love.

The five elements of space, air, fire, water and earth sustain all of creation including nature and man.  These five elements are nothing but the manifestation of the divine and show the interconnectedness of man and nature.  Sri Sathya Sai Baba said, “Man has to consider himself as a limb of the society and help in the welfare of society, just as the organs of one’s body are used for one’s well-being. Again society is a limb of Prakrithi (Nature) and Prakrithi is a limb of Paramatma (Supreme Lord). Thus there is close relationship between man and God.” Once man understands the interconnectedness that the individual or man is part of society, which in turn is part of nature, which in turn a limb of the supreme, man can bring about change.  Any change we want to bring about in the world must start at the individual level.  When individuals change, society will change; and when society changes, the whole world will change. 

Once man realizes and connects with divinity in nature, man will be able to grow spiritually and experience the oneness that pervades everything.  This will bring about transformation in man. When man is in total harmony within, the five elements in nature will also be in perfect harmony.  However, the imbalance within man is upsetting the balance of the five elements in nature, resulting in various calamities.  When asked how man can maintain the balance of five elements in nature, Sri Sathya Sai Baba replied, “Man can achieve this only by practising Human Values” and, “In order to protect Nature, man has to practice a ceiling on desires. He should not trigger the negative aspect of Nature. Care should be exercised in providing comforts as excessive comforts may spoil man’s mind and cause misery instead of happiness. Nothing good can be achieved without certain restraints. Because of the advancement of technology and provision of excessive comforts, life has become mechanical and spirituality has declined.”  When man heeds to this, and reveres nature and takes a step to care for and protect nature in all aspects of life, man is taking a step closer to experiencing the oneness with nature.  Once man continues to practice the five human values, including ceiling on desires, and realizes the innate divinity that pervades all, man can be in harmony and hence bring about harmony in nature. 

SOUL provides an opportunity for members to connect with divinity in nature by participating in the community garden project.  In this project, the plots are tended with care on the premises, plants are grown organically in raised beds and nurtured carefully, and the produce is shared with love with the local food pantries.  This community garden project enables SOUL members to put the dictum “Love all, Serve all” into practice.