A Message of Save Ganga Movement on Corona Virus Crisis
Towards the last phase of his life, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking warned that life on Earth is at risk from a sudden nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus, global warming, or other dangers humans have not yet thought of. Mahatma Gandhi would not agree with the view of Stephen Hawking that we do not know how to avoid misuse of science and technology based on human selfishness and stupidity based on greed for wealth and lust for luxuries, etc.
We must realize:
(1)The profoundly ethics based nature friendly and village friendly Gandhian Non-violent form of development, which is based on the basic ethics of all great religions as well as of our great living ancient civilization in the context of our present technological age, is the surest and perhaps the only long-term permanent solution to our impending catastrophic global ecological crisis, including the crisis of global warming and climate change, along with the present all-pervasive deep rooted global moral and spiritual crisis; and Gandhiji’s Village Swaraj constitutes its core.
(2) Rejuvenation and preservation our great river mothers and their source our great mountains and forests, is absolutely necessary to ensure permanent pure food, pure water and pure air to our masses, future generations and our dumb and deaf fellow life-world, and rejuvenating and preserving our national river mother Ganga would be a major step in the right direction to rejuvenate and preserve all our other great river mothers which are also in the process of slow death: they provide their invaluable services with zero use of fossil fuel.
(For the details, see Save Ganga Movement’s website: savegangamovement.org)
It is scientifically known that Gangajal (water of Ganga) has some unique health promoting bactericidal, non-putrefying, self-purifying qualities. Mother Ganga’s having about 25 times more self-purifying capacity than that of the other rivers, and the presence of high levels of bactericidal copper and chromium and perhaps of uranium, thorium in the Himalayan sediments and Virus Coli Phages in the sediments of the river which kill the harmful bacteria Coli Forms, makes her very special among our great river mothers. We must scientifically test to know whether Coli Phages Virus can kill Corona Virus.
What our modern seers have failed to teach us about the importance of pure air, pure water, soil, trees, herbs, etc. of Mother Nature for us which the Shanti Mantra, “Om… antariksham shantih, prathvi shantih, aapha shantih, osadhay shantih, vanaspatayah shantih ….” teaches us, Corona Virus-Fear has taught us about the importance of hygiene and sanitation within one month. After the Corona Virus Crisis is over, experts would find out how much we would gain economically taking into account the environmental cost of the resulted environment cleanliness due to the forced global lockdown. Hope the Corona Virus Crisis would help us to awaken from the spell of the glamour of the present form of development of modern civilization which Gandhiji considered to be Satanic and nine days wonder only. The Corona Virus crisis has shown us clearly the importance of our farmers, our Aanadata, for our survival, although we are showing great indifference to the problems of rural India
We must take time–bound decisive steps to convert rural India into a heaven for leading an enlightened ethical life of simple living and high thinking in an atmosphere of natural purity and beauty with loving care of the life-&-health-sustaining aesthetically and religiously invaluable natural eco-systems with the help of the Gandhian vision of ideal rural India. We must replace the present fundamentally unspiritual, greed for wealth and lust for luxuries based, rural-hostile and eco-hostile, inherently unsustainable and out-and-out consumerist form of Industrialization and urbanization, which has catastrophic consequences for our future generations as well as for the entire life-world, by a profoundly ethics-based, rural-friendly and nature-friendly form of decentralized non-exploitative Industrialization and urbanization, with the help of Gandhiji’s vision of non-violent form of development.
Gandhiji said in 1945: “I believe that if India is to attain true freedom and through India the world as well, than sooner or later we will have to live in villages in huts not in palaces.” In Harijan on 4th August 1946 Gandhiji wrote: “When our villages are fully developed, there will be no dearth in them of men with a high degree of skill and artistic talent. There will be village poets, village artists, village architects, linguists and research workers. In short there will be nothing in life which will not be had in the villages. Today the villages are dung heaps. Tomorrow they will be like tiny gardens of Eden where dwell highly intelligent folk whom no one can deceive or exploit. The reconstruction of villages along these lines should begin right now…not on a temporary but permanent basis.” “That you cannot serve God and Mammon is an economic truth of the highest value. We have to make our choice. Western nations are today groaning under the heel of the monster-god of materialism. Their moral growth has become stunted. ... Let us seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and the irrevocable promise is that everything will be added unto us. These are Real Economics. May you and I treasure them and enforce them in our daily life.” Let us always remember the invaluable message of Mahatma Gandhi: “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.” “When there is both inner and outer cleanliness, it approaches Godliness.” Let us also always remember the invaluable message of Albert Einstein: “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”
Let us face the present catastrophic national and global Corona Virus Crisis with courage, patience, hope and inner peace with the help of the available scientific knowledge and the moral and spiritual teachings of the great teachers and seers of various great religions and of our great living ancient civilization, which are fundamentally essentially the same and true. Let us solemnly resolve to build a new India sincerely trying as our long-term goal to rejuvenate and preserve our great living ancient civilization of Truth and non-violence and establish a secular kingdom of spiritually enlightened righteousness (Ram Rajya, Kingdom of God), and save India and through it the world at large from the impending catastrophic global ecological crisis, including the crisis of global warming and climate change, along with the present all pervasive deep rooted moral and spiritual crisis. Let us consider the issue of rejuvenation and preservation of our great river mothers and their sources our great mountains and forests with empathy and compassion for the sufferings of our masses, future generations and the dumb and deaf fellow life-world.
Let us pray God to help us to overcome the present deadly Corona Virus Crisis with His unlimited compassion and grace, and also help us to take the necessary steps for the rejuvenation and preservation of the life-giving and life-&-health sustaining aesthetically and religiously invaluable natural eco-systems of Mother Earth.
With deep love and prayers,
Smt Rama Rauta,
President, National Women’s Organization, Pune
Founder & Convener, Save Ganga Movement
Former Member, Expert Advisory Committee, Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of WR, RD&GR, Govt. of India
Former Expert Member, National Ganga River Basin Authority, Govt. of India,
(Headed by Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh)
Mobile: 09765359040, 09930537344
Email: ramarauta@rediffmail.com, ramarauta29@gmail.com
