LESSONS FROM NATURE'S FURY

Rilanjana Talukdar

(The writer can be reached at rilanjana.talukdar@gmail.com)

"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time"

The Bhagavad Gita encourages us to live life with purity, strength, discipline, honesty, kindness and integrity to find our purpose and to live it fully. But we Homo sapiens craze and run for material possession, best living styles, luxury and everything best of the best. We fail to realize what is more important in life. Material wealth is not the answer to what is life. We live in a materialistic society, but seriously, an excess of material goods does not bring the sort of long-term contentment, that genuine feeling of satisfaction and peace, that is the foundation for a happy life. For rich and poor alike, the desire to have more, newer, better, fancier stuff seems to be a fact of human nature. So, it is important to know and understand that the unceasing pursuit of material goods can destroy one's sense of contentment. Nothing is ours to keep, not our big and expensive villas, not our beautiful and luxurious cars, not even our lives along with the lives of our families and friends. And we only understand this more strongly while confronting a natural disaster. This shows the power and wisdom which lies in natural disasters. We fail to realize until and unless nature shows its fury on us. "Materialism reduces human life to an inhuman race from nowhere to nowhere"—Bhagavad Gita.

The recent shake (earthquake) that was experienced by us in Assam on 28th April 2021 made us realize and feel what is most dear and precious for us—LIFE. Fully panicked and clueless our soul target was only to save ourselves and our near and dear ones. One minute of shake has jolted us. Death is inevitable, we are all aware of this and that every man is mortal. None can evade the grasp of death. We are zero in front of all-natural calamities and the agenda of the unseen supremo. Today more people than ever are vulnerable to natural disasters. Population growth and rapid growth of urban populations in developing countries over the last few decades has resulted in increased numbers of people who require help each year because of natural hazards such as storms, floods, and earthquakes. We can't prevent natural disasters, but we can mitigate their impacts. If we make a note of all the natural calamities, we can mark that all the events that are taking place due to either natural activity or human-made activity. It leaves a long impact on human lives and properties which are increasing day by day. Mother Nature has the power that can be both destructive and creative. Our attitude towards Mother Nature will determine her attitude towards us. For every cause, there is an effect. Everything is destined and preplanned. Whatever is meant to happen will happen. If an individual is meant to perish in an accident or struck by lightning he or she shall perish. None can resist and fight against the forces of nature rather than pray patiently for the unseen supreme's blessings. It is in moments like these when you learn how to surrender and to become a patient person, not only with nature but also with your self, the people around you and life in general. Whether you are directly involved and affected by a natural disaster or not, whether it is an earthquake or some other natural disaster, you can't help but feel compassionate towards every living being affected by the fury of Mother Nature, realizing once again that we are all ONE.

Every one of us is born with a sacred duty that we must fulfil during this lifetime. Sacred duty refers to the moral order that sustains the cosmos, society, and the individual. We can all use this idea to help us cope with our responsibilities in life and see them not as burdens, but as our sacred duties. For Arjuna, in context to Mahabharata, it was the duty of being a warrior at the time of war. But for us, it may be the duty of being a good human. Practicality is the mantra for today's successful life, but we need to remember that whatever we possess, we will not be able to carry it along with us in the journey of death. We all must come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. Life is beautiful but not always easy, it has problems, too, and the challenge lies in facing them with courage, letting the beauty of life act like a balm, which makes the pain bearable. Happiness, sorrow, victory, defeat, day-night are the two sides of the same coin. Similarly, life is full of moments of joy, pleasure, success, and comfort punctuated by misery, defeat, failures, and problems. There is no human being on Earth, strong, powerful, wise, or rich, who has not experienced, struggle, suffering or failure. Many of us live our lives chasing after material wealth, platforming material wealth to be superior to everything. As we go about our journey, getting richer and richer and feeling more and more superior to most of the population, we forget we once had a heart and we once cared about doing good more than we cared about making money. The castles that we build sooner or later will be washed away as we all will go into dust. What matters in life is to love yourself, love those around you and allow them to love you back. The Earth is our home, not just yours and not just mine. Finally, this is the fact that "One who takes shelter of the Supreme Lord has nothing to fear, even amid the greatest calamity."