How Do We Hark Back?

In Genesis, when God created everything from nothingness, s/he knew it was all good, “God saw all s/he had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Everything that existed from the beginning of creation was perfect like the Creator. That’s how wo/man was formed too, in the image and likeness of God, in all perfection and goodness. This is the state of grace or the Garden of Eden, where humankind lived in harmony with creation. Since humans have a dual nature, that of being one with the creator yet at the same time being temporal in flesh and blood, this equation of grace was bound to change, when the temporal takes precedence over the eternal nature of being (our spiritual nature). That’s when evil/bad was conceived in the image and likeness of wo/man. That’s where humankind stands now, at a crossroad, forever wavering between the spiritual and the temporal, not realising that our true nature is spiritual and that existence in this physical plane is just a lesson to remember our original state of grace. A grace which made us masters of all living creatures that move on earth (Genesis 1:28).

With the Amazon Jungle burning at an unprecedented rate, it is hard to believe that we are the caretakers of the planet, a grace that was bestowed upon humankind in Genesis. The world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon in the South American continent, has been in the news recently for the massive forest fires that have been burning continuously over the past month. These forest fires are not caused by natural means, neither are they accidental fires. Various investigations and analysis of the raging fires have shown that these agricultural fires have been deliberately set to create pasture lands for the rearing and cultivation of cattle and their food. The consumption of meat is the main reason for the massive deforestation that inevitably led to the man-made fires in the Amazon. How far have we travelled from our spiritual selves, that news like this doesn’t seem surprising anymore? How do we hark back to our true natures and mirror the divine embedded in us?

Fortunately, humankind has been blessed with great teachers/preachers/saints/sages who have shown the way through virtue of their lives. One of the sages who celebrates his 150th birth anniversary this month, is a stunning example of how the spiritual aspect can liberate not just a person but entire nations. Gandhiji, was a man who had his doubts and failings, but by giving importance to the spiritual aspect, he honed his divine nature and emerged into one of the greatest men of the twentieth century, a Mahatma. We all are divine; we just have to work towards realising this. Jesus who knows the Father, made it His mission to make us realise the Creator too, and He says it so beautifully: Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and everything will be added unto you (Mathew 6:33). Jesus simplifies life, He says to seek the spiritual, the divine in everything we do, think or feel, and life will be bliss, like it was in Eden. Everything is in our hands, everything has always been in our hands, we just have to seek and live according to our spiritual/divine natures and good will follow. 

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.”

— Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.