After a bit of meditation about our relationship with the existence around, it soon starts to amaze us as to how every organism on this planet, apart from human beings, have found a balance with surrounding environment. Every organism only consumes from the nature exactly what is required to survive. Even the organisms who hibernate during winters only store enough to go through the hibernation.
Accumulation beyond what is absolutely required for co-existence with nature is absolutely a no in all plant & animal life around us. Every organism also contributes to well being of existence by performing important functions of cleaning & rejuvenating natural resources as one's limited existence allows.
This reality is in stark contrast to the great imbalance human race has created with nature. From this perspective, when I meditate on the reason for this imbalance, it is not very difficult to see.
There was a clear point in history of civilization when we laid the foundation for this imbalance.
The moment was when humans acquired ability to accumulate beyond what they required. Initially as a safety net to go through the hard times and increasingly the accumulation started becoming the reason and only goal of a majority of human existence.
Over the years, the human value systems got deformed and accumulation for the sake of accumulation became the goal. A very hollow human society followed.
If we stop for a moment and ask why we want to accumulate wealth? bigger cars? assets for the sake of accumulation? Why do we indulge in mindless consumption that our existence does not require for either survival or growth of human race, at the expense of nature.
On further contemplation, over-consumption or resources from nature beyond what we require to survive, be safe & grow as a human race collectively is not just inappropriate but plain disastrous to existence on this planet as the imbalance goes out of what nature could bear without precipitating a untimely demise of life on this planet.
What would it take to create a peaceful & just coexistence with nature? First and foremost, humanity needs to shed the value we associate with accumulation beyond what we need, and that requires a leap of ego shedding.
Can we create a self sustaining social and economic models that gives back to nature as soon the accumulation crosses what is required for survival and growth?
On a more basic level, can we drive a smaller car that is more eco-friendly if not walk on foot or paddle a bicycle? Can we move away from mindless accumulation of personal wealth for no other purpose then accumulation itself?
Even in personal context, I find these questions discomforting as they contradict my acquired values, beliefs & attitudes and it shatters the basic foundation of greatness that my ego wants to perpetuate.
Balance, find we must, if we need to harmonize our deepest existence with reality & achieve peaceful coexistence with the infinite creation.
In hope of starting small battles against entrenched ego positions and in hope of finding a peaceful coexistence with the world around.
-Explorer
It would seem unlikely that non human organisms would strive to achieve any kind of balance. It would most likely be side effect of the way they are created that everything seems to be so much in balance. Another way of looking at this is this may well be part of evolution, may be the grand design. Think about the ice age or Dinosaurs. We wouldn't be in existence if not for the demise of ice age or dinosaurs. Even for our own existence, nature seems to have put things in perfect order.
ReplyDeleteOur existence does not seem to a random event as there are too many things which have to fall in place like air, water, sun etc for our basic existence. Ironically with so much balance outside, there seems only one thing which is missing, the order inside, order in the mind. The desire to exist forever, to survive. It is this search for perfect order inside which seems to be the cause of imbalance. Ironically, concern for imbalance caused by humans and reason for accumulation can both be explained by the desire for survival : Survival for human race vs survival of the individual. Accumulation is the result of deep insecurity for one's own survival. Accumulation has proven its values in the physical survival. Unfortunately this creates more disorder, more insecurity inside which causes more action outside which causes more disorder. The process goes on with no goal or end insight. The whole process becomes a way to satisfy our senses.
It would seem the only way to overcome this is to overcome ourselves. To have no individual existence just collective existence. It seems very logical to think so since we can not survive alone. Even our thoughts can not survive without others in them. Maybe all the conflict is between me and the other. Our thoughts keep reminding us that we can not be alone, we can not survive without others. Even for our ego, others are needed. There is no ego if not for others, if not for isolation or separation from others. Maybe this can give us some hint about the existence.
Very insightful comment about the need of the collective for the existence of self.
ReplyDelete1. I agree and the reason I perceive is that our material existence is all about stored experiences of the interaction with the world, expectations.
2. Contrary evidence comes from the fact that the need for survival is individual and that has independent existence, independent of everything around us.
3. The divine design is not so much of fool proof concept, the Darwinian hypothesis logic and rational is very strong and so far there has not been any evidence contrary to that
4. Dropping of individual existence is an appealing thought, I believe a more pragmatic way to find balance is to find a whole new set of attitudes, beliefs and values that put a premium on balanced existence, much more than that on accumulation beyond need.