Mother Earth Day

by Manorama Dasa

Devotees of Krishna respect the Earth as the energy of God and as one of our mothers. By the will of God she provides the materials our bodies are made of, as well as food and shelter to maintain them. The clothes we wear, the buildings we inhabit, and the computers we use to read this article are all manufactured from her elements.

The sacred Vedas describe our interdependent relationship. If we live in harmony with our mother, take only as much as we need for our subsistence, and use whatever she provides in our Father's service, peace and prosperity increase. However, when we exploit the earth, plundering her resources for ungodly purposes, we become thieves, liable to be punished. She withholds her bounty. Natural disasters, wars and catastrophes increase, resulting in scarcity of food and suffering.

Humanitarian relief efforts and charitable causes ("save the rain forest," for example) address the symptoms of the Earth's problems. Such efforts do little to reduce the underlying greed and envy that cause human beings to exploit one another and the Earth, resulting in one nation living in prosperity at the expense (and pollution) of another.

Therefore saintly persons advise that the best recourse to save our planet from disaster is to revive God consciousness, Krishna consciousness among the people. Krishna consciousness means to become aware that everything produced by the Earth is God's energy; it belongs to God and should be used in His service. We're all interconnected as brothers and sisters and have responsibilities to one another, Mother Earth and Father God. Krishna consciousness means that all creatures - human beings, animals, trees, plants, rivers, mountains, and oceans - are God's creatures, are sacred, and deserve our care and respect.