Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher

For time immemorial, nature has been nurturing our bodies, illuminating our minds and edifying our souls with its perpetual flow of beauty and divinity. It has so often echoed with the chants of our pious saints, chirruping of the birds, music of the verses and mellifluous notes of true love. Nature in all its exquisiteness has been a companion to the lonely, home to the vagrant, true friend to a broken heart, a philosopher to wandering minds, strength to the meek, inspiration to the despaired and  a balm to our wounded  souls.  Mortals on Earth always had a communion with nature- a God’s precious gift which was meant to be eternal. As the years went rolling by, man turned treacherous and could no more seek happiness in this divine bond.  He veiled his inner eye with the pall of material pursuits, held the hand of his avaricious greed, ran away from what he thought was nought and created a world on the heap of gold. Deaf to the callings of the deep recesses of his heart, man’s parched soul seeks a reunion with its truest friend, philosopher and guide.

Each morning welcomes us with a splendour unparalleled. The canvas of nature is adorned with the beauty of sunrise, sunset, flocks of birds soaring high in the sky, flowers blooming in vivid hues, mountains standing tall with pride,  pitter-patter of rain, butterflies fluttering their wings, rustling of leaves, cool breeze whispering around, humming of the bees, water gushing down the oceans- the list is endless. We all see these things of beauty but ironically have forgotten or are too busy to notice them. Each spectacle of nature has a lesson of life and only the hearts sensitive enough to perceive it sail through the thick of life smoothly.

The life of the people today is nothing more than a maze with beginnings and endings all messed up. We make schedules, plan to do many things but keep removing one or the other from our list , grumbling about  ‘lack of time’. With dearth of self-discipline and balance in life, no wonder this is the present state of affairs. Let’s delve into the natural rhythm of nature. Has sun ever risen in the west or set in the east? Have you ever seen gravity pulling things upwards rather than downwards? Does winter spread its tentacles before autumn turns the leaves yellow? Plants are eaten by herbivores which are further consumed by carnivores and then the omnivores …. the balanced cycle goes on. Imagine any of these things not adhering to the natural rules. The only result would be a complete chaos leading to an imminent doom. So a sagacious proximity with nature will strengthen the edifice of our lives with a strong foundation of self-discipline and poised disposition.

Human existence is replete with sufferings and miseries and many yield to them, completely battered, exhausted and despondent. But just reflect over the fact that the very first ray of the sun in the morning dispels the darkness of the night and dismal winters are bound to be followed by rejuvenating and colourful spring. If only man had taken these natural occurrences as nature’s greatest teaching that ‘It is often in our darkest hour that the light of God’s presence shines the brightest.’  , rather than a mere scientific event , their laments and regrets would have alleviated.

A mere glance at the immensity of varieties of creatures and things in this nature, all with a different role to play in this biosphere is indicative of the fact that beauty lies in singularity. As small as an ant, plays an important role in the ecosystem by turning and aerating the soil and  allowing water and oxygen to reach plant roots.  Do two flowers smell the same? The answer to this questions is enough to boost the spirits of the people who wear away their lives with their low self-esteem. Thus every person on this earth is unique and sent to earth with a specific purpose in life.

Trees set a precedent for a generous nature, water teaches us to be flexible, mountains are epitome of endurance in tough times, fragrant flowers urge everyone to spread happiness all around, azure sky enveloping us seems to make a loud appeal that freedom of a man is the most precious jewel, rain giving back life to its origin speaks high about imbuing people’s life with joy,  formation of soil teaches us that human character building is a gradual process which takes years to develop and seconds to destroy. The list is seemingly never-ending.  But one of the greatest lessons of life from one of the greatest teachers of this universe is- the lesson of futility of ‘haste’, for look at the nature-   “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”.

The need of the hour is to resuscitate our bond with nature at an emotional and spiritual level, to be in harmony with it, to learn to listen to its silent words, to plunge into its deep mysteries and emerge with a pearl of wisdom to embellish our ignorant lives , to let our lives taste the nectar of nature’s beauty and to experience bliss  with this divine elixir of life..

Shalini Kapoor Gupta

PGT English