Tat Tvam Asi – Nature’s Burial – N. P. Jayan

Balachandran V.

Whatever I dig up of you, O earth,
May you of that have quick replenishment!
O purifying one,
May my thrust never reach
unto your vital points, your heart.
[Atharva Veda, 12.35]

Since time immemorial, Indians have known that all life form depends on nature. No other religion perhaps, has given more importance to conservation of nature as Hinduism. Hinduism contains numerous references to the worship of the divine in nature in its Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Sutras, and its other sacred texts. They contain the earliest messages for preservation of environment and ecological balance. Millions of Hindus recite Sanskrit mantras daily to revere their rivers, mountains, trees, animals, and the earth. Man is taught to live in harmony with nature and recognize that divinity prevails in all elements, including plants and animals. Yet have the millions of pilgrims who throng at the gates of Sabarimala temple, the abode of Lord Ayyappa, forgotten the very core values of their religion? Sabarimala temple, the forest abode of Lord Ayyappa, is in the heart of Periyar Tiger Reserve (925 sq km), one of the last sanctuaries of Bengal Tiger in India. It is also home to other 34 species of mammals, nearly 300 species of birds, not to mention innumerable other fauna. It is the catchment area of the rivers, Periyar and Pamba. A verdant tropical forest, PTR numbers among the highly bio-diverse regions in the world.

What we see in Sabarimala is a man-made tragedy, the collusion of blind bhakti and callous commercialization of religious beliefs. An estimated 100 million visitors every year to the temple and the mindless exploitation of these devotees have wreaked havoc on this holy land. Buildings have come up in scores, not to house the poor pilgrim; heavy vehicles rumble is destroying the serenity of the forests and polluting the air. The Poonkavanam or heavenly gardens of Lord Ayyappa are the forests, now trampled and raped by the uncontrolled frenzy of those who bleed the pilgrims with scant attention to their needs. Elephants die choking on tons of plastic waste. The Pamba river, life water to millions is polluted at its head with the faeces of the crores of pilgrims who are denied even the basic sanitation facilities. Hundreds died in a stampede to witness ‘Makara Jyoti’, perhaps the only one state-sponsored hoax in the world of ‘miraculous light’ that appears high in the hills. Vast stretches of forests have been cleared leading to landslips and accidents.