Posted by sharad vats on 04th July, 2016.
Since there can never be a consensus as to what the word ‘civilization’ actually means and who it is that can be called perfectly civilized, some important questions remain unanswered. Is our kind of medicine necessarily superior to people looking for the most reasonable cures to old, incurable diseases amongst the blessings of nature? People dwelling in the untouched and unexplored parts of the world are often privy to life’s deepest secrets. Things that elude us, being surrounded by concrete jungles. They have their own language, traditions, cultural history and scientific studies. They are deserving of all the respect and honour we bestow on ‘formally educated’ people.
How do they live?
Often, large groups stay in one forest clearing – their version of a village. There normally is one circle in the centre where communal rituals are performed. Their religious life revolves around, mostly, the cycle of seasons and natural elements they propitiate for harmony in their daily lives. Living in a forest and living so close to the core rhythms of nature facilitate their extreme faith and belief in the power of this Almighty Force. Civilization, having risen above nature worship, now stand on the brink of destruction. Global warming and environmental pollution are real threats to life. Faced with a choice between ‘simple’ rituals to satisfy elemental forces and a clear disregard for all of them, humanity may have kept the wrong foot forward. The forests are where life began, and they may not require propitiation, but they require love, care and tending.
It is, ultimately, the tending of nature that mankind, especially, has always required, whether fruits ripening with a burning sun, or rainfall nourishing plants to produce tender vegetables.
Without knowing what it is we need to protect, no initiative is complete, or even begun. It is important, now more than at any other time, that we realize what a rich and beautiful source of plenty the forests are. Feeding the human mouth and resting the tired spirit, these lands are man’s only hope of a harmonious relationship with the elements. We need to see them, know them and protect them. And we need to start now.