The endangered race. Review on General Thoughts on Environmental Pollution

Fellow humans, or should I refer to you as the endangered specie; the vanishing race?

They say that centuries back ascetics would get so engrossed in their meditation that the vegetation would grow around them and over them to the extent that they would be totally covered by it. There would come a time when that vegetation would acquire the soul of the meditating sage and the duo would form a tree. They say that is how trees got life in the first place.

Which is why you should not cut trees, because underneath is some holy sage meditating. If you do chop the tree, you are running the risk of incurring the wrath of enraged sage. Whether you believe this anecdote to be true or not is not relevant, what is relevant is that the curses of the sages are seemingly on us already and the signs have started appearing. Mother Earth has started yielding finally to constant blows that we the humans have inflicted on Her.

If you have interest in ancient Indian history, you would know that the concept of decline of the great Indus Valley civilization has been challenged already. We were taught that the Indus Valley Civilization fell to the constant attacks of the Aryans. This has been challenged already and now people have come to realize that the reasons for the decline of this great civilization were somewhat totally different. To know these better, it is first important to know that now the Indus Valley Civilization is referred to as Indus Saraswati Civilization. It reached its peak towards the end of Great Vedic Period(3000BC) and fell somewhere between 2200 and 1900BC. What has been established is that it was during the same time all other great civilizations collapsed. Like the great Mesopotamian Civilization also collapsed and vanished around the same timeframe.

Satellite imaging proves that Saraswati was not just a mythical river. Saraswati indeed used to flow along the terrain as highlighted in Vedas. Satellite imaging also proves that Saraswati was as wide as 30kms at places!

What led to collapse of all the great civilizations back then was a huge 300 year long draught. That is what led to drying up of Saraswati river and the rivers Tigris and Euphrates between which Mesopotamian civilization had nurtured itself. The reasons for such a global draught are not known.

Global warming is just one of the manifestations of nature's fury. We have pushed Mother Nature to the limits and hoped or rather ignored that even Mother Nature can strike back. The signs are all clear in the present day scenario. Oceans have begun to rise baying for our blood. Sooner or later some of our most beautiful coastal cities will exist only in history chapters. And then when more centuries pass, they will acquire the status of legends as did the legendary city of Dwarka which was seemingly gobbled up by the sea and whose traces seem to have been located by archaeologists now.

I know we are all collectively responsible. But then you see it's not me; it's not my family which is doing any harm to nature. So why do I care? By the time global warming begins taking its toll, we would have long died. So far so good.

In fact melting of Himalayan and Alpine glaciers should be seen as a turning point in history of the world. Some mythological texts have it that Saraswati, Ganga and Yamuna would all vanish within a certain time period. I would not give the timelines mentioned in Vedas for the same here as they are not relevant to the topic at hand. We may choose to ignore the ancient texts, but if we do ignore all the signs that are mocking us on our face then we do so at our own peril. The dangers are real and it is us who are now the vanishing race.

I do not want to delve deeper into what we can do on our parts. Theorists can insert chapters after chapter on the same.

It is envisaged that the third world war would be fought over matters concerning the control of water. We already know the issues by looking at the problem we face today with Cauvery water sharing. We also know about how China totally destroyed our river linking project even before its inception.

Fellow humans - I come to the end of my write up. Years back the same topic of global warming was discussed, debated and thrashed at all important international gatherings of any worth. Decades have passed since then and we are still unable to wake up. So my message to the vanishing race is to think and do your bit. And do it fast. Sometimes individuals alone cannot make a difference but the group can.

Let us be what we have always been told we are - the indestructible, the immovable and the very essence of life. Let us not become messengers of death.

Revered sages and Mother Earth - I pray for your forgiveness. However, I also know just like an arrow that is shot, the words of a sage cannot retract.

I have always loved trees. Haven't we all?

The tree is drawing me near; I've got to find out why.