Rishikesh. On the occasion of World Oceans Day, Swami Chidanand Saraswati, President of Parmarth Niketan, gave a shocking message to humanity that today the biggest heart of the earth, its oceans, despite being silent, is making a pitiful cry. This call is not for one country, one society or one generation, but for the entire human civilization.
On the divine occasion of Shri Ramcharitmanas Katha flowing from the mouth of Saint Muralidhar Maharaj, I got the sacred company of Swami Chidanand Saraswati Ji and Saint Rameshwaranand Ji Maharaj. Addressing the devotees on this occasion, Swami Ji said that these days we are listening to the story of Lord Shri Ram, the ocean of devotion, love and compassion, but at the same time the real oceans of the world are suffering from pollution due to our insensitivity.
Swamy said, oceans are not just bodies of water. They are the breath of the earth, its consciousness, its lungs. If the oceans are filled with plastic, chemicals and garbage, then even the breath of humanity will not be safe. He said that today man has acquired convenience in the name of development, but has lost sensitivity. We use a plastic bottle for a few minutes, but its ill effects affect the oceans and marine life for hundreds of years. The plastic that is thrown into the sea becomes microscopic particles and enters our body again through food, water and air. The law of nature is clear, what we give to the earth comes back to us in some form or the other.
Referring to the story of Samudra Manthan, Swami said that in our scriptures the ocean has been described as the source of gems. Fourteen gems had emerged from the churning of the ocean, nectar had emerged, Lakshmiji had appeared. But today our culture of selfishness and consumption has made the oceans such that what is coming out of them are not gems, but plastic, pollution and environmental crisis. This is not just pollution of the ocean, but of our consciousness.
He said that today the need is not only for cleaning the oceans, but also for cleaning our mentality. Unless our inner self is free from greed, over-consumption and insensitivity, external pollution cannot end. The environmental crisis is actually a spiritual crisis. Saving the Earth requires compassion, gratitude and responsibility, not just policies.
Swami said that where there is a story, there an atmosphere of love is created, there sensitivity is awakened, there man feels himself connected to nature. If every person takes a pledge in his life that he will not use single-use plastic, respect water and be grateful to nature, then a global movement to protect the oceans can arise.
He said, the oceans are not the final destination of our waste, but the basic source of our existence. If the oceans survive then the Earth will survive, if the Earth survives then the future of humanity will be secure.
On the occasion of World Oceans Day, Swami Chidanand Saraswati called upon all citizens, youth, policy makers and spiritual institutions to consider nature not as a resource but as a relationship, not for consumption, but as an object of worship. He said that the time has come when we should leave the culture of use and throw and adopt the culture of use and grow, where development does not mean destruction but conservation.
Swami said, whenever you see a river, sea or stream, do not consider it merely water. The life of future generations is flowing in it. Protecting the oceans is not just about protecting the environment, but about protecting humanity.
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