Message from Parmarth Niketan on World Biodiversity Day, “Yoga, not enjoyment; Not consumption, conservation”

Uttarakhand News: Today, on the occasion of World Biodiversity Day, in the environment-dedicated monthly Shri Ram Katha organized at Parmarth Niketan (Rishikesh), Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati described Lord Shri Ram’s fourteen years of exile as a living environmental philosophy of Sanatan culture and said that Shri Ram’s exile is not a historical event, but an eternal message of the divine coexistence of man and nature.

The core of Sanatan culture is reverence for nature.

Pujya Swami Ji said that whenever man has moved away from nature, unrest, imbalance and destruction have increased in life and whenever he has respected nature by considering it as his mother, prosperity, peace and divinity have flowed on the earth. The core of Sanatan culture is reverence for nature. Here rivers are not just water streams, they are life givers; Trees are not just wood, they are life givers; Mountains are not just stones, they are forms of God, and the entire creation is an expression of God. Ishavasyamidam sarvam yatkinch jagatyam jagat. This mantra of the Upanishad gives us the message that nature is not our property but an expression of God.

“Not enjoyment, but yoga; not consumption, but preservation.”

He said that Lord Shri Ram, during his exile, gave us the message that being in the company of nature is more important than palaces. Be it the forests of Chitrakoot, the holy land of Panchavati, the sacred land of Dandakaranya or the banks of Mother Ganga and Godavari, Lord Shri Ram gave respect, sympathy and love to every place. He never asserted authority over nature, but surrendered himself at the feet of nature. This is the feeling of Sanatan that “not enjoyment, but yoga; not consumption, but preservation.” Which can give us back our green future.

Pujya Swami Ji said that forests are the penance place of sages, home of animals and birds, storehouse of medicines and the life force of the earth. If forests are safe then rain is safe, water is safe, life is safe.

Vision of life-giving power in rivers

He said that today on World Biodiversity Day, we have to remember that the destruction of nature is not only an environmental crisis but also a sign of spiritual decline. The culture which called Tulsi as mother, believed that God resides in Peepal, saw the form of God in Banyan tree and saw life-giving power in rivers, that culture can never exploit nature.

Every family must plant a tree

Pujya Swami Ji said that today the need is not only to plant trees, but also to inculcate reverence for trees. He called upon all the devotees that every family should plant at least one sapling and give it love and protection like a family member and not just a sapling. Whenever we plant a tree, we not only give greenery to the earth, but also give life, hope and future to the coming generations.

Divine example of inspiration for society

On today’s auspicious occasion, while extending hearty greetings and congratulations to Manas Katha Marmagya, Shri Ram Katha Vyas Saint Muralidhar Ji Maharaj and Bhaktimati Meena Ji on their 35th marriage anniversary, Pujya Swami Ji said that the way both of you, becoming one and one, one and dedicated to the service of Shri Ram Katha, Sanatan Culture and humanity, is a divine example of inspiration for the society.

It is a prayer to Mother Ganga that both of you always remain healthy, happy and long-lived and keep spreading the light of religion, culture, values ​​and humanity in the entire society.