The mere existence of this Mother Earth makes the whole Cosmos to exist and have a meaning.”

[Guest guest]

Climate risk 'to million species'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Alex KirbyBBC News Online environment correspondent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boyd's forest dragon: The lizard that's losing its home (Image copyright Stephen E Williams)

Climate change could drive a million of the world's species to extinction as soon as 2050, a scientific study says. The authors say in the journal Nature a study of six world regions suggested a quarter of animals and plants living on the land could be forced into oblivion. They say cutting greenhouse gases and storing the main one, carbon dioxide, could save many species from vanishing. The United Nations says the prospect is also a threat to the billions of people who rely on Nature for their survival.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3375447.stm

 

 

Richer, stouter, and no happier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Alex KirbyBBC News Online environment correspondent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More than 1.7 billion people have entered the "consumer class"

More people are adopting a lifestyle that leaves them dissatisfied and the Earth impoverished, US researchers say. The Worldwatch Institute says more than 25% of the world's people now enjoy the style which used to belong to the rich. But it says rising obesity and debt, and increasing pressures on time, are reducing many people's quality of life. In its annual report, Worldwatch says consumers' demands are devouring the natural world unsustainably, leaving the poor less able to meet their needs. Dedicated to consumption The latest edition of its annual publication, State Of The World 2004, says about 1.7 billion people have entered "the consumer class", adopting the diets, transport systems and lifestyles formerly the preserve of North America, Europe and Japan.

 

 

 

 

 

LUXURIES AND NEEDSYearly spending on luxury items:Make-up: $18bnPerfumes: $15bnOcean cruises: $14bnIce-cream in Europe: $11 bnExtra annual funds needed to achieve global goals:Eliminate hunger: $19bnReproductive health care for all women: $12bnClean water for all: $10bnUniversal literacy: $5bn Source: Worldwatch

 

The amount spent across the world on goods and services by households has quadrupled since 1960, reaching more than $20 trillion in 2000. Worldwatch says consumption by the wealthy elites, and increasingly among the middle class as well, has gone beyond satisfying needs to become an end in its own right. It is also rising rapidly in developing countries, especially in China and India. The report says consumption ........http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3380387.stm

 

 

 

 

"Intelligence and tool-making were our strengths from the beginning. We used these talents to compensate for the paucity of the natural gifts — speed, flight, venom, burrowing, and the rest — freely distributed to other animals, so it seemed, and cruelly denied to us. From the time of the domestication of fire and the elaboration of stone tools, it was obvious that our skills could be used for evil as well as for good. But it was not until very recently the even the benign use of our intelligence and our tools might — because we are not smart enough to foresee all consequences — put us at risk.Now we are everywhere on Earth. We have bases in Antarctica. We visit the ocean bottoms. Twelve of us have even walked on the Moon. There are now nearly 6 billion of us, and our numbers grow by the equivalent of the population of China every decade. We have subdued the other animals and the plants (although we have been less successful with the microbes). We have

domesticated many organisms and made them do our bidding. We have become, by some standards, the dominant species on Earth.And at almost every step, we have emphasized the local over the global, the short-term over the long. We have destroyed the forests, eroded the topsoil, changed the composition of the atmosphere, depleted the protective ozone layer, tempered with the climate, poisoned the air and waters, and made the poorest people suffer most from the deteriorating environment. We have become predators on the biosphere — full of arrogant entitlement, always taking and never giving back. And so, we are now a danger to ourselves and the other beings with whom we share the planet.The wholesome attack on the global environment is not the fault only of profit-hungry industrialists or visionaries and corrupt politicians. There is plenty of blame to share.The tribe of scientists has played a central role. Many of us didn’t even bother to think about the

long-term consequences of our inventions. We have been too ready to put devastating powers into the hands of the highest bidder and the officials of whichever nation we happen to be living in. In too many cases, we have lacked a moral compass. Philosophy and science from their very beginnings have been eager, in the words of René Descartes, "to make us masters and possessors of Nature," to use science, as Francis Bacon said, to bend all of Nature into "the services of Man." Bacon talked about "Man" exercising a "right over Nature.Nature," wrote Aristotle, "has made all animals for the sake of man.Without man," asserted Immanuel Kant, "the whole of creation would be a mere wilderness, a thing in vain." Not so long ago we were hearing about "conquering" Nature and the "conquest" of space — as if Nature and the Cosmos were enemies to be vanquished.The religious tribe also played a central role. Western sects held that just as we must submit to God, so the rest of Nature

must submit to us. In modern times especially, we seem more dedicated to the second half of this proposition than the first. In the real and palpable world, as revealed by what we do and not what we say, many humans aspire to be lords of Creation — with an occasional token bow, as required by social convention, to whatever gods may lately be fashionable. Descartes and Bacon were profoundly influenced by religion. The notion of "us against Nature" is a legacy of our religious traditions. In the Book of Genesis, God gives humans "dominion . . over every living thing," and the "fear" and "dread" of us is to be upon "every beast." Man is urged to "subdue" Nature, and "subdue" is translated from a Hebrew word with strong military connotations. There is much else in the Bible — and in the medieval Christian tradition out of which modern science emerged — along similar lines. Islam, by contrast, is disinclined to declare nature an enemy.Of course, both science and religion are

complex and multi-layered structures, embracing different, even contradictory, opinions. It is scientists who discovered and called the world’s attention to the environmental crises, and there are scientists who, at considerable cost to themselves, refused to work on inventions that might harm their fellows. And it is religion that first articulated the imperative to revere livings things.True, there is nothing in the Judeo-Christian-Muslim tradition that approaches the cherishing of Nature in the Hindu-Buddhist-Jain tradition or among Native Americans. Indeed, both Western religion and Western science have gone out of the way to assert that Nature is just the setting and not the story, that viewing Nature as scared is sacrilege.Nevertheless, there is a clear religious counterpoint: The natural world is a creation of God, put here for purposes separate from the glorification of "Man" and deserving, therefore, of respect and care in its own right, and not just because

of its utility for us. A poignant metaphor of "stewardship" has emerged, especially recently — the idea that humans are the caretakers of the Earth, put here for the purpose and accountable, now and into the indefinite future, to the Landlord. . . .The methods and ethos of science and religion are profoundly different. Religion frequently asks us to believe without question, even (or especially) in the absence of hard evidence. Science asks us to take nothing on faith, to be wary of our penchant for self-deception, to reject anecdotal evidence. Science considers deep skepticism a prime virtue. Religion often sees it as a barrier to enlightenment. So, for centuries, there has been a conflict between the two fields — the discoveries of science challenging religious dogmas, and religion attempting to ignore or suppress the disquieting findings.But times have changed. Many religions are now comfortable with an Earth that goes around the Sun, with an Earth that’s 4.5

billion years old, with evolution, and with the other discoveries of modern science. Pope John Paul II has said, "Science can purify religion from error and superstition; religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes. Each can draw the either into a wider world, a world in which both can flourish. . . . Such bridging ministries must be nurtured and encouraged.Nowhere is this more clear than in the current environmental crisis. No matter whose responsibility the crisis mainly is, there’s no way out of it without understanding the dangers and their mechanisms, and without a deep devotion to the long-term well-being of our species and our planet — that is, pretty closely, without the central involvement of both science and religion."Carl Sagan, Billions & Billions

 

 

"Many Faces of the Earth GoddessIn India, the land of Gods and Goddesses, not only is the water of the Ganges holy or the plants of the Himalayas sacred, but the tradition of worshiping our planet as Bhumi Devi or the Earth Goddess is as old as folklore. Shiva (consciousness) and Shakti (nature) are two aspects of the Brahman, the Supreme Being. In Shakti yoga, therefore, we unite our inner self with the outer nature.In the Hindu scripture, the mother and the motherland are greater than the heaven. More than 12,000 years ago, unlike in any other religions of the world, the God was worshiped as she in the Dravidian mother goddess religion and women were placed on the top of a pedestal in that Indus valley civilization. In Sanskrit, earth is pronounced "Dharitri" which is derived from the root word "Dhri" meaning "to hold". Therefore, Dharitri means one who sustains the lives of the organic and inorganic world. According to the Hindu

cosmology, the Supreme Being, with the help of consciousness and nature, created three universal gunas or attributes - Sattva (pure), Rajas (movement) and Tamas (inertia)- from which were manifested the five elements of nature: ether, air, fire, water and earth. From the soil were born plants that become seeds for human lives. Thus, the Hindus praised the mother earth through their Vedic chants saying "let there be peace on earth.www.connexion.org/

 

 

 

"The most characteristic teaching of Saktism, however, comes close to Advaita Vedanta: Saktism is considered to be identical with Brahman. Sakti is the creative force which creates the world and the creation is one with the force which pervades it. The earliest evidence for Sakti-Advaita can be found in some Puranas, in which Devi is explaining her own identity with Brahman. . . .Since Sakti is both avidya and vidya, matter and spirit, the sadhana taught by Saktas often emphasizes the oneness of bhukti and mukti, the merging of matter and spirit instead of their discrimination (viveka) as advocated by other systems. The perfection of the jivas is achieved through an assumption of all the different forms of Sakti into their own subtle bodies, thus becoming one with the force that sustains the universe. . . .Saktism has deeply influenced many recent movements of

religious and philosophical renewal. . . . Many people find in Saktism a basis for a religion for our age, a religion which takes material reality as seriously as spirit. As V. S. Agarwal writes: "Mother Earth is the deity of the new age . . . the kalpa of Indra-Agni and the yuga of Siva-Visnu are no more. The modern age offers its salutations to Mother Earth whom it adores as the super-goddess . . . Mother Earth is the presiding deity of the age, let us worship her.Klaus K. Klostermaier, Hinduism: A Short HistoryOneWorld Publications, 2000, p. 217-8

 

 

"Protecting the environment here on planet Earth takes on increasing emphasis and importance as we move deeper into the Age of Aquarius. Scientists estimate that at the current rate of destruction, humans will push an average of one hundred species of plants and animals to extinction every day, nearly a thousand times faster than the rate that existed from prehistory to the present . . . Aquarius will demand that we protect our home planet . . .The children of the New Age, those already born and those to be born, will take up environmental movements with renewed vigor. Already the seeds of this revolution are planted. But as we move deeper into the new era, this inclination turns to passion and youth rejects consumer culture . . .It is morally wrong to act as though we are separate from nature and from the Earth, and our religious leaders too will have to recognize that the biblical dictate to be fruitful and multiply is

meant to be applied to its spiritual, not physical, sense; and that the Commandment "Thou shalt not kill" applies to our mother planet as well as to all on it."Walter Mercado, Beyond The Horizon:Visions of a New Millennium

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

 

 

 

 

 

"Because of Mother Earth the Universe exists because She, the Mother Earth, was created out of all the Cosmos. The whole Cosmos is supported by Mother Earth . . . The mere existence of this Mother Earth makes the whole Cosmos to exist and have a meaning.”Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

 

 

 

 

 

"Though I was in a Christian family, that before touching the Mother Earth, getting up from the bed, we use to say, "Oh, Mother Earth, please forgive us because we are touching you with our feet." It’s the respect for the Mother Earth and for Nature — is built-in within us; it’s part and parcel. We are part and parcel of this Whole, we can call it, a whole Universe. But when you get into this nonsensical idea of freedom then you are leaving your Mother Earth. Your gravity itself reduces. This Mother Earth has to teach us. . . .Whatever is outside is also inside. If you want to exploit your Mother inside or if you want to trouble your Mother inside, you can also trouble this Mother Earth. . . .It’s so remarkable how the Nature is so much within us and how this, whatever is within us, guides outside and receives the blessings. We are not something separate. This Mother Earth is our home. We have a home in Her and She

has a home within us."Shri Mahi DeviCabella, Italy — Sept. 7, 1997Mahi (718th): Earth, or the last of the ‘Bhutas’ or categories which is the Mother of all life and food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

 

 

 

 

 

"Today we are going to do the Puja of Adi Shakti . It's a difficult subject to talk about Adi Shakti because it's not easy to understand that Adi Shakti is the Power of Sadashiva. Sadashiva is the God Almighty. She is His Breath, as they some people call it. Some say She is the Desire and some say that She's the entire Power of Sadashiva and Sadashiva cannot do anything without Her Powers.This subject has been described by many people in various books in different ways. But actually we need not go to the background of the creation of Adi Shakti for that, at least, you need seven lectures but we'll come to the point where Adi Shakti started working on this Mother Earth.The first thing is, we must know that She created a

Kundalini in the Mother Earth itself and She created Shri Ganesha out of the Mother Earth. It's very interesting. So the Mother Earth becomes a very important thing for us. If you do not know how to respect the Mother Earth, we do not know how to respect ourselves. The expression of Adi Shakti within you is the Kundalini, no doubt. That is the reflection of Adi Shakti in you. But the reflection in the Mother Earth is also expressed, as you all know, in different places, different countries, different cities as the manifestation of Chakras and Adi Shakti's creations. It was very important first to create a very holy Mother Earth for human beings to be born on them.So the reflection of the Adi Shakti as Kundalini first, was on the Mother Earth. The Kundalini is a, we should say, is a wee part of the Adi Shakti or we can say that, She is the desire, pure Desire, of the Adi Shakti. So Adi Shakti is the desire, complete desire of Sadashiva and Kundalini, Adi Kundalini, is

the desire, complete desire of Adi Shakti.Now this one was first expressed in the Mother Earth, inside the Mother Earth. Inside the Mother Earth, the Kundalini came up in such a way that it coiled down the inner part of the Mother Earth, as much as it could, and then it manifested on the surface of the Earth as different Chakras. So it's a tremendous similarity that we have with Virata, the Mother Earth and the human beings.If all of them are being reflected by the Adi Kundalini, so there has to be a great connection between them. It is not understood by human beings how they are connected to this Mother Earth. This Kundalini passed through different centres, creating different centres in the Mother Earth and, ultimately, broke through Kailasha. And, I don't know how many of you have been to Kailash, you'll see tremendous vibrations flowing out of Kailash.Now the way we insult our Mother Earth, what we are doing is we are insulting the Adi Shakti. So many

ways there are, we should respect the Mother Earth. I mean it was an Indian custom to begin with, when you got up from your bed and you touched the Mother Earth with your feet, you had to say, "Oh, Mother Earth, please forgive me because I'm touching you with my feet."All the movements of Mother Earth are controlled by this inner Kundalini, which is the reflection of Adi Shakti. The gravity that it has also is the manifestation of the Kundalini of the Mother Earth.”Shri Kundalini DeviCabella, Italy — May 25, 1997Kundalini (110th): She is coiled like a serpent. She is stated to assume 31/2 coils — The form in which Sri-Lalita resides in each individual in the potential state.

www.adishakti.org | www.al-qiyamah.org | contact us