(Note : This is a work of fiction by lionking !)

Hindus have always respected the nature. This can be seen in their way of life, wherein they have utmost respect for all living beings. Living beings in this context are not only the animals or birds, but also the trees that are a part of the nature. Hence, it is considered that both flora and fauna, which form part and parcel of "life" on this Mother Nature, are respected and revered.

The hindu way of life, which typically is Sanatana Dharma, recognizes this fact, and hence, this philosophy makes it very clear that whatever we get from this Mother Nature, essentially has to go back to Mother Nature. Hence, in the villages we see the wisdom of people, in making Nature part of their daily lives. The villagers, do not use those commodities that adversely effect the environment that they are in. They improvise with whatever they get from Mother Nature, build their lives from those things, and ultimately we see that all those things have "no major impact" on the environment.

But having said that, i have no complaints about the way of life of citizens of the modern cities. I do recognize that the way of life we city dwellers have opted for, does give us comforts, and i praise the human ingenuity for making our lives more comfortable.

But, i have only one complaint, we city dwellers are not paying proper attention to the impact that our activities have on the Environment and Mother Nature, which are turning out to be disastrous. The "Stress on Mother Nature" because of our inability to tackle the "ill effects" we create while we try to make our lives comfortable, is clear to see. The effects of "Global Warming" are quite apparent today, and humans have to look at their habits NOW, to make sure that the "Stress on Mother Nature" and "Adverse impact on Environment" is reduced as soon as possible, to the minimum.

So, what is the solution. It is said that "need is the mother of invention". Unfortunately in todays world, as we develop more and more inventions, we find that our NEEDS get multiplied, and the result is that we in our ambition to satisfy those ever increasing needs, are spoiling our the environment, which could prove fatal.

This is a story of Raj an employee in a multinational company. These days he is very happy that due to his hard work, he could impress his boss Robert, who is an American Citizen, but was asked by the company head quarters in the US, to look after the Indian Operations. So, Robert has given a raise making him in charge of a division in the Indian Operations.

Obviously, Raj is very happy and his gratitude to his boss so huge, that he had invited his boss for lunch one Sunday. The boss accepts the invitation, and boss himself is very elated as he is a big fan of Indian Cuisine.

Now, while Robert was on his way to Raj's home of the Lunch-Day, he often had these sights of Garbage Bins on the streets. And to his horror, he finds a big garbage bin in front of the house of Raj, and the foul smell touches the gate of the house of this subordinate. He feels very frustrated.

Raj welcomes this boss near the gate, and notices that his boss is visibly upset because of the smell that is emanating from the garbage bin in front of his house.

After taking his boss to his house, the boss somewhat relaxes in the comforts of the Air Conditioned house.

The conversation starts :

Raj : Boss, i am very glad that you have accepted this invitation to have lunch in my house. I am very delighted that you have given me a "raise". Thank you.

Robert : Hey Raj, anytime. I have just rewarded you for the hard work you have put in. I do recognize that you have the potential to climb up far in the corporate ladder of our organization. I just hope that you continue with your contributions to the organization.

Raj : I will do my best. Did you have any difficulty in finding my house.

Robert : Well, the directions that you have given me were very helpful, and i found your house quite comfortably. But, i sometimes wonder, why people in India, play around with "Cow Dung", making balls out of them, put them in front of their houses, and decorate them with flowers and color powders ! The smell just sucks, you know ! ... And add to that the roads are full of garbage bins, which often overflow with garbage. Has not the municipality got the responsibility to make sure that the streets are clean ?

Raj : I understand the position you are in. Having come from the US, where cleanliness is given utmost priority, seeing the sight of ladies "making balls of cow dung, putting them on the streets and decorating them with flowers and colors", may find a bit awkward, but that is in our culture. That is called the "Festival of Sankranthi/Pongal", a harvest festival. I agree, the municipality has the responsibility for clean streets, perhaps this "complain of yours" seems to be quite valid in my eyes. Municipality should look into it, and trust me our colony association has taken steps to inform them, and during your next visit, you will see clean streets !

Robert : You mean to say that you guys take pride in making "balls of cow dung" and putting up on the streets ? ... Sounds very strange to me !

Raj : This festival has many aspects that need to be considered. We revere COW as a sacred animal, symbolizing health, wealth and prosperity. Since, Cow gives us its milk, and our daily lives depend upon this food, we obviously adore it. You would be surprised to learn that in villages, people use "Cow Dung Water" and sprinkle it on their front yard. Cow Dung has antiseptic properties, that drives away insects and pests. We city dwellers use many "chemicals" to make sure that our house is clean, and in the process we do more harm to the environment. But, i would say, our ancestors and villagers were most conscious of the environment, and they had utmost respect for the nature. The philosophy being, whatever we get from Mother Nature, return it back to her with respect. Unfortunately, we supposedly modern people do not have this respect for the nature, and we see the ill effects of Global Warming effecting us adversely !

Robert : Oh ! you mean to say, we have to use "Cow Dung Water" instead of "Chemicals" in our homes now ? Thats very stupid i would say !

Raj : Well, in todays world, that does look stupid. I completely agree !

Robert : Hey, you have told me often about your kitchen garden, why don't you show it to me, and let me understand what more "philosophies" you can bring out of that, if any ! ... ( with a weak smile on his lips )

Raj : With pleasure boss ...

Both of them go the Kitchen Garden, Robert is amazed at the type of plants that exist in that garden.

Raj : Boss, i have created this garden with my sweat. We have many varieties of vegetables that we grow, and often that saves us our "Vegetables Bill", and often when we have some surplus Vegetables, we give it away to our neighbors !

Robert : I am impressed, you have very good collection of plants indeed ! ... So, how did you make this garden ? ... You bought some seeds and planted them over here ?

Raj : Yeah boss, i had made a list of the type of vegetables that i would want to grow, and here is the collection.

The boss goes to a "Ladies Finger Plant" and observes the small "Ladies Finger" that is yet to grow in full ...

Raj : You wanted to hear the philosophy in this garden right ? ... would be glad to tell you. But, first of all, let me tell you that what ever Organic Garbage we get, we put it in a hole made out in the earth, that automatically revitalizes the earth. So the need to use "fertilizers" in the soil can be done away with. And as usual, we have our "Milk Man", who provides us with a monthly quota of Cow Dung, which we apply to the soil. That makes our soil quite rich in nutrients ! ...

Robert : I can see the moist soil, and its a really pretty sight ! ... But what about the philosophical aspect ?

Raj : It means that whatever we get from Mother Earth, we give it back to her. Making a hole in the earth and putting organic garbage in it, symbolizes this philosophical aspect !

Robert : I understand what you mean ... but it must be hard labour and hard work right ? ... how do you get time to do all this ?

Raj : Well, for me Sunday mornings is the best time to look after my garden. Our maid also helps us in this work. Ofcourse, our maid looks after the watering of the plants on week days.

Just then, Raj's wife calls that the lunch is ready.

Raj : Boss, shall we now have lunch ?

Robert : Yup, i am dying to have some nice Indian Food !

So, the table is done, and Robert is very pleased to see the wide array of cuisine that is put in front of him.

Robert : Hmm ... looks very nice.

Raj : Yes Boss, shall we start ?

Robert nods, and they start having the food. As Robert starts to have Chapatis with Alu Gobi, he suddenly puts one "Green Chilli" in his mouth without realizing it, and after eating that he suddenly feels the "heat" in his mouth, nose and eyes !

Raj rushes to give him a glass of water ! Robert has that ...

Robert : Maan, this Green Chilli is really hot ! ... ( after some time ) do you have any Philosophy in my eating this Green Chilli and feeling its heat ?

Raj : ( smiles a bit ) Boss, green chillis are always hot ... but i would say this ... this green chilli is a product of the Organic Garbage that we produced in our house some time back !

Robert wonders what the hell ... Raj is making him eat food made out of some leftovers ?

Robert : Sorry ? ... I don't get that !

Raj : Boss, sometime back, we put some of our Organic Garbage in the hole in the earth, after some time, from that pit, a "Green Chilli Plant" came up. The Green Chilli that you are eating is from that plant !

Robert : Hmm ... i was thinking that you are giving some food made out of some left overs ! ... that was nice idea ... and i am sure it feels great to have "grown" your own plants and tasting the fruits of those efforts !

Raj : Boss, i would never do such a thing like making you eat some food made out of leftovers ! ... Yup, it feels to great to grow your own plants and eating their fruits !

Robert : I would not characterize this "Green Chilli" as a fruit though ! ... (with a tweak in his face ) ... so what is the philosophy in this Green Chilli Plant ... if any !

Raj : Yes Boss, there is certainly a very major philosophy in Hinduism, that we can make out of this "Green Chilli Plant" ! ... its "Aadmi Mitti mein Paida hota hai, aur mitti mein phir mil jaata hai ... Jab paida hua tho apne saath kuch nahi laye, aur jab jaayenge tho kuch nahi leke jaayenge" ... which means, that we humans are born from earth and finally have to go into this earth ... we have come to this earth without bringing anything, and we leave this earth without taking anything with us ! ... its essentially that we humans go after "material things", but its a fact that these "material things" are needed to make our lives comfortable, in the process we have to respect our Mother Earth, as our whole lives depend upon it. Any disrespect to her, will adversely effect our lives ! ... since, the lives of our children and grandchildren are also dependent upon this earth, we have to make sure that in our lifetimes, we treat Mother Nature well.

Robert : I get it somewhat ? ... i guess Hinduism has this habit of "making a philosophy" out of everything ...

Raj : Essentially, Hinduism is a way of life. In this concept, we understand that we are "living beings" out of many such living beings including Animals, birds and Trees ! ... We regard "other living beings", and realize that they also have the right to live on this Earth, as we do ... Its a concept of live and let live ... So, in this concept, utmost stress is given upon Mother Nature and Mother Earth ... as our lives completely depend upon it ... This concept is somewhat called Sanatana Dharma ... Hence, the lives and religion of Hindus are interrelated and one cannot draw a line between the two.

Robert : I agree, now after seeing the ill effects of Global Warming, we should do something to make sure that our children and grand children get a better Earth to live in.

Raj : Yup boss, i agree with you !

They complete the lunch. After some chitchat about many matters including some from their office, Robert leaves, thanking for the good lunch he had in Raj's house.

I am of the view, that irrespective of the religion one is following, the basic requirement is that we take proper care of the sources of the food that we eat. In this case, Mother Nature is the "Source of Food" that we eat.

If we keep on spoiling the environment and spoil Mother Earth, using many chemicals and fertilizers, in a race to get more productivity out of the soil, surely a stage will come when the whole soil will become obsolete. In such a scenario, how can we secure the food requirement of our children and grand children ?

Essentially, we have to follow the principles of Sanatana Dharma, and respect other living beings, Nature and Earth. Therein lies a secure future for us !

Vamsi Krishna Karra