Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16

How To Save Our Planet ?

Authored by

THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

asatyamapratiṣṭhaṁ te jagad āhura nīśvaram aparaspara-saṁbhūtaṁ kim anyat kāmahaitukam

People with such qualities think there is no ultimate energy or intelligence that is running this planet earth, that is running the universe, and that this whole creation is produced out of lust and desire, and is unreal

The energy that is within us, the energy that drives us is the same energy that drives this Universe etāṁ dṛṣṭimavaṣṭabhya naṣṭātmāno'lpabuddhayaḥ prabhavanty ugra-karmāṇaḥ kṣayāya jagato'hitāḥ

Following this material view of creation, these degraded souls with small intellect, lost in themselves and committing cruel deeds are engaged in the destruction of the world

There is a pure energy and intelligence that is the Source, the thread of the whole Universe

The energy that is within us, the energy that drives us is the same energy that drives this Universe, this solar system and planet Earth.

This energy is intelligence, the highest intelligence. Kṛṣṇa says that when we are unable to recognize this energy, we are demonic. We do not believe everything operates out of this energy; instead we believe we make things happen with our greed, lust and desires. We just need to be so self-centered that even our God is at our disposal. Then we are demonic. Such a belief is different from the concept of believing that you are God and that God resides in you. This belief arises from deep awareness and completion instead of dark ignorance and is totally selfless. Once you become God, the rest of the world is part of you and you are part of that world. There is no longer the duality of 'I' and 'You'.

Only when we understand that this Universe is intelligence, and that it responds to our thoughts and actions, will we live in the space of completion, and start really living. Listen. There is a pure energy and intelligence that is the Source, the thread of the whole Universe. When a person is living within the limits of the intellect and 'me', he cannot experience the Whole. Please be clear that lust cannot be the reason. Intelligence, the divine energy is the cause and effect of this whole Universe; the cause and effect is the Divine that is responsible for the Universe. However, when we think it is lust or that we are responsible, we live with the idea of 'me, me, me'.

Kṛṣṇa says firmly that when we believe that we are the cause of this Universe, this Existence, we are so deluded and locked in our own little identities, with small intelligence, we destroy the world and ourselves as well. Our ancient sages, the great ṛṣis, were not fools. They did not retire to forests because they had nowhere else to go. Many were great kings, rulers of this planet, and they voluntarily left behind all that they had, so that they could understand where they came from. It was not enough for them to read and listen to the experiences of others; they chose to experience the truth themselves. In the process, they realized themselves and became liberated. As many others over thousands of years have discovered, they discovered that they were part of this cosmic Existence.

They realized and experienced that they too were Gods. They found that the same energy that operated in this Universe operated within them. They experienced that every living being on earth came from the same Source, and is the same Source.

When we are not in the present, we are in a state of low intelligence; we become demons. Low intelligence leads to cruel deeds. When we have no awareness of who we are, we do not care about anyone else. All this can be changed. All that is needed is the cognitive shift from the demon to the Divine, from 'I' to 'You'. The environment we live in, the oxygen we breathe, the water we drink, the soil that gives the food we eat, all this is energy. This is what we call pañca bhūta in Saṁskṛit, the five elemental energies that sustain us. When these are destroyed by our low intelligence, out of our selfishness, the world around us collapses.

When we believe that we are the cause of this Universe, we are locked in our own little identities, we do cruel and selfish acts and destroy the world and ourselves. When we understand that the divine energy is the cause and effect of this whole Universe, we experience the whole world as part of us. There is no longer the duality of 'I' and 'You'. Both merge into the non-duality of "either 'I' or 'You'; it does not matter".

1. What operates the universe?
2. A higher intelligence or human beings?
3. Why do "me" centric people end up doing cruel deeds that destroy the world?
4. Why is "you" centric cognition necessary to liberate oneself?
5. What are the pañca bhūta or the five elemental energies that sustain us?
6. What is the message of "Advaita" or non-duality?