Nature: a Friend or a Fiend?

I had penned down the below given thoughts in ’08 and surprisingly the same sound relevant even today when we witness the still continuing brutal dance of Nature in Japan… The scenes of monumental destruction make you wonder if The Creator is still existent! Otherwise, how could It let It’s own creations – aided by humans on Earth – get destroyed so comprehensively! Earthquake of the highest intensity followed by Tsunami of unprecedented proportions followed by Nuclear scare of extraordinary levels … the carnage continues …

I salute the fellow humans in Japan; their dignified attitude even in the face of massive adversity is simply incredible! May they continue to draw required amount of internal – mental and physical and social and economical and political – strengths to pass through their undoubtedly the darkest hours, which too shall pass … And, Japan will soon be back at being The Land of The Rising Sun J

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“If people thought Nature was their friend, then they sure don’t need an enemy,” said Kurt Vonnegut, the accomplished American novelist and satirist.

The recent flurry of Nature’s fury makes Vonnegut’s caustic comment sound almost like a gospel. Before the world could adjust to the magnitude of destruction caused by the cyclone Nargis, there was this earthquake of very high magnitude devastating buildings and bodies alike in China. And in both cases – like in all cases of Nature’s onslaught since the start of evolution – humans’ body as well as souls got battered badly. The culprit: Nature.

Now, can this kind of Nature be anybody’s friend? …

Well, till one is himself or herself not in such a godforsaken situation, one cannot say yes or no to it. And a simple yes or no will not suffice, anyway.

It is a deep debate which requires profound understanding of the nature of Nature!

Here, we need to recall what Lao Tzu, the great Chinese philosopher and the founder of Taoism said once, “Nature is not human hearted.”

“Human-Hearted” – an intriguing adjective! What does it mean in essence?

If Nature isn’t any human’s friend, then is a human a friend of another human? Aren’t the Burmese military generals “humans” too? Then why have they left the millions of survivors to suffer further with their unrelenting refusal to allow international aids? Moreover, another aspect which should not be neglected is that why did the brutal military regime neglect the cyclone alert forwarded to it by India at least 48 hours in advance? Wasn’t it a conspiracy to kill its own countrymen? Should Nature be blamed here solely?

In contrast, what was remarkable about China's handling of the crisis was the swift action of the Chinese government. The presence of the Chinese top leaderships at the sites of devastations was a great comfort to the unfortunates and a lesson in disaster management for many so-called political leaders across the world.

So, who is humans' best friend - a fellow human or Nature? ...

Perhaps, Albert Einstein could help: "What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can understand only imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility."

I pray that some wise man’s ‘once-upon-a-time’ said words come true for the affected Burmese and Chinese: “The Rainbows of life follows the storm.” …

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The world – India included – will have to let all its thoughts and ideas converge and debate hard about putting billions of lives – humans included – at enormous risk by pushing hard – diplomatic pressures are immense on countries like India – for the much celebrated nuclear energy options …