April 19, 2024

There was news report about a village in Erode, Tamil Nadu having sacrificed 3000 goats to appease the rain Gods. This is a recurring theme in Hindu society. Instead of caring for the environment, we take the route of appeasing the Gods to get things done. While not wanting to hurt religious sentiments, it needs to be stated that the Gods are not going to listen to people who damage Nature. If rains do not happen at appropriate times or in sufficient quantity, it is more often our own doing. For our short term benefits, we cut trees wantonly without having the foresight or sagacity to plant and care for saplings to replace them. We have been depleting our forest cover at an alarming rate. The Gods are not going to forgive us our trespasses on a continued basis. Nature is God's biggest gift to mankind. If we continue to cause irreparable damage to it, Gods are not going to be appeased.

Instead of sacrificing animals, conducting havans and pujas or bathing large statues with milk and honey for this purpose, if Indians were to take care of the environment, the Gods will be more pleased. The crores spent on these acts can be gainfully put to use to repair the damage we cause to Nature. After all, even the Gods help those who help themselves. Religious rites as mandated by the scriptures are important for the believers, but we are taking them off on a tangential course. They can be supplementary to the main cause, to be used as thanksgiving or celebration, but to use them for appeasement is not good. Man has to first appease Nature by ensuring that the ecological balance is maintained. Only then can he hope for getting the Nature’s bounty in abundance.