The Solution to Pollution

The Solution to Pollution – From past 200 years environmental pollution has been major concern among the leaders of various nations and amongst scientists and environmentalists. Although various measures have been taken to control pollution still situation has gone worse due to the fact that the heads of the states and the intelligentsia have failed to detect the root cause of environmental degradation.

Identifying the root cause – Introduction

Few years back a very famous Environmentalist and political leader happen to see an ISKCON sannyasi at an airport. Sannyasi was peacefully sitting and chanting ‘Hare Krishna’ on his beads. Seeing the sannyasi sitting peacefully, filled her mind with many burning questions. She came straight to the sannyasi and opened her mind. She asked, “ Swami ji, today the world is suffering so much from environmental pollution, what you people are doing for the environment? How this chanting will help control the pollution?” she appeared to be seriously concerned for the environment.

Swami ji thought for a moment and then replied-“you are trying control pollution from outside and we are trying to eliminate pollution from within. That is the difference. Pollution outside is manifestation of pollution inside. As long as our hearts are dirty we will spread dirt outside. As long as we have greed we will keep exploiting mother nature for our selfish interest. If our consciousness becomes clean our surroundings will automatically become clean. You are working on temporary solution and we are working on permanent solution, that is the difference. Human mind is polluted with greed , anger, lust, envy, pride, madness etc. and meditation is the process to clean the dirty mind. So let us work together you try to clean the environment without and we try to clean the environment within”. Hearing such a enlightening reply the virtuous lady was pacified.

The boy and the boil

So, this is the root cause of the problem of environmental pollution. As long as root cause of the disease is not eliminated, the disease will keep appearing again and again. There was a boy who was suffering from a boil on his knees. He went to a doctor and doctor gave him a ointment to apply. He applied the ointment and the boil disappeared overnight. After two days the boil again appeared on his hand. The boy applied the ointment again and the boil disappeared but after two days boil again appeared on his back. The boy was in great trouble. This time he went to renowned surgeon. He surgeon examined him and asked him to do a blood test. In the blood test it was found that there was impurity in his blood. The doctor gave him a medicine to purify his blood and after days the boil disappeared permanently

The lesson from this incident is that patch up solutions may temporarily solve the problem but unless we cure the disease from the root it will continue to appear and trouble us. Root cause of all the problems of the world today is impure heart of human beings and real solution is to purify the heart.

Killing the demons within

Example of Ravana is significant in this regard. Ravana was personification of lust, anger, greed, envy and other unwanted qualities. When Lord Rama was trying to kill the Ravana by cutting-off his head one by one , again his ten heads would appear, then Vibhishan indicated that source of Ravans energy is within his heart. As soon as Lord Rama pierced his heart the demon fell dead. So this is the sign of intelligence, to eliminate the root of the problem and problem will be eradicated permanently. So if we want to solve the problems of this world then everyone of us have to focus on cleaning our heart.

The transcendental solution

Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is none other than Lord Krishna incarnated just 500 years back to give us the medicine to cure our ‘heart disease’. The Lord said

ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaḿ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaḿ
śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaḿ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam
ānandāmbudhi-vardhanaḿ prati-padaḿ pūrṇāmṛtāsvādanaḿ
sarvātma-snapanaḿ paraḿ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-sańkīrtanam
[Siksastakam Verse 1]

Translation: Glory to the sri-krsna-sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.

The mind is like a mirror with lot of dust accumulated from millions of years. This dirt in our consciousness can be cleansed by constant chanting of the ‘Hare Krishna’ mahamantra in a humble state of mind. Thus this process of chanting Hare Krishna is the prime benediction for all humanity.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare