International Earth Day is celebrated on June 5. It is established for promoting international peace, development and equality. According to UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, it is only a symbol of the UN. Founded in the most tensed moments in 1945, just after the World War ll, for international peace and justice, the total non-functioning of the UN manifested in its complete silence only reveals the non-existence of the same today. Any citizen of the world can question it, and also its waste of huge sum of money in supporting structures and the maintenance of staff for a non-existing chimera.

Ignore my introduction. It is worth discussing the giant reality of EARTH. There is nothing greater than the earth. We have all one earth-home “Vasudeiva Kudumbakom”. We can speak of millions of galaxies, which are spread and moving, but we are only sure of our one earth, which we live on, touch, love, and care. We all share the earth. As mother becomes the food of the children, so the earth is the mother of all, living and non-living realities. We share every fiber of the earth, every atom of the earth, as earth mothers everything as her own. 

It is said by scientists that earth is 4.5 million years since its existence. It goes on giving birth to everything out of its so called “self-impregnation”. If we calculate our substance on earth it is infinitesimally minute as 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001, and less. We are too small. The earth doesn’t need us, but we need the earth. If the earth ignores us we are no more. But that never happens. Earth is constantly mothering us, constantly birthing us in her bosom. Her bosom is as large as herself that is why earth is round like a belly. 

Earth has inbuilt dynamics of self-protection, air, water, gravitation, mountains, oceans, seasons, glaciers, everything. These are all her style of existing and functioning. She needs the self-cooling protection through forests, trees, grass meadows, seas, self-watering by millions of rivers, their moisture filled atmosphere, ever flowing to the sea, and returning through the clouds and watering all over again in a continuous millions of years process. This is a magnanimous service the earth is doing for the benefit of all on earth, especially the living beings. The earth has the wealth of millions of plants like trees, plants of various varieties, crores of fish, innumerable kinds of birds, vast kinds of animals in the forest, etc.  Some animals have a life span of hundreds of years while some exist only for a minute. Some are of giant size, but some are too small and microscopic.

What is expected of us is to be sheltering the earth, and caring for the planet in numerous ways as not polluting the atmosphere, not destroying the purity of the air, not filling the air with poisonous gases, not destroying the sea with jettisoning of harmful waste materials including gases, even testing of huge war equipment in the sea destroying the fish and other marine creatures, felling huge number of trees, destroying forests, and continuously breaking the echo system. We can only imagine how many tons of poisonous gases, smoke, etc. are being thrown to the atmosphere during the Russia-Ukraine war for the last one year and more and making hills of debris. The Earth cries that her land, her seas, her forests, her airy atmosphere, her rivers, her sky, her mountains, even the ozone layer are being polluted and devastated continuously. 

What would happen are the natural calamities, like volcanoes, earth-quakes, landslides, tsunamis, droughts, floods etc. In poetical language these are caused when the earth shrugs or hiccups! But the earth is fantastically resilient and tolerant. Much of the natural calamities are caused by humans when the earth loses its equilibrium. Instead of healing the earth, we keep on destroying the planet. Every nation, especially the developed nations are responsible for it. Earth demands the ongoing restoration of the echo system. 

Every human being is called to contribute in his/ her own way and look after the mother earth. Thus the earth is respected and cared for with love and dedication. In Hindi the expression for the nature is kudrath meaning nature, power, God. That only reveals that earth/nature is not a mere thing but like a divine person. When we look at the dynamism, greatness and magnanimity of the mother earth we will be inspired to adore the earth. We value, silver, gold, diamond, pearls etc. as great things in the world, but can these things create anything except being kept under lock and key. 

Now look at a cubic foot of soil taken from the earth. Given proper sunshine, air and water, that can produce wonders as plants, leaves, flowers, fruits. The earth is fantastically creative. It can bring forth varieties of flowers, and varieties of fruits which gold and diamond cannot produce. Further, the earth can absorb anything and everything. Throw anything on the earth, she will accept and absorb it as her own. She is a mother who will not forsake anything given to her. Earth can accept most tensed material as we do earthing in connecting the heavy electricity equipment. The earth absorbs it and neutralizes power leaks even. Thinking further, earth has everything in her as all the metals, carbon, coal, all kinds of oil, uranium, natural gases etc. 

We cannot think of anything we use which are not given by the earth. We cannot attain anything beyond earth’s contribution. Biggest inventions are taken from the fragments of the earth. Taken as a reality, it is beyond human category to explain, the earth is most accommodating, reconciling, forgiving, creative, and magnanimous par excellence. This makes us to squat on the earth in humble adoration. 

Little wonder, all great and devoted men and women enjoy sitting on the ground in contemplation. We can never sufficiently thank the mother earth for her contribution beyond measure.             

Now let us have a look at how the earth is protecting its own cooling system through the forests. Just have a look at the trees of California, which is famous for huge forests and trees. Some of these are over 350 feet high and even 2000 years old. To hug a huge tree, as many as 30 people with extended and holding hands have to come around the tree. Imagine the size of the tree. Even for cutting a road, the tree is not removed, road passes through the trees. The vehicles pass through the tree. 

Another point is that though the trees are so tall, their base is strongly built. The roots of the trees may be at most ten feet deep. These  twine under the tree and create a structure with heavy load of mud on it. With heavy pressure, the roots function like thick concrete slab with iron roads in it. Even if the trees shake in the wind, the roots support the trees. One can say that the whole foundation is as though one covering thousands of acres of land. The trees are connected through roots which twine together and make a strong ground network. See how the nature protects itself. 

There is a kind of tree in Malappuram forest in Kerala with very shallow roots, but it will never fall even under heavy wind. The tree bends with the wind but never falls. The forest dwellers say that these trees are very light and grows more than hundred feet high, and it would never dry out. This tree grows for years in hilly areas. There are varieties of trees in California and for that matter in any big forests in many parts of the world. Some of these are red cedar, sequoias, pine, red-wood, ginormous, and many more. These grow as huge trees for years and shelter the mother earth.

As we reflect on Earth Day, the special day of our mother, we will do well to study more about the earth, love the earth, shelter the earth with planting of more trees, decorate the earth with green herbs, and make our portion of the earth as beautiful as possible. All that we are is a gift of the earth our mother. In Mahabharata, we read that when Bhishma, the great guru of Pandavas and Gauravas, in the battlefield was on sarasayya (bed of arrows) at the last moment of his death,  pleaded ‘muje mitti se tilak legado’ (anoint my forehead with mud from the earth). Once that was done, he breathed his last and returned to the earth. Earth is eternal and we all return to the same mother earth and become one with her.