麻豆约拍

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Shaunaka Rishi Das, Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies

Good morning.

My friend, Dr Ranjan, when rising from bed each day, and before he put his feet to the ground, reached down and touched the earth while reciting a mantra. He was a research scientist who worked in India, Sweden, and Oxford, and his field, at a time when it was unfashionable, was in environmental science. The Sanskrit mantra he chanted, with a lilting melody, he had learned when he was a child.

Dr Rajan said this mantra was one of his inspirations in his choice of career. He also said he found motivation in the epic poem Ramayana. This poem depicts Lord Rama, one of God鈥檚 avatars, living mainly in a forest, and is resplendent in interactions with mountains, rivers, trees, herbs, and the sea 鈥� as well as with animals, birds, and even insects. Rama is God in the world, the natural world. At one stage he had to build a bridge to Lanka to rescue his wife, Sita. Bears, monkeys, birds, and fish joined in the attempt, as did a small squirrel. The squirrel could contribute little, throwing pebbles and sand at the bridge of massive boulders, and attracted the laughter of others. Rama stopped the laughter by telling the squirrel how much he valued his efforts, as the sand was binding the larger stones in place.

Rama accepted everyone鈥檚 service and interestingly here identities of being human, animal, bird etc. were of no significance to him. All were equal in His eyes, and worthy of his love. He wasn鈥檛 speciesist. Imagine if our environmental policies considered all living beings as equally valuable, not just human beings? A new approach to respect, and even citizenship.

Dr Rajan鈥檚 morning mantra was, 鈥淚 bow to mother Bhumi, mother Earth, whose body is made of mountains and forests, and who is clothed by the oceans. You are God鈥檚 consort, and the mother who feeds us all. Please pardon me for touching you with my feet鈥�.

Hare Krishna.