The content explores the relationship between nature, life, and the cyclical processes that govern existence. It begins with a description of a serene morning, highlighting nature’s beauty and generative power. It discusses life’s evolution. The text emphasises how organisms adapt and evolve in response to environmental changes. The Nature cycles are inspiring. It also acknowledges that individual life is linear. Ancient Indian philosophy, particularly the teachings of Lord Krishna, offers insights into the eternal soul. These teachings highlight cyclical existence. This philosophy contrasts with linear processes, like fossil fuel depletion and solar fusion. The text concludes by underscoring the need for harmony and respect in the interplay of life.

Pleasant morning

It was a pleasant morning. After a normal night’s sleep, the morning appears romantic with azure sky, wispy clouds in various formations. Chirping of birds, cool breeze and the acoustic of a calling Magpie Robin add a layer of romanticism. It is the beauty of Nature which is always ready to give. Generous and benevolent, Nature always welcomes with open hands, like a mother ready to take a child in her bosom.

Feeling Nature

Watching carefully with inquisitiveness reveals many things that arouse curiosity and convey a great message of life. Wandering in an open field, rustic ambience, thick verdure dotted with trees is an experience inexpressible. It’s like a vibrant Savanah sustaining myriads of life forms. Feeling the rhythmic pulse of nature takes the beholder to another world of wonder. The smell of moist earth and vegetation enhances this experience.

Personification of Nature

Nature is vibrant, vivacious and invigorating. It teaches those who seek its blessings of knowledge. Nature has been personified as a human entity. People named it variously imagining it as omnipotent. It is right and it should be so. It’s not only because Nature is beautiful. It’s because Nature sustains and runs the vast, unfathomable world properly and without hassle.

Whirlpool of events

Humans have evolved after a long arduous experimentation by Nature. The Earth was once blisteringly hot. Over time, it has transformed to sustain many life forms and many other physical features. This transformation has been a whirlpool of events. It is a long time span of about 4.6 billion years.

Cooling of the Earth

Millions of years after its formation, the Earth started cooling down from the outside in. It took millions of years to cool again. The temperature eventually reached a level where gases like hydrogen and oxygen joined. They formed water in vapour form. As the cooling continued, the vaporised water condensed into liquid. It came down on the Earth’s surface as a heavy downpour. Water acted as the crucible where first life emerged. Since then, life kept evolving. From very early coacervates to unicellular organisms. From unicellular to multicellular, the journey had started.

The journey started

Life started pandiculating. Various life forms came into existence. They diversified into distinct groups. Some started preparing their food, while others depended on them for their survival. Thus autotroph and heterotrophs started developing and evolving in parallel. They gradually grew and became gargantuan. Despite their humongous appearance and immense strength, these organisms vanished. They couldn’t prove their mettle. Unfit to the changing environment and living conditions, the giants became extinct.

Relay race

Life did not stop. A relay race started, which continued developing and evolving newer and better-adapted ones. The old, unfit organisms gave way to the new and more capable organisms. It is the Nature cycle. The process appeared to move linearly with time. Was it actually linear? Let us delve deep into it. The Mahabharata epic helps understand it better.

Lord Krishna and Arjuna

The hectic negotiations failed, and diplomatic efforts wasted. Kauravas did not want to give the rightful share to Pandavas. The war remained the only choice. Finally, the day arrived when the armies were face-to-face. Arjuna wished his charioteer, Lord Krishna, to drive him into the middle of the army formation. He wanted to see who he would fight. Seeing the faces of his close kin and family members, Arjuna lost his confidence. Leaving his weapon, he sat on the ground, declining to fight. Lord Krishna scolded him, saying Arjuna was not behaving like a warrior. Showing His “Virat Swaroop” (Cosmic form) to Arjuna, the Lord explained that life was not linear. Those who are born are bound to give space for newer ones. It is the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

“Ātmā”: the soul

Indian thinkers emphasised life’s cyclical nature. Organisms are born, act and play their part in life’s drama, and then exit the stage. By showing the cosmic form, Lord Krishna conveyed the messages of the cyclical life process. To keep continuity, they conceptualised “Ātmā” (Soul), which is immortal, indestructible, nonflammable, unharmed and free. No weapon can destroy it; no fire can burn. It is eternal and travels across bodies like changing clothes.

Cyclical process

“Ātmā” is invisible, but it keeps a continuity. Everything has a span. It comes into existence, grows, evolves and perishes. To keep a system running, it is essential to replenish it with fuel and energy through Nature cycle. One such vital element is water.

cycle of water

Water formed billions of years ago, but it exists even today. It is because of a cycle. The “Water Cycle” keeps running and replenishes water on the planet. Nature doesn’t waste anything. It is recycled and pumped into the network of life to help it run. On the same token, the other important cycles are nitrogen, oxygen and carbon cycles. It augments the nutrient transfer in the biological world through the exchange of gases and essential minerals. These cycles prove that for a continued process, it has to move in a circular path.

Unveiling Humanity’s Dilemma: The Cost of Invention

Linear process

A linear motion has a limit. Various forces work to stop it, but the most powerful one is the constant supply of essentials. A football, having energy from a kick, moves fast, but after some distance, it slows down and ultimately stops. The great physicist Sir Issac Newton explained that a thing in motion will stay in motion. This continues until an external force stops it. Why didn’t it apply to football? Simply because of the opposite forces that worked on it. These are mainly the gravitational pull and the force of air in the atmosphere. It explains well that linear movements or action has a span. The Nature cycle can be clearer with some illustrations.

Fossil fuels

Petroleum and natural gas are the backbone of the modern world economy. Stored deep under the Earth’s crust, petroleum in a crude form is drilled from the ground. It is extracted in a way akin to pumping out water from a storage tank. Oil and gas are formed from the remains of living organisms that lived aeons ago. It is stored deep in the womb of the Earth. Unlike the water tank, the oil and natural gas under the Earth are unreplenished.

limited stored reserves

Millions of years of untiring natural efforts that produced these products have stopped. The stored reserves have a limited time, and in future, they will dry up. It is a linear process that has a start and an end. The cycle of Nature is not in action. Humans have to think about alternate source rather than leaning heavily on fossil fuels like crude, natural gas and coal. The danger is looming large. Its ogre face is not only frightening but can create havoc. Periodic Gulf-wars and using strategic sea routes as weapons aggravate the situation.

The Sun

Another example of a primordial and imperishable source of energy is the sun. It is vital for the life process. The secret to its eternal energy lies in the fusion reaction that emits a tremendous amount of energy. It manifests in the form of heat energy, solar flares, solar storms, lots of radiation and powerful magnetic fields. Scientists are still studying the sun. Many modern satellites have been stationed to study the nearest heliacal star from close quarters. India has also stationed its satellite “Āditya” in L1 orbit to study the sun.

Though the sun has been blazing for billions of years, it also has a limitation. The fusion reaction occurring in the sun is not cyclical but linear. It is bound to end. It illustrates the essentiality of Nature cycle. Nevertheless, before jumping to a conclusion, it would be pertinent to briefly discuss fusion and fission reactions.

Fusion reaction

The fusion reaction is different from that of the fission reaction. As the name suggests, a fusion reaction is a nuclear process. Two light atomic nuclei fuse to form a single heavier nucleus. In this process, immense energy is released. The fusion takes place at tremendous temperature and pressure. The sun holds light elements like hydrogen. Two hydrogen nuclei fuse in the corona of the sun to form helium and release energy.

Fission reaction

The nucleus of a heavy element is bombarded with a neutron. This triggers the fission reaction. It breaks the nucleus, releasing energy and neutrons. The released neutrons again collide with the nucleus, and thus a chain of events occurs. The collective energy sum becomes immense. The principle is used in the atomic explosion. Humanity has seen the tremendous power of atomic explosions. The two bombs unleashed destruction in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There are millions of fusion reactions taking place every moment on the sun. The power and intensity can be imagined.

The sun is not eternal

The sun is also not eternal. Scientists have evaluated that the fusion reactions occurring on the sun have a limited time. Solar energy results from the fusion of hydrogen nuclei. Eventually, all the hydrogen will be used up. In that case, fusion would stop because of the linear nature of the reaction, where hydrogen nuclei are not replenished. Here too, the Nature cycle is not operative. It is estimated that the sun will perish after 5 billion years. (Space dot com)

Cyclical process

In a cyclical process, life keeps replenishing itself. With a backup of resources, Nature replaces the worn-out or useless organisms with new and agile ones. The circle of life and death is like sunrise and sunset, which result in day and night. Seasons are the result of the cyclical motion of the Earth. Besides revolving around the sun in its orbit, the Earth spins on its axis. Seasonal changes, day and night, are the outcome of the Earth’s rotation and spin. Thus, cyclical motion is the linchpin, but it is not finished. It changes in an individual’s life.

“Yugas”: Epoch

It is because of the belief that cyclical functions run far that they divided the time into four “Yugas” (Epochs). These are “Sat Yuga”, “Dwaper Yuga”, “Trera Yuga” and “Kal Yuga”. After that cataclysm and de novo recreation. It explains that after everything, life evolves afresh, maintaining continuity. Organisms evolved into humans. Journeying through time, they passed through many cultural stoppages.

Individual life

The individual life of an organism is linear. It takes birth and after completing its tenure, perishes. For the individual, it is a linear process which doesn’t repeat. One will never get life again. After the death of the individual, the journey stops. Nevertheless, life continues. The torch goes into the hands of the younger generation. The cytoplasm of the parents is transferred to their siblings. It maintains the cyclical nature again.

In the end

There is a power, unseen and the Almighty which runs the whole universe with utmost precision. The forces balance and counterbalance to create harmony. It is the essence of life which our sagacious primogenitors referred to as live and let live. For them world is like a family. They believed and prayed for the welfare of all. It is the essence of humanity. Respecting everyone’s space and sovereignty, peaceful coexistence is the only way to make the Earth habitable. Let all be happy, healthy, and contented is the core of the Indian thought process.

Other interesting reads:

• Unveiling Humanity’s Dilemma: The Cost of Invention
• Reflections on Human Life: Past, Present, and Future
• Navigating Life’s Cycles: Lessons from Nature
• Overcoming Life’s Challenges: Lessons from Mahabharat
• Understanding the Concept of Time

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