Ashok Kumar Dhammani
Background
Carbon is an element which is basics of creation of life. It is available on home blue planet earth environment as carbon dioxide (CO2) (0.04%). There is a carbon cycle running in living beings on earth and there is estimated 560 billion (one billion is 100 crore) ton biomass on earth. As per this carbon cycle plants absorb CO2 during sunlight and using photosynthesis convert into carbohydrates and also release oxygen which we breath. This carbohydrates enters in our food supply chain in form of wheat, rice, pulses and vegetables and enter into our body and make us and also provide as energy by converting into glucose in enzymetic reaction in our digestive system. There is an estimated 7 x 10 followed by 27 carbon atoms in an adult human being!!
Death and Rebirth
When we burn our dead in shamshan complex carbon compounds which makes us are decomposed to CO2. The plume carries this carbon dioxide CO2 lifts in air due to it being warmer than surrounding air and moves in direction of wind. Air dispersion model of this dispersion suggest that this carbon diaoxide of our dead travels in wind direction and then disperse due to concentration difference. Plants around shamshan absorb this and through photosynthesis covert it into plant components like leaf, flower and truncks etc. As there is 7 x 10 followed by 27 carbon atoms released from our dead it goes to lots of trees and vegetable around surrounding. This will go to few kilometre in normal wind case.
It is interesting that in cities the carbon elements of dead will take form of city vegetation like trees leaves but carbon in those dead burnt into villages where crops and vegetables are grown and likely to enter into our food supply chain and animal food supply chain and become life like animals and humans!!
There is point to ponder that if you would like that your elements take form of life like animals and humans rather than city trees, the dead should be burnt near wheat and vegetable fields!!
Birth, Body Development and Life
Now, look at what makes us!!
We are created of carbon consumed by mother during womb (around 3 kg for discuss purpose) and later grow by consuming wheat, rice, pulses, vegetables, furits, spices and milk.
From where the carbon in them come (based on my broad understanding)...
Wheat, Rice, Pulses, Vegetabels, Fruits and Spices: Carbon in wheat comes from free carbon dioxide in air. Snakes, insects and other creatures die and decompose in field can also enter in wheat production. The carbon in them may come from wide geography like Madyapradesh, Himachala Pradesh and surrounding villages depending on where the produce happened.
Milk: Milk from Buffalo and Cows are constituted from grass and other feed we humans provide which in turn also from what is for wheat above.
To summarise carbon in us are like to come from free carbon dioxide across and geography and animals which die and decompose where the production of our food supply chain happens. Some amount of carbon of human dead is also likely if produce is from near village shamshan. And if some carbon came from humans it is not from one human but many of them and not from one animal but many of them.
Fossile Fuel and bringing dead of past in life
With industrial revolution we are burning fossile fuel like petrol, diesel, aviation turbine in our vehicles and planes; gases and coal in our power stations to generate electricity.
The fossile fuel where plants and life buried under sea floor and earth surface and due to pressure and temperature decomposed. When we take them out and burn we bring those dead in our carbon cycle of life. We have brought an estimated 250 billion tons of these after industrial revolution.
I expect that those vehicles and power plants which are close to production of our food supply chain, bring this carbon from dead of past in our food supply chain and enters in our body to build and energise us. We are bringing dead of past into life again!!
Carbon of tithankars and other sadhu, sadhvis
The carbon cycle is running from creation of life some 3.5 billion years ago on earth.
You guessed it right..the carbon and other elements from our tithankars and Lord Mahaveer is also getting circulated in carbon cycle and present today. Given their sheer number of 7 x 10 followed by 27 carbon atom in adult human body, they may be in millions (one million is 10 lakh) of life (ekendriya, bendriya, trendriya, chourandriya and pachendriya) and in free form as CO2. One atom from them might be present in you!!
Carbon Cycle, Fossile Fuel, Environment and Generations Next
While we are discussing this, it is also relevant to put the consequence of fossile fuel on us and what we leave for our 20 generations later. Fossile fuel will last for 100 years, Coal for 200 years, Uranium for 100 years and in total in 400 years all our large energy sources will be gone and what will be left is solar, wind and hydropower, that is after 20 generations later. Also burning all these fossile fuel is increasing our earth temperature and to not affect our ice cap, sea level and rain and drought cycle we have to reduce consumption of fossile fuel and energy sources based on that like electricity.
In my observation use of very high consuming ACs is concern for me. When we travel in heat it is ok from my perspective to use AC but during shadow of home we should use judiciously...otherwise our 16-20th generation beyond will call us short sighted and tell that we consumed all without leaving much for them and also increased earth temperature.
USE ENERGY SOURCES EFFECTIVELY!!