Acharya Tulsi
Man dreamt of becoming the conqueror of Nature. He endeavoured to realise his dream Today he feels conceited that he has conquered the nature. He claims that he Can reach the heighest limits of the sky and he can penetrate right into the nethermost depths of the earth. He can turn hot air into icy cold and can bring warmth in the chilly nights. He can establish direct contact with people living just anywhere in the world, he can see them, talk to them and heaven knows what all he can do. Television and telephone are very ordinary things. Methods of (remote medical) treatments are also being developed.
However, it seems to me that in spite of so many things happenings nothing has really happened. Nature has its own empire. No one can exercise control over it. It breaks man’s pride every now and then. Sometimes excessive rains and sometimes draught. Sometimes floods and sometimes landslides. Sometimes dust-storms and sometimes cyclones. These terrifying natural calamities! Man just stands before them with folded hands, utterly helpless. He is so helpless that he is able to do nothing.
We feel horrified to read about the devastation caused by Nature in some parts of Maharashtra. Strange are the ways of Nature! We cannot predict what would happen in which part. We cannot know when and where a volcano would erupt and the lava flow out as a result of the cataclysmic disturbances under the surface of the earth. The past has been a witness to such calamities, the present is suffering on their account and the future is trembling because of their horrifying possibilities. The Jain agamas have described the deluge that is likely to come in future. But that time is pretty distant. More than 18,000 years are left before that time would come. That horrifying situation would have to be faced at the end of this age of decline (avasarpini). But its indications are becoming evident right from now. This is a cause for worry.
But worrying is no solution to any problem. The way to solution can become clear only after discovering the basic causes of the problem. One big cause of natural calamities is man's lack of self-restraint. It is not possible to excessively drain the natural resources except without man's lack of self-restraint in that regard. If man practices self-restraint in his life, undertakes austerities then it is possible to a large extent to avert or avoid natural calamities.
There is incident mentioned in the puranas. The city of Dwarka was facing a demon's rage. Because of his wrath, the city was facing total extinction by burning. The inhabitants of the city sought the protection of Arhanta Arishtanemi under whose direction the people of Dwarka prepared the protecting amulet of austerities. The demon came, tried to create trouble, but his power was defeated under the impact of austerities. When many years passed, one after the other, fear had been abolished from the minds of the inhabitants of Dwarka. They started taking intoxicants. Then the time came when nobody fasted, aid no austerities like (ayambil) was observed. The demon got his opportunity. He used his powers and Dwaraka was reduced to ashes.
The power of penance is unlimited. If yajna in the form of observance of collective austerities are continuously performed for the attainment of peace of one’s self and peace in the world, the desired goal can be achieved and incidentally there can also be protection against natural and human calamities.
