The Universe is a vast body of Divine Intelligence. Every part of the vast galaxies and life forms, the animate and inanimate creation are all made of the light of God. The entire cosmos is alive and dances with the vibrancy of Divinity. We are made of the same elements as the stars that are scattered in the endless space. A disturbance of balance in any part affects the balance of the entire cosmos. The effects hit us sooner or later.
All Creation is the Body of God. Just as there are billions of cells in the body and many hundreds of organs made of similar cells, the cosmos is made of cells in the body of God. When the toe stubs on the pebble in the road, the mouth winces, the eyes shed tears and the hands reach out to rub and comfort the affected part. The well being of our body lies in the wellbeing of all the body parts and organs. If there is disturbance, illness or injury in any part of the body, other parts of the body respond in pain and come forth to comfort the sick part. We can easily understand the analogy of the body parts with the parts of creation and Universe. Just as what we eat nourishes or disturbs all cells in our body, similarly our actions increase the wellbeing or cause disbalance in all of creation.
The Earth is a single body with hundreds of organs and body parts like the human body. All life on Earth is interconnected. Animate and inanimate creations are interwoven together into the body of Mother Earth. All our actions, thoughts and lifestyle have a deep impact on every aspect of life on earth. We must first learn to live and deal with the results of our actions on Earth. We only need to look around to see the extent of damage we have inflicted on all spheres of life on earth with our thoughtless pollution and dumping in all available places on Earth. We must understand that just as we take care of every part of our body for radiant health and happiness, we must also take care of our surroundings and life forms in order to ensure balance, health and welfare of all life on Earth including ours. The following story speaks of this truth:
There was a wise old man in a village. He was rich and a successful farmer. Each year, he always had the best production of wheat crop in the entire area. Merchants, traders and other farmers were always surprised at the quality, the size, taste, fragrance and texture of his wheat crop. Each year, the quality of his wheat was the most superior in his area and he always produced abundant crops.
Once, most of the farmers in the nearby regions did not have a good crop. But the wise farmer produced his usual bumper crop of wheat. A meeting was held in the village by all the farmers of the local and nearby areas. They wished to learn the secret of successful farming from the wise farmer. The wise farmer readily disclosed his secret to all in the meeting: He shared his best seed wheat grains with all his neighbours! Everyone was shocked. How could one actually give away the best seed wheat grains to others? After all business was business and everyone wanted to earn the maximum profit and be the best.
The wise farmer answered: The birds, bees and butterflies and the wind pick up the pollen of my ripening crop and visit the neighbouring farms. The pollen from neighbouring farms also come into my farm. When there is cross pollination of poor quality seeds with my superior seeds the results will not be good. If I must get superior quality produce, my neighbours must also grow good quality wheat. Hence I share my best seed wheat grains with my neighbours!
The wise farmer was aware of the connectedness of life. This truth applies in all dimensions of life and work. If we wish to live in peace, we must be at peace with our neighbours. If we value our property, we must not destroy the property of others. When our goal is to earn more wealth, the goods we produce must give value for money and we must take care of usage of resources so that they last longer.
And so it is with other dimensions of life. Those who choose to be at peace must help their neighbours to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness for the welfare of each is bound with the welfare of all. These are lessons of spirituality on the interconnection of all creation. Chanting of the SitaRam mantra, meditation and following the teachings of the Guru teach us the truth that all life is one.
