The author advocates deep observation and understanding of nature - what has been your learning from nature? For millions of years, almost all life forms have lived “from the heart” as an extension of nature, without a “deep understanding”. However, today, we need to understand the damage we humans have cause to our environment because of our greed, so that we can rebuild our environment for love, not just for our natural resources. The concept that the world was created for human consumption has been the source of this problem. There is no ‘love and respect’ for nature…..The author critiques scientific and industrial dualisms and seems to advocate simplicity - what does simplicity mean to you?…. Simplicity means keeping our needs to a minimum and not being obsessed with wants. It also means being in tune with nature so that we develop reverence and respect for all of nature in all its forms and stop abusing it. The greed based, modern industrial mass-production has lead to wasteful consumption of resources and has created ad fueled material obsession.…..The author suggests that if we were to set aside our will and treat nature as a guide, there would be no reason to starve - can you illustrate what this means to you with a personal story? There are more than 7 billion people to feed. We need industrial production until all are educated enough to minimize our needs. We need a worldwide strategy and education in population control, food production and management. Considering that the rich are still throwing away food in luxury when most of the world is undernourished or starving, the author’s ideas appear to be good but impractical at present. However, in the long run, if we observe nature with respect and an intention to learn we will find answers to many of our current challenges. As a personal discipline, I try minimizing my needs. This helps me save time and money that I can spend on spiritual-environmental projects.
On Oct 8, 2012 Narendra wrote :