Eternal Values in Creation

Every living organism strives to manifest life and enjoy nature by multiplication. Civilisations and cultures progress and flourish through creative endeavours. Every life moves towards greater expression of its potential. A seed in the soil pushes itself upward towards sunlight. A chick cracks its enclosing shell to enjoy the outer life. Every crawling baby strives to stand, despite repeated falls, to attain its full potential. The diversity in creation provides unlimited joy and bliss when used within the limits of the five senses; these limits are set by the five eternal values – Love, Truth, Dharma, Peace and Non-Violence.

The five attributes have been given to the elements so that the creation can be enjoyed. Were it not for the seven colours, we would not be able to derive joy in the white light. Were it not for the variety of tastes and smells, we would not be able to take delight in the objects of creation. This is God’s gift of Love. We smell a multitude of fragrances, hear a variety of sounds, taste diverse food items, and derive bliss from Nature in all its colourful glory when our senses are used in moderation.

Nature gives innumerable ideals and role models to emulate. For example, a tree not only gets sustenance from the earth, the water, the solar radiation and the air, it provides sustenance to millions of bacteria and microbes, birds and animals through fodder, fruits, oxygen, bark and wood. It would be a disaster if the sun failed to radiate its life-giving rays. It would be a crippled bee that did not share its nectar with the hive; and it would be a miserable fire that refused to burn and give warmth. So too we are losers each time we turn away from executing our duty gratefully and lovingly; we establish harmony around us through sacrifice, compassion and Love.

In the inanimate domain, the Water Cycle is an excellent example. Every summer, billions of tonnes of seawater change into vapour; the wind carries the clouds thousands of kilometres away precipitating rains and snow on parched land. As the water flows down through streams and rivers to rejoin the sea, many civilisations prosper along the banks of the rivers. Thus, there is interdependence in the ecosystem; there is a unity of purpose in Nature. Modern science speaks of individual consciousness related to cosmic consciousness.

Baba has said, ‘I separated Myself from Myself so that I can Love Myself.’ In this Truth of Creation, Love is the energy, which binds all five elements together. Love is the glue that holds all atoms together, keeps the planets in their orbit, attracts one person to another. In this sense, the entire Creation is suffused with the Divine Energy of Love, which connects and fuses all elements and attributes in Nature. They follow perfect discipline, Dharma, and as such there is always Peace in Nature. When Creation exhibits inherent Peace as a consequence of the innate discipline, there is Non-Violence.

All would agree that Nature, left undisturbed, is a perfect example of order, harmony and peace. We set aside large tracts of land as natural reserves or sanctuaries where nature exhibits its beauty and integrity in abundance. Resources in Nature have inner peace, harmony and beauty. The mountains and the rivers, the animal and the plant kingdom, sustain one another. Even carnivorous animals do not kill unless they are hungry. Thus, Dharma becomes the law governing the functioning of various components of animate and the inanimate world.

To elaborate further, these five elements in nature in their undisturbed state are in perfect harmony and balance due to the full expression of the inherent values in Creation. Nature in the pristine glory manifests Unity in the multiplicity through the five Cardinal values.

• Love is the sub-stratum of all Creation.
• Values are latent in the entire Nature.
• Attributes and senses are given to us to experience Nature’s resources.
• The senses have to be used in moderation for deriving joy and bliss.
• Balance of the five elements in Nature ensures Global Peace.