earth can satisfy man's need but not his greed

'There is enough for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed' is indeed an ingenious statement by an ingenious man called Mahatma Gandhi. There is no doubt about how true this statement is and there are many ways one can prove it.

The journey started after the creation of human being in this world. As man got matured he kept on inventing new things to get a better life and for a good living. His wants were not restricted, desires were boundary less and his doggedness of finding reason for everything made him an undefined creature. And that’s how an environment has been created in which we are living now. If we see this in a broader perspective, all this happened because of greed. It’s the man’s greed which made him the richest man in the world, at the same time it’s his greed which made the society unbalanced and unequal. He is not bothered about the limitations of one’s actions and breaching the rules of nature for self-fulfilment. His desire of becoming bigger than others has changed the destiny of mankind.

For many of us who live in a land of abundance, greed is not a sin, it is not even considered wrong, instead we now live in a world where we have idolized greed and use all kinds of glamorous names that make it look fashionable and desirable. Being wealthy is not wrong in itself, but glorifying the desire for wealth is terrible. We are privileged and blessed to have things, but the addiction to things can make us very disabled.

Rich Mullins nailed it when he said “It’s a cultural disability in America that we worship pleasure, leisure, and affluence”. Greed is a universal problem and is strongly rooted in our sinful nature; watch how quickly a child learns the word ‘mine’.

Food distribution in this world is a perfect example to support the above statement. Most people would have already known, from the media such as television and newspapers, about how millions of people in this world are suffering from starvation because of the lack of food. Some may say that it is just a famine, a natural disaster that nobody has control of. Others say that there is just not enough food in this world for everyone. However, if one comes to think of it carefully, is there really not enough food? It is more than just a famine that is causing this unfairness. If every single person were to give a portion of their food that they do not need, surely there will be more than enough to go around to every human being living on this Earth. Of course, taking is much easier that giving. It is because of human greed that there is not enough food for everyone.

Man makes use of everything in their reach to satisfy their greed. One of the things that contribute a lot to their wealth and power is the Earth's own natural resources. Man, unfortunately has exploited these resources beyond the limit. When a country owns more resources, they are automatically richer. They use and sell the resources to develop their country. The greed comes in when different countries compete with one another to have  more development.

The deforestation which has taken place due to commercial exploitation of trees for timber, resin, medicinal herbs, etc., the developing of new agricultural fields, over-grazing by animals, the coming up of new habitation (e.g. because of the construction of the Tehri dam), the building of roads mainly after the China invasion of 1962, tourism development and other development activities, increase in the population (men as well as animals), all have had an adverse affect on the environment and have brought about ecological imbalance.

In the villages of Garhwal there is watershed failure, which has resulted in both drought and flood conditions, soil erosion, landslides, changes in the microclimate, increase in the silting rate which has caused a rise of the river beds, loss of wildlife, drying up of natural springs on which the villagers depend for drinking water. It’s clear that the watershed failure is the result of deforestation which in turn is the result of man’s greed. Finally, the main culprit is the GREED.

The hymn dedicated to the earth in the Atharvaveda (12.1.12) sums up the traditional attitude of reverence:

Impart to us those vitalizing forces

that come, O Earth, from deep within your body,

Your central point, your navel; purify us wholly.

The Earth is mother; I am son of Earth,

The rain-giver is my father; may he shower

on us blessings!

But the values of reverence in the modern man have vapourated. They are degrading the soil by throwing waste wherever they like.This waste is created only because of more consumerism which is the result of greed. Man’s greed make him to buy as many things he wishes, which increases the waste that exploits the Earth. Earth can degrade itself some of the bio-degradable wastes but when it comes on non-biodegradable, toxic and E-waste Earth cannot. In turn the Earth itself is effected.

Farmer’s are also not lagging behind in showing their greed. They sow seeds of other crops immediately after one crop is harvested without giving some time for the soil to regain it nutrients. This kind of agriculture can help farmer make more money but after few years the land looses its fertility and is of no use. This shows how earth can’t satisfy man’s greed.

Every individual, has a responsibility in protecting the environment, if he/she is serious about leaving a world for the next generation to inherit.There is a need now to curb the unhealthy consumption that the world has become slave too as there is a direct link between excessive production and environmental degradation. One clear example is that of the increase in the use of cars with each member of a family claiming the need to own and drive his/her own vehicle. The 700 million automobiles of the world are already using up two-thirds of the gasoline and releasing carbon dioxide that has already ushered in the era of global warming and the greenhouse effect. The desire to control the oil resources has also seen the worst war of the 21st century and one wonders what others will follow with environmentalists warning that the next wars will be those fought over water, which is likely to become a commodity in short supply.

Man is still going on increasing his desires and his greeds and  2 questions are still left unanswered.

Will MAN be able to find another planet in the universe similar to Earth to migrate?
Will MAN be able to alter that planet to make it suitable for our living?