Near McLeod Ganja, Richard (now Radhanath Swami) lived in a cave. Richard had the company of a spider and he remembered how as a child he was afraid of spiders. He now prayed to the Lord to help him overcome all fear. One night a huge scorpion was close to him in the pitch darkness. He recalled Kailash Baba’s training on cultivating proper consciousness around snakes and scorpions. Breathing slowly, Richard prayed to God to help him overcome judgment, hatred and fear.
Richard is now Radhanath Swami and he still practices and teaches Kailash Baba’s instructions. Radhanath Swami teaches us to live in harmony with Nature, and mother Earth. He talks of principles that can help us respect all life on planet earth.
Quoting Eastern traditions, Radhanath Swami says we have seven mothers. One’s mother coming from family connection, the wife of learned and saintly people, wife of guru or teacher, the nurse that brings you up in the world , the cow, the wife of the king and the earth. Radhanath Swami therefore appeals to all to ensure that our mother Earth is not exploited and abused; rather she is protected and nourished. This is the way we can reciprocate with her kindness, for the unlimited gifts she is so abundantly showering upon us.
In one recent class, Radhanath Swami described our relationship with mother Earth, “A mother is one who supports, protects, provides and nourishes the child within her own very womb. If we understand what the true position of mother is toward the child, we will find that we are all children and the earth is the mother for all of us, because within her womb we are all being nourished. She is providing all protection, she is providing the wood of the trees to build our homes, she is providing the minerals, she is providing all food to nourish us and she is also at all times maintaining us within her very womb. So factually we are all exactly in the position of baby children in the womb of mother earth, being nourished, being protected by her motherly affection.”
Therefore the onus is on us now, says Radhanath Swami, to express our gratitude to mother Earth and leave a legacy for the future generations. “If we do not respect mother Earth, we are uncivilized, uncultured and irreligious, because if the mother is providing, nourishing and protecting, doing so much for you, it is simply an act of being ungrateful and offensive if we do not reciprocate by offering proper respect.”
There is a strong spiritual basis for living in harmony with nature. Radhanath Swami explains that yoga means union and harmony with our father and harmony with our mother. When we learn to live in harmony with mother earth, naturally we also learn to live in harmony with our father, God. And because God is merciful and compassionate upon all the creatures of this earth, He wants us all to have a life of happiness joy and prosperity.
