The seasons are shifting. There is a distinct autumnal nip in the air and as the days get shorter it is the time for the Hindu calendar to come alive with some spectacular nighttime celebrations.

In the run up to Navaratri, when we worship the Goddess or the divine mother, and rejoice in her blessings, my mind is on a particular manifestation of the Goddess- the Earth. She is Prithvi, the Mother Earth, and represents the feminine, creative and transformative energy of the Universe. She makes our life possible and sustains it. And in worshipping her we worship Shakti the Cosmic energy that pervades the Universe.

Last week IPCC, the International Panel for Climate Change announced that global warming is definitely happening and that they are now 95% certain man has been its major cause. As if we needed figures to confirm what we are already witnessing all around us. But, it’s good to to have scientific backing. Might help get the naysayers on board and move some political will in the right direction. Great, I thought, now we can all get serious and do something about this.

However, days later, solutions are not what we are talking about. Far from it.

A debate rages on ….What about the other five percent? Why are the scientists not a hundred percent sure? Was the hype about global warming just scare mongering to get us to recycle? Were we being taken a for a ride all this while? Do we really need all those wind turbines ruining the countryside?

I don’t get it. Isn’t a 95 % probability worrying enough? Shouldn’t we recycle anyway….good housekeeping has great merits. And, isn’t it nice that we have a countryside to dot with wind turbines? It’s a ridiculous debate.

We are refusing to accept the mess we have created lest we may be asked to clean it up. And so we remain belligerent, arguing endlessly but missing the point- we cannot afford to take a chance. It could end up costing us the Earth. Literally.

We don’t need science or religion to tell us this. As infants our instincts told us we couldn’t survive without our mother and as little children we thought she was our entire world.

What we need is a return to that innocence. When we ‘feel’ not ‘think’ that we need to hang on to Earth for dear life.

We need to bring back that sense of awe and wonder the early civilisations felt when they looked upon the natural world. That sense of watching something divine and mystical unfold before us, everyday.

And we need to let our children in on the magic too. If they are not lucky enough to enjoy the countryside then let them nurture a potted plant on a window sill in a crowded city block. Catch a sunset or two. Perhaps watch a full moon on some night. Because if we don’t, they will care even less than we do and then even the debates will stop.

So I am hoping that when we celebrate Navratri this year, we will be touched by more than just the festivities. That we may feel the divine Mother manifesting within and without.

The Atharva Veda has a beautiful hymn called Prithvi Sukta, In Praise of the Earth. Here is a small excerpt. I am not sure who translated it but it is beautiful and a reminder of the wonder that we once felt.

 Earth in which lie the sea, the river and other waters,
in which food and cornfields have come to be,
in which lives all that breathes and that moves,
May she confer on us the finest of her yield.
Earth, in which the waters, common to all,
moving on all sides, flow unfailingly, day and night,
may she pour on us milk in many streams,
and endow us with lustre.
May those born of thee, O Earth,
be for our welfare, free from sickness and waste.
Wakeful through a long life, we shall become
bearers of tribute to thee.
Earth, my mother, set me securely with bliss
in full accord with heaven,
O wise one,
uphold me in grace and splendour.