Looking into our past
When was the last time, one man in a lifetime, could build his own house, grow his own food AND weave his own cloth? Ever thought how satisfying that could be?
Some generations ago, the three basic needs of man were within his reach…food, clothing and shelter. Life was simple, peaceful and man was content. He was still connected to nature. Nature provided for him, and he in turn respected, nurtured and worshiped it. Life for a man was responsible celebration and still hadn’t turned into a complicated burden.He consumed as little as he could, celebrated as much as he could and respected nature immensely. He worked in tune with nature and viewed himself as a part of it.
Today, we have come to a point where we have lost our ability to think clearly of what is good for humans,nature and earth. We can’t decide when to not be a part of then ever-ending race. We live in concrete jungles built by someone we don’t know, we pay for it with half our lives, without thinking how beneficial living in the concrete house is to us. We wear clothes fashioned by someone else, without thinking why we must let some one else define us. We eat food grown by someone else, not knowing what has gone into growing it and what it contains. We aspire for things beyond our reach and end up being discontent. We have begun viewing ourselves as separate from nature and not as a part of it. Gone are the days when our philosophy of “Vasudaiva Kutumbakham”,was rigorously practiced and fully believed in. When we put the welfare and good of the world before our own small needs.
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Our dependency on money has become very pronounced and we are losing the know-how of basic life essentials. We are replacing simplicity and peace with complications and stress. Value for Indian traditions and Indian cultures have started dissipating everywhere. Indian traditions and culture have always stressed on respecting, valuing, and preserving nature. New age fancy terms like organic, bio-degradable, eco-friendly,reduce-reuse-recycle, sustainability, natural etc, are all values that Indian traditions and culture has been following and propagating for many many centuries.
Craft has been treasured in our country immensely. How fantastic is it that thread can be spun by hand and cloth can be woven by hand. The thus resulting fabric is of such value where man has the satisfaction of having done everything by hand. The process is a social activity that provides a source of income for the entire community. The farmers,spinners, weavers, people who size the yarns, and many more.Sustainability is seen in its entireness and is not dependent on anyone person. These beautiful lifestyles have become a thing of the past.
How we preserve these systems of life, revive them where they have been lost, and pass them onto the next generation, is a huge responsibility that sits on our shoulders.
