Article by Gurmeet Kaur (Atlanta, Georgia)
While ‘global warming’ has become the most debatable and trendy topic amongst thought leaders, politicians, activists and elites around the world, obvious changes in the climate, drowning of the polar bears, unprecedented pollution and epidemic increase in the number of diseases have forced a common person to think about the reasons and consider changes in lifestyle formerly taken for granted. There is a growing sense of personal responsibility for what we as average human beings can do not only individually but as a global community to make this Earth a better place. As conscious citizens of this world, Sikhs have by far the most enlightened view available to them from the teachings of the Guru(s) and the environmentally consciousness lives they lived.
In the Slok, Pavan Guru Paani Pitaa, Mataa Dharat Mahat, the gurbani gives the whole environment that sustains us the status of Guru: Water the Father and, Earth the Mother. Furthermore, the Guru Sahib directs us to take care of them as they take care of us. There are numerous examples that guide our lifestyles towards green living exemplified by the institution of Langar that feeds and nurtures the hungry with simple and nutritious food in the most earth friendly way possible and by the sensitivity that the Guru (Har Rai Ji) showed towards conservation and sustenance of flora and fauna and by the un-tired efforts of Bhagat Puran Singh who lobbied for saving trees and reversing pollutions of our rivers.
Continue reading ‘Taking Care of Mother Earth - A Conscious Kitchen’
