KVE301/KVE401 Universal Human Values and Professional Ethics
Chapter 10: Harmony in Nature – Understanding the Interconnection and Mutual Fulfilment
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
Appendix
Our world today may be described as an age of confusion and tensions, both within and outside of us. A beautiful life is one that is ‘in harmony’ with the situations in life. In fact ‘Harmony is a precious treasure of human life. Real success, satisfaction, and happiness are different facts of harmony. If one is to enjoy the benefit of life to the fullest, it is necessary to develop and maintain harmony.
The law of nature has a unique cause and effect system which must be understood in order to be in harmony with the natural law of things. Natural harmony is necessary for the following reasons:
- Natural harmony is necessary to solve the problem of global warming and the depletion of non-renewable natural resources can be avoided.
- Natural harmony with trees cures all problems like – reduction of wind velocity, energy savings, doing companion planting, development of an eco-subsystem in terms of establishing a forest garden, reduction of building heat.
- It is possible to achieve natural harmony in the establishment, maintenance, and management of educational institutions like schools, colleges, and universities.
- One can understand the depths of harmony and alignment in nature by contemplating and reflecting upon the natural order. It is possible to unravel the mystery of the natural synthesis in the midst of ongoing chaos at the material plane.
Nature
“All the physical objects that are in solid, liquid, or gas states eighter living or nonliving, collectively termed as nature.”
In other words, the aggregate of all the mutually interacting units – big or small, sentient or insentient together can be called nature. These units are infinite in number and we could easily observe that there exists a dynamic balance, self-regulation among all these units. To facilitate understanding, we can categorize all these units into four distinct orders.
There are four orders of nature:
- Material order
- Pranic order
- Animal order
- Human order
1. Material Order
The big landmass of the continents, gigantic water bodies like ocean and seas, mountains and rivers, the atmosphere above, the heaps of metals and minerals below, the dense gases and fossil fuels deep below the surface of the earth – all fall into the material order or “Padartha Avastha”. In fact, if we look around beyond the earth, the material order is visible even in the form of stars, planets, moons, and several astronomical bodies.
2. Pranic Order
Our landmass is covered with grass and small shrubs and they form the lining on the entire soil. Shrubs, plants, and trees form huge forests along with the flora in the ocean. All of this is the plant/bio order or “Pran Avastha” and it is the next big order on our planet. (The material order is far greater in quantity compared to the plant/bio order)
3. Animal Order
Animals and birds form the third-largest order and we call them the animal order or “Jeev Avastha”. Here again, we see that the plant/bio order is far greater in quantity than the animal order.
4. Human Order
Human are the smallest order and they are referred to as human order or gyana avastha. Animals are far greater in quantity as compared to the human order.
Each one of us can recognize all these four orders around ourselves and see that together these four orders comprise all the units that we see and understand around us. The four orders as above should not be viewed in isolation. All these are part and parcel of nature and existence. these are really mutually complementary and supplementary. They are not independent but are mutually interdependent. Each one nurtures and nourishes the others.
