"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed."
It’s a part of the full quote from the
letter Gandhi wrote to RM Pearce, in December 1947. The full quote is "God
forbid that India should ever take to industrialism after the manner of the
West... The earth has enough for everybody's need, but not enough for
everybody's greed." Gandhi expressed the idea barely a few months after
independence when the country was taking its first few baby steps to stand and
walk properly. This quote has since become a popular phrase, highlighting the
tension between Basic human needs (food, water, shelter, dignity), and
Insatiable desires driven by greed (excess wealth, power, material
possessions). He had already seen the ills of frenzied industrialization and
was conceiving the country of his dreams.
He was a visionary and like a true
leader was thinking ahead of time.
He was just not clear about the need
to avoid the mistakes of the West, but he gave the various ways to avoid it.
Gandhi emphasized the importance of simplicity, sustainability, and equitable
distribution of resources. He advocated for a self-sufficient economy and
criticized excessive consumption. Gandhi's wisdom remains relevant today,
inspiring conversations around sustainable development, environmental
conservation, social justice, and mindful consumption.
The world is now grappling with the
tension between economic development and sustainable development. The effects
of climate change are real, and, on many counts, its negative effects are
irreversible. We have made giant strides since independence. So big are our
strides and such restless is our pace that it shows no sign of slowing down to
pause and ponder its effect on us.
To quote the Science Advances,
“Planetary boundaries framework update finds that six of the nine boundaries
are transgressed, suggesting that Earth is now well outside of the safe
operating space for humanity. Ocean acidification is close to being breached, while aerosol loading regionally exceeds the boundary. Stratospheric ozone levels have slightly recovered. The
transgression level has increased for all boundaries earlier identified as
overstepped. As primary production drives Earth system biosphere functions,
human appropriation of net primary production is proposed as a control variable
for functional biosphere integrity. This boundary is also transgressed. Earth
system modelling of different levels of the transgression of the climate and
land system change boundaries illustrates that these anthropogenic impacts on
Earth system must be considered in a systemic context.”
October 2nd marks the 155th
anniversary of Gandhiji.
What we have left of him is his name,
a few busts in a few city crossings and memorials in select locations - the
current generation is completely detached from him, his life and his teachings.
The only time he is resurrected is when a certain section of a certain
political thought vilifies him for his personal and political decisions. Movies
like Munnabhai MBBS have done more to bring back his values and principles than
our successive political satraps and administrations.
On his birth month, this article is an
attempt to reintroduce his principles and prescriptions to the current
generation and evaluate its relevance, especially at a time when we are facing
an existential crisis caused by anthropogenic activities. Let’s know what they
were and if we can do anything in our personal capacities to live by those
principles.
A. Simplicity and Minimalism:
Gandhi emphasised living simply with
bare necessities. His personal belongings could be fitted into a small bag. A
few loin clothes, a shawl, a chappal, his watch stuck to his waist, the
round-rimmed glass he wore, and a walking stick he used was all that he needed.
When Mahatma Gandhi met King George V in 1931, wearing his traditional Indian
clothing, a simple loincloth and shawl, journalists asked him if he felt
underdressed. Gandhi famously replied: "The King had enough on for both of
us."
This witty response highlighted
Gandhi's simplicity, humility, and commitment to Indian cultural identity,
while also subtly critiquing the excesses of Western colonialism.
Sadly, we also have fallen victim to
those consumption models and patterns. Our rooms are now filled with more
cupboards stuffed with clothes and belongings that we didn’t use in the recent
past or are never going to be used in the near future leaving no space for us
to use. ‘Do we need to have this’ is a question we must ask ourselves before
falling for the temptation of a new dress, a gadget, a car or anything for that
matter. The subculture of giving away things we have stopped using has caught
on in the West and things like kids’ toys, and cycles are handed down to the
ones who need them once one’s child outgrows them. There are apps and WhatsApp
groups which aggregate the needs and availability of such things. The idea is
to reduce purchases and waste without compromising on lifestyle conveniences.
B. Self-Sufficiency and Localism:
When Gandhi started his Swadeshi
movement, hatred for foreign goods or foreigners didn’t propel this idea. He
wanted all of us to be self-reliant at a personal and community level. Doing
your things, growing your food, and helping each other during difficult tasks
was what he proposed to make us live with dignity without depending on others
at a distance who have turned it into an industry. He was for supporting local
farmers and businesses to thrive with local support. When we see grapes
imported from countries like Australia and the ones from Andhra or Maharastra
sharing shop space giving us an option to choose from; how many of us think of
the ‘Food Miles’ each lot carries? We are swayed by its cosmetic appearance and
premium pricing. The current trend is to source local produce even if there are
cheaper and better options available with the eye to reducing our carbon
footprint.
C. Non-Violence:
The reductionist and mechanistic
science and modern-day science taught us to dominate nature and all other
living and non-living things around us. Our ancient culture taught us to
respect natural elements and animals to the point of worshipping them like
Gods. Now in the name of development, we have unleashed a war on mountains,
rivers, lakes and seas. The ill effects are now realised in the form of massive
landslides, floods in the hills sweeping away human habitations, and our urban
habitations experiencing flooding even in moderate rains. When Gandhi talked of
Ahimsa, he didn’t mean to be tolerant to external aggression, or internal
violence. What he talked of was environmental stewardship and our ethical
treatment of all living beings.
D. Ethical Consumption:
The first line in this article talks
about Gandhi's views on the importance of ethical consumption as the resources
on the planet are finite and need to be shared equitably with all. He urged
everyone to balance Need and Greed because the greed of a rich man to get
richer will only rob the poor and weak of their right over the common natural
resources.
E. Community and Collective Action:
With the masculine development models
and centralised decision-making being the current characteristic of the
Governments, the voices of the local communities are either quelled or bought
over. The current society treats demonstrations, and strikes, not only as
anti-development but as regressive and anti-national. Gandhi put a higher
emphasis on community-level collective actions as a way to influence the
government’s policy decisions. Democracy allowed this route for the communities
to express their voices. The current climate crisis requires honesty and
transparency at the top and collective action and participation of all to
ameliorate the ills caused by our development models. Without both ends working
together towards a common goal the desirables will always remain unattainable.
The current strategic political
movement to rewrite history to erase its colonial past, and replace its
syncretic cultures, and diversities with a singular-centric culture stands at
odds with what our ancient culture taught us and had made it thrive. Gandhi and
his teachings have fallen victim to this house-cleaning exercise. With the
economy going global many might question the rationale or practicality of many
of Gandhi’s prescriptions, but it's necessary to realise how the global
business models came crashing down when the pandemic spread like wildfire and
brought the countries to a grinding halt. At that time self-sufficiency at the
community level provided the necessary spring of resilience to rural India.
Those who think that Climate concerns
are an exaggeration and those who believe that modern science will find a
solution to the problem without their involvement and contribution are for a
rude shock. Recent research by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology
after conducting research at the caves of Gupteswar, Koraput and Kadapa, Andhra
Pradesh have revealed the interplay of climate factors, strikingly similar to
those affecting modern-day monsoons, likely led to the collapse of highly
developed Indus Valley Civilization 4000 years ago. They have found that
reduced solar radiation, El Nino and many other factors had collectively
weakened the monsoon which resulted in the downfall of the civilization. And
4000 years is just like yesterday in the evolutionary timeline.
I hope the learnings of the past and
evidence of science alert our governors not to waste precious time in hand to
repaint the past but to think of the future which doesn’t look good at all for
everyone. With the world at the throes of facing another pandemic and the
catastrophic consequences of anthropogenic activities; not bringing back the
teachings of Gandhi to us and the younger generation will be to the peril of us
and our future generations.
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