Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I see.
Dr. Sujit Kar:
He identified several causes, but one major factor he highlighted was the impact of artificial irrigation and cooling efforts in desert regions. These interventions are interfering with the natural application of Ferrel's Law in our part of the world, making weather patterns increasingly erratic. If we look closer at this disruption of the heat balance and the unpredictable behavior of nature that Kashinath Babu warned us about, it could be very enlightening.
Dr. Sujit Kar:
Deserts are often viewed as barren and destitute, while we consider ourselves resourceful and wealthy. However, deserts play a vital role in creating low-pressure zones. They heat up intensely and radiate that heat, causing the air to expand and rise. This creates a vacuum—a low-pressure area—that draws in air from surrounding regions. Deserts across the globe help maintain this atmospheric pressure balance. Just as a change in blood pressure affects the human body, global pressure variations are causing significant shifts in air currents.
Dr. Sujit Kar:
Because of artificial cultivation in deserts like those in Rajasthan, we see temperatures there at around 36°C, while in Central India—places like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh—temperatures are soaring to 40°C or higher. Consequently, low-pressure zones are forming in the wrong places. This prevents the moisture-rich air from the Bay of Bengal from reaching the mainland. For those of us in Bengal, that moisture is our primary source of rain. While the rest of India relies on western winds, West Bengal depends on eastern winds drawn in by low pressure. If that pressure isn't situated correctly, we face a drought of moisture.
Dr. Sujit Kar:
Furthermore, the extensive stone quarrying in the Thar Desert and changes in the Aravalli Mountains have altered wind patterns. We are now seeing winds from the Arabian Sea reaching Gujarat and Rajasthan, and northern or northwestern winds appearing at times when we should be experiencing eastern breezes. This creates a moisture crisis. On top of this, global climate change has significantly warmed the waters of the Bay of Bengal. Warmer water creates more vapor, increasing atmospheric vapor pressure. This leads to the formation of powerful low-pressure systems over the sea, which quickly escalate into deep depressions and devastating cyclones. This is a critical situation for India. Nature provided us with a balanced system, but our lack of foresight and poor planning have damaged the climate, and now we are facing the consequences.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I have a question. Recently, thousands of tons of fish were washed ashore at Puri beach with every wave. Why did that happen?
Dr. Sujit Kar:
Seawater consists of different thermal layers. Some fish thrive in the warmer top layer, while others prefer the colder depths. When these layers shift abruptly due to environmental changes, the fish find themselves in a "transition" they cannot handle. They lose their physical balance and are simply carried away by the waves. Given the rising sea temperatures, this is likely to become a more frequent occurrence.
Disciple:
You mentioned the stone quarrying in Rajasthan. We also see mountains being leveled for iron ore, which is then shipped abroad because our own steel industry isn't as developed. Does this extraction also affect the Earth's balance?
Dr. Sujit Kar:
See, what happens is that our Earth has everything arranged within the land to maintain a balance. This balance has been maintained from the beginning of creation until now. In scientific terms, we call this "isostasy." What happens is, when you cut mountains and extract minerals, the surface gradually loses balance. Similarly, take Kolkata, for example, which has soft soil. You've built huge buildings there. Kolkata's soil doesn't have the capacity to bear the weight of these buildings either. That also disturbs the Earth's balance. On one hand, you've ruined it by cutting, and on the other hand, you've ruined it by putting pressure. The Earth will try to regain this balance again. In trying to regain this balance and stabilize the pressure, earthquakes occur from time to time. Along with the significant influence of temperature differences, our human activities are disturbing the surface balance. The surface wants to regain its balance.
Disciple:
That brings to mind how we are covering everything in concrete, pitch, and cement. This prevents the soil from absorbing heat, reflecting it instead—much like what happens in desert or mountain regions. Does this contribute to the intense heat or the "Loo" winds we experience?
Dr. Sujit Kar:
Yes, it's a major contributor. An uncovered surface absorbs some heat, but concrete reflects and radiates it. In cities like Kolkata, buildings have multiple surfaces exposed to the sun. This creates what we call "Urban Heat Islands." The city becomes a concentrated zone of heat. You might notice clouds gathering and winds blowing, but the heat radiating from the city is so intense it prevents the rain from falling. Last year, the cyclone Fani hit Odisha hard but was actually deflected away from Kolkata solely because of the city's urban heat.
Disciple:
So, in that instance, was the heat beneficial?
Dr. Sujit Kar:
No, not beneficial. Deflecting such a large power means it's causing severe damage to us. Cyclone Yaas was supposed to make landfall near Sagar Island or Haldia. But that storm kept getting deflected and moved towards Odisha. So, ultimately, this is bringing a terrible natural disaster. Today we might be happy that Fani couldn't enter or Yaas couldn't enter here, but it's causing us immense harm.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
It reminds me of the ancient prophecies—that a time would come when twelve suns would seem to rise, making the Earth uninhabitable. From a scriptural perspective, Shri Ramakrishna also spoke of a time when the Earth would become scorched and unbearable due to radiation and heat. We see that happening now with all this concrete. Concrete is essentially crushed stone, and stone holds and radiates heat. We only feel relief at night when that heat is slowly released. Our interference with nature has made the world erratic. Scientists even warned leaders like Indira Gandhi decades ago not to disturb the deserts.
Dr. Sujit Kar:
That was indeed Kashinath Mukhopadhyay. He wrote about it in The Statesman back in 1983.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
He warned that "improving" one desert would only create another elsewhere. Now, we are seeing the results of man's arrogance. We are destroying the very environment we depend on. We must become conscious of our actions. If we continue this way, the Earth will simply become uninhabitable.
Disciple:
Sujit Kar, scientists around the world, and even young activists like Greta Thunberg, are warning us about melting glaciers and the rising heat. But is anyone actually listening? Are governments taking real action?
Dr. Sujit Kar:
No, the thing is, environment is such a subject that most people, without knowing, think the environment just means some trees and water. And that we need to think about it... there's not even a bit of continuous thought. Today, people all over the world can see that the environment is devastated. And we are responsible for this devastation. Even though we understand this, we are not taking any steps. Because the thing is, if we were to take steps, then the cosmetic life we are living on Earth today—a world of dreams where I actually have no right to live—I am living there as if I'm wearing cosmetics. In that cosmetic world, I won't get peace, I'll have to suffer. Walking on the road will get mud on my feet; I'll have to get accustomed to the environment. To reach that place, it will be quite difficult. Tell me, in the flashy urban environment you're growing up in, if you're told to dig up a bit in front of your house and plant a tree, some might agree, but many won't, and most people won't agree. Because our demands are so high. That's why the Earth has become small for us. Despite giving us so much, we have ruined it, and in fulfilling our demands, the Earth is now destitute. Now, let me tell you what happened on Earth before this. There have been many ice ages on Earth before. And in those ice ages, all life was wiped out each time. Then, life was created anew. The highest level of life has to leave the Earth first. Before what happened, there were no humans on Earth. Humans came to Earth about 200,000 years ago. Before that, there were other creatures. They too left the Earth. Humans came through evolution. Today the problem is that humans have started thinking they are a great power. And they think they are the masters of the Earth. They think with their science, technology, and skills, they can do whatever they want. And this thought of humans is actually a great foolishness. Because natural power, no matter how much humans try, hasn't come under our control even a bit. We've only been able to create a decorated world, but we haven't been able to subdue any power of the Earth. And since we haven't been able to, the Earth is arranging itself anew. This extreme global warming is melting all the ice, as you can see. It will increase the sea level. In doing so, we will head towards a perpetual ice age. The whole Earth will become cold; the whole Earth will be covered in ice. Humans will have to leave the Earth first. Then, one by one, each form of life will leave. Again, life will start to emerge anew from within that water-covered Earth.
Disciple:
Does that mean, from here, I'll go to the Guru? Guru, is this the beginning of Kalpanta (the end of a cosmic cycle)?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Exactly. You can call it Kalpanta. Yesterday I discussed the fourteen Manus. Now our souls, the Manus are our souls, our fathers. These Manus have started breaking slowly. We have left the eighth Manu and entered the ninth Manu. Now this Manu is called the age of the sun, the age of Sharvarni. And all those who come after this will be Sharvarni, you'll see.
Dr. Sujit Kar:
Roughly nine are going on.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Nine are going on. We've finished the eighth Manu. The ninth Manu is going on. We've finished Sharvarni Manu. I've spoken about five Manus out of the fourteen Manus. Brahma's age is fourteen Manus. After that, whatever happens will happen.
Disciple:
But shouldn't we be worried about this?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Of course we should. It's about the survival of life. If I told you right now that your life was ending, you would be concerned, wouldn't you?
Disciple:
I would be.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
We think about our children, our families, but if humanity vanishes, none of that remains. Life will have to start all over again from the simplest cell.
Dr. Sujit Kar:
And through gradual evolution, the cycle repeats.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Whether you look at it through the lens of science or spirituality, the time of reckoning is near.
Disciple:
It makes me think of the poet's plea: "Give us back the forest."
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
That's no longer possible. If you said that in public today, people would think you were mad. We are facing an ultimate ultimatum from nature. There is no simple fix, no easy repair.
Disciple:
Is this nature's final notice?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
It is.
Disciple:
We have learned so much today, Sujit Kar. But I have one last thought. Given how technology has changed our lives—making us prefer concrete roads over muddy paths—should we be saying that science and technology need to find a limit?
Dr. Sujit Kar:
The issue is that humans were given intelligence and the power to think, but we've used it to separate ourselves from the ecosystem. To nature, a human is no different from a cow or an elephant. We are all part of the same system. We forget that we cannot survive without the life forms that came before us. Even with all our technology, we still rely on green plants to capture solar energy and provide us with food. Every bite of food comes from the soil and the sun. Our only hope is to return to a state where we respect nature as something sacred. If we can stop being "modern" and start being truly "human," we might buy ourselves some time. Otherwise, nature will simply evict us. It is giving us its final warning. Those who don't listen will face the consequences.
Disciple:
Guru, do you have any final words of hope for us?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I have said all I can. I have requested and warned many times. But as the saying goes, "A thief does not listen to the scriptures." There is no point in further talk. Let us end it here.
All:
Greetings to all.