Bhubaneswar: President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated a Divine Retreat Centre and launched “Lifestyle for Sustainability” Campaign in Bhubaneswar on Monday.
The President, who is on a four-day visit to Odisha, launched these programmes of Brahma Kumaris at Haridamada village near the state capital.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that nature is full of bounties. Forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, rain, air – all are essential for the survival of living beings.
“However, people should remember that abundance in nature is for their needs, not for their greed. Human beings are exploiting nature for their indulgence and by doing this, are becoming victims of nature’s wrath,” Murmu said.
Maintaining harmony with nature and living nature-friendly life is the need of the hour, she said.
Stating that Indian culture has always stressed a lifestyle compatible with nature, Murmu said the earth has been called mother and the sky has been called father in Indian tradition. The river has also been given the title of mother. Water has been called life.
“We worship rain as Lord Indra and the ocean as Lord Varuna. In our stories, mountains and trees move and animals even talk to each other. This means that nature is not inert, it also has the power of consciousness within it. All these are beautiful thoughts of Indian philosophers for the protection of nature,” she said.
Noting that climate change, global warming, and uncertainty of weather are big challenges that the world facing today, the President said natural disasters like floods, landslides, avalanches, earthquakes, forest fires, and tsunamis are no longer occasional. Now these have become frequent incidents.
Since small changes in our daily lives pave the way for big changes in society, people should change their habits to ensure minimum use of natural resources. Often, drinking water gets wasted due to the taps being left open. Lights remain on even during the day.
It is not enough to just discuss nature-friendly lifestyle and we must make it a part of our daily life and everyone should make a habit of saving natural resources to conserve it, Murmu said.
Appreciating all associated with the national campaign ‘Lifestyle for Sustainability, the President said it is a praiseworthy step in the direction of connecting people with nature. This campaign should not be limited to meetings, committees, or conferences and people associated with the campaign should go to different parts of the country and make people aware of the importance of the environment, she added.
