Finally, Ganges took a bath… Let’s celebrate and care for earth

Letter from New Delhi

By Kul Bhushan

The eco-benefits of current coronavirus lockdown for cleaner, greener and vibrant nature needs to be preserved, writes Dr Lavlin Thadani, a film-maker, dramatist and poet, in addition to being a fervent Osho disciple

Our pious river, the Ganges, has finally come alive. It finally got a chance to bathe itself. Photo – learnodo-newtonic.com


A few weeks into corona pandemic and nature is rejoicing in its long neglected, own existence. The sky is blue. Stars are gazing at the all beautiful earth. Once again recognising it. No layers of pollution to block the view. Waters have turned clear. Birds have come alive, replacing the shrill alarm clocks. The unity of nature produces musical cacophony that can beat any Mozart and Rehman.

Animals, big and small, have begun to reclaim what was originally theirs. And man in turn, has gone into hiding, having caused shameful damage and destruction! Bravo! Does one cut the very hand that feeds us? Think.

Gang-raped Earth

Is mankind bereft of basic intelligence? The term, ‘Mother Earth’ sounds so romantic but have we not repeatedly gang-raped it? Chopping trees, destroying mountains, polluting rivers… who are we? Human beings or greedy, blood-thirsty monsters? The only species with gluttony hunger… more is less for most of us.
Our pious river, the Ganges, has finally come alive. It finally got a chance to bathe itself, to clean itself of all the muck ruthlessly thrown into it by us, the so-called civilised species!

Why must we want to spend endless amounts of money on cleaning our otherwise clean, vibrant rivers? Wonder how nature managed to take so much cruelty from us? Finally, the universe conspired to step in and say, ‘Enough is enough!’

Knowing man’s evil mind, it transported an invisible enemy and failed the combined might of the armies, air forces and navies. The virus is not racial or religious by nature, nor does it favour the rich and powerful!

It cannot be bribed. It has no ambition. It is a courier sent from the skies carrying a clear message, ‘Stop in your tracks man and wake up before it is too late! Or continue to pay the heavy price you are paying now!’

Overkill suicidal

While I deeply mourn the precious human lives lost, must we continue to chop flourishing forests of lush green trees to cause landslides and further devastation?
In the race to outdo each other, we adorn our homes with the most expensive wood, items of ivory, tiger skin, all at the cost of universe that wants to maintain its delicate balance and protect our planet from dying a slow, poisonous death. Man is essentially a hunter, enjoys a good kill. In the process of overkill, he becomes suicidal.

Mahatma Gandhi was so right when he said, “The earth had enough for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed!”

I, for one, am very happy for the exhausted mother-nature to have got a breather after a long spell and is finally celebrating its own wonderful existence, if not its unparalleled, unique, exotic identity.

Thank God during the lockdown period, we dare not interfere! No wonder, to remain safe, we have been advised to maintain distance, a clear message to maintain the same distance from all our life givers, be it trees or rivers. Applaud them without messing around with them. We should be thankful to coronavirus for teaching us the most valuable lesson of respecting nature. Give respect and get respect – that is what our ancestors had taught us. In order to become smart, let us please not outsmart ourselves.

Osho says, “May be the earth does need a rest, but I feel bad about the way things are going. The earth is beautiful. If you start living its beauty, enjoying its joys with no guilt in your heart, you are in paradise. If you condemn everything, every small joy, if you become a condemner, a poisoner, then the same earth turns into a hell – only for you.”

— Osho, The Book of Wisdom, Talk #11.

* * *

Photo – i.ytimg.com

 Hollywood’s Love for Bollywood Superstar Irrfan

Double whammy. Two mega Bollywood film stars left this earth and started shining in the skies: Irrfan Khan, aged 53, on 29 April; and Rishi Kapoor, aged 67, on 30 April. Both died of cancer. While both had ton-loads of tributes from Indian film stars, celebrities and millions of fans, Irrfan elicited superb tributes from Hollywood as well.

After his brilliant work in Bollywood, he moved to Hollywood to act in The Warrior (2001), The Namesake (2006), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), the Academy Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), New York, I Love You (2009), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Life of Pi (2012), Jurassic World (2015) and Inferno (2016).

Thus, Hollywood paid radiant tributes. No lees than the Academy of Motion Picture Arts, the Oscars organization, declared, “Irrfan Khan left his imprint on global cinema. An inspiration to millions, he will be greatly missed.”

Super star Angelina Jolie said she had been privileged to work with Khan on the set of 2007 drama A Mighty Heart. “He stood out for his generosity as an artist, which made it a pleasure to work in any scene with him,” she told the BBC. “I remember the intensity of his commitment, and equally his smile. I send my condolences and my sympathy to his family, his friends, and all admirers of his work, in India and around the world.”

* * *

‘Osho Resort was like when I saw the ocean for the first time’ – Irrfan

It’s not widely known that the late Irrfan Khan was an ardent Osho lover. He regularly read Osho books and said he had been inspired by Osho’s vision.

After visiting Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune, he said in an interview published in Hindi in Osho Times, “It was the first time I stayed at Osho’s energy field. It reminded me of the moment when I came to Bombay and saw the ocean for the first time. It was a hypnotic, inviting and magnanimous experience. This experience was also an invitation. It had a vastness.

“I felt that Osho Meditation Resort is like a school where one can learn about oneself. For me, the greatest education in life is to know oneself at the deepest level. The biggest lesson for me is to know myself at the deepest level. This brings freedom and discipline. This Osho resort is an experimental laboratory where you can experiment with your internal and external forms.

“Think of it like a hamam (Turkish bath) where you can wash away all the dust of previous conditionings and emerge squeaky clean. This is a fertile land where a seed is planted in you and you can wait until it germinates and blooms,” he said. “At one time when I was really in love with Osho, I read every Osho book I came across,” he added.

The greenery of the resort, the pure energy, the intensity of meditation, is deeply felt in every picture of Irrfan. A great soul, sensitive, and creative artist full of humour and playfulness, Irrfan’s eyes shine in every picture during his visit to Osho Meditation Resort. He said many parts of the resort had a special energy which attracted him.


Kul Bhushan worked as a newspaper Editor in Nairobi for over three decades and now lives in New Delhi


* Published in print edition on 5 May 2020

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