Sunlight

Sunlight by Raakhee Suryaprakash http://www.pdfcoke.com/doc/20934448 The Divine Trinity, Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Protector, and Shiva the Destroyer, were in deep conversation when Narada, the eternal meddler, showed up to stir things up as usual. “Narayana, Narayan,” he began his mischief with the refrain of his master Vishnu’s name, “I am happy to see you all in one place my Lords. I am deeply troubled and need your guidance.” Amused by the appearance of the troublemaker in their midst, Vishnu queried, “What troubles you Narada?” “O All-Knowing Ones, Boomi Devi (Mother Earth) has been weeping. The noxious toxins, distrust, and hate mankind has been producing these many millennia have finally broken her heart. She needs your help. She can hardly breathe, and even the rays of the sun are having an altogether unbearable effect on her. The rivers and seas are polluted and the Man is killing indiscriminately. His greed is destroying the world. Mother Earth needs you.” As Vishnu mulled over whether another incarnation was required to save the world, yet again, and Shiva wondered whether the time had finally come to destroy creation to allow Brahma to start afresh, the Divine Creator spoke: “Mother Earth is complaining about the Sun? I created the Sun as the sustainer of the Earth. Before we deal with Man we’ll deal with the gods. Summon Lord Surya, the sun god, and Mother Earth.” Narada rushed to comply, smirking at a job well done, but when he conveyed his message to Lord Surya the other Nature gods decide to accompany the Sun. Varun the water god, Vayu the wind god, and Agni the fire god stood beside the Earth and the Sun as they awaited the Trinity’s command. “Boomi Devi, You complained about Man and the Sun to Narada, We will hear what Lord Surya has to say for himself,” boomed the Creator ordering the Sun to defend himself. “All-Knowing Ones, I remain the sustainer of life on earth but the Free Will you granted Man has combined with excessive greed to make him the enemy of nature. We are doing what is inevitable when Man wrecks havoc on the order of things. He is calling it the ‘Green-House Effect,’ but I don’t want to dry up the fresh water, scorch the land, and

melt the ice caps, I want to remain the sustainer not the destroyer of life but I’m helpless.” The other Nature gods almost in tandem add: “Man has forgotten the old ways.” “His greed is shaping his way of life and his lifestyle is reinforcing his destruction of the environment.” “He has declared war on us. We now do what needs doing. The great industrial fires he sets won’t stop till it scorches every last thing on earth.” Surya ends their defence with humble words, “We are your commands O Trinity, but Man is on the road to destruction.” “Perhaps I should go end this once and for all and stop further heart break to Mother Earth,” proclaimed Shiva rising from his seat but Brahma intervenes with his final verdict: “Surya you claim you want to remain the sustainer. We will give Man another chance: Lord Vishnu will appear in his devotees’ dreams, telling them that the key to their survival lies in their harnessing sunlight. Sunshine is the only limitless resource available to Man. Only by using sunlight can they survive the effects of these centuries of greed. Perhaps this idea occurring in all their heads simultaneously will push them towards a better lifestyle…but the choice remains theirs.”