The value of life has perhaps not been understood as well as it has been in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Indicators of materialistic progress, like GDP and GNP, have receded before life’s love for life. Governments have put their country’s economic plans and programmes on hold, giving precedence to saving lives.
Life loves life, a notion emanating from the eco-philosophy of Henryk Skolimowski, is a universal law . Since life loves to love life, life loves to wish to see life everywhere. -- not just human life, but life in its in the biosphere. Life wishes to see life even beyond Earth, a dream that one day may come true. Other planets in the cosmos where possibilities of life to evolve exist have always engaged our attention. Life wills life to prevail as intensively as possible!
Monocultures are not life-enabling. It tends to evolve and blossom in diversity, in heterogeneity. Not a single species is independent in itself. Every species and every individual of every species is dependent on numerous other species. The higher the level of biodiversity, greater the degree of resilience and sustainability. When we talk about life, we look deeply into our dependence on all life forms prevailing on Earth.
Exploration of other planets with even smallest fraction of similarity with Earth excites entire humanity because, life loves to love life. Our excitement and curiosity know no bounds when even a rudimentary hint of life comes to the fore. We feel thrilled when we look at footprints of what seems like rivers on the surface of the Red Planet; that perhaps there was once life on Mars! Maybe even now there are some microbes present, we don’t know.
When we observed the Venus Transit, rare cosmic events that occurred in 2004 and 2012, we celebrated the event with joy. When Apollo 11 landed on the Moon and human footprints were left on the lunar surface in 1969, we felt on top of the world.
Here is a poem, titled ‘Life Loves Life,’ written by Juanita Skolimowski, as tribute to her husband, Henryk Skolimowski, who passionately embraced and promoted sustainable living, conservation of life, and light as life-sustaining energy:
The underlying truth
is that Life loves life.
Each living being
Emerges from
the ground of being—
connected and sustained.
The web of Life.
an intricate living mandala:
Radiant and subtle
Magical and mysterious
Fragile and enduring.
The dance of life in all.
Life’s love for life runs through our nerves. We jump with joy when told by scientists that one of the Saturn’s moon’s atmosphere is similar to the Earth’s. So too when the Chandrayan mission discovers the possible presence of water, a symbol of life, on the Moon. The very thought that we may not be alone in the universe fills us with hope. This curiosity, zeal, excitement, thrill, this happiness and joy are all there because of the universal law: Life loves to love life. Life desperately expands its scope, horizon, sphere, light and glory. Life, therefore, cannot be complacent with its existence confined to Earth. It strives for extending its wings to other dimensions. May 4 is celebrated as Eco-philosophy Day.
(Vir Singh is professor, department of environmental sciences, G B Pant University, Pantnagar).