And All Came Tumbling Down

Nature just rumbles along, our idioms and metaphors and beliefs notwithstanding

- Devdutt Pattanaik

When there are natural calamities, such as earthquakes or tsunamis, human imagination seeks explanations. Why did this happen to us? Human imagination also seeks value. How can we use this event to sell our religion, our politics, our brand? Human imagination also seeks meaning. So, what is the lesson for us? Nature, however, offers neither explanation nor value nor meaning. It is all the work of human imagination.

Samkhya philosophy explains this divide dispassionately as Prakriti (nature) and Purusha (humanity). The meaning is more direct than we think. Humans alone react to natural events very differently as compared to other living creatures. Our imagination makes us believe that we are special; that we have a purpose in this world, or that this world exists for our benefit.