Umashankar Joshi (1911-1988), one of the stalwarts of Gujarati literature, in his well-acclaimed poem entitled Vishva-shanti (i.e. Universal Peace), opens imaginative scopes for the entire humanity to hold introspection in order to achieve ecological equilibrium. Following lines from this poem reflect his deep ecological concerns:
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Vishwa Shanti : Universal Peace
Immense domains of the planet earth
Exist not only for the humans to dwell
Wilderness of the vast forests belong also
To the animals and birds and flowers as well.
(Yet)
Innumerable flowers are being pierced
Ravaged are the wings of lovely birds
Mute animals are being butchered
And so are the dense forests
With a doleful heart, the Mother Earth sobs!
Even after sucking the nectar from her bosom, Her insatiable, vile sons continue to spill blood all around !
God rests lovingly into the soft
fragrance of the blossom, and
leaves, petals and pistils of florets
Fabulous songs of the omnipresent
sparkle in the eyes of the birdies,
twittering so joyfully!
Can humans dream of having just a glimpse of peacefulness after hurting them even the slightest?
From the depth of our hearts, let an auspicious stream of compassion flow and bless all our fellow earthlings!
O! Children of the mother earth! Let us play the the ek-tara together that binds us all!
Let every heart be kindled by the melodies of the all-pervading love
Let us intertwine our hands
Let's stand together; shoulder to shoulder
And sing aloud in unison from the threshold of the universe:
Humans and the Nature, to you all I bid:
Whole earth is but a single family! (वसुधैव कुटुंबकम्!)
These words will cruise through the space infinite, and reach the orbits of the countless comets whirling around
Where the entire world turns into a single nest!
(यत्र विश्वम भवत्येक नीडम!)
ઉમાશંકર જોષી: વિશ્વ શાંતિ
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