There are two views we may have about Nature. One is that it is a mechanical energy and like any other physical and mechanical energy it can be harnessed and manipulated. The more we can learn the laws governing its processes, the more we can utilise and manipulate our world through it. But there is another view of Nature. It sees Nature not as mechanical energy but as a Conscious-Force, a Power that seems mechanical only on its surfaces but acts as if there is a great wisdom hidden within it. The elaborate and intricate processes, the complex adjustments and adaptations, the astounding far-sightedness even in its random acts, the manifestations of beauty and joy with a variety of colours and patterns and designs, give the impression of a master artist at play with forms.
Thus seen, Nature appears as a ‘being’ at once masculine and feminine, that is playing out the script of life according to a preordained plan. The magnitude of the script, the huge loops of time through which the drama runs, the multi-dimensional theatre of Space with its ever-changing lights and sounds reflecting the moment’s mood, the many actors and characters playing out endless scenes in a ceaseless story of mega-scale and grand gigantic proportions, is indeed appalling as well as humbling.
And then steps onto this grand theatre of sorts, her most intricate and complex character called Man with a most challenging role to play. Man is at once the hero and the villain, the climax as well as the anti-climax, the turning point as also the culminating chapter in a vast and tremendous epic. But to play our part best we too must learn to play with Nature. The secret lies neither in treating her as a mechanical energy that can be tamed by science and technology nor in being appalled by the immensity of her program but to be with her as a lover and friend, on equal terms, as partners in the great game of life.
To fear Nature is to lose the delight of her play. To tie her down by our instruments is to be satisfied with small gains. To those who forcibly try to pluck out her secrets she retorts with fury and force beyond measure. But to those who love her and play with her she often lets down her guard and reveals the deepest secrets hidden within her tremendous bosom.
