Mother Earth

The earth is worshipped as Goddess Bhooma  Devi, a Consort of Lord Narayana. It was to rescue Bhooma Devi from a demon that the Lord  took the Varaha avatara. Those with patience are compared  to Bhooma Devi, R. Narayanan said in a discourse.

Would anyone reward those  who injure them? Yet Mother  Earth rewards those who dig  her up for cultivation. We use sharp instruments to till the soil  and dig pits; yet the more we  work on the land, the more rich  dividends it yields. Such is the nature of the earth.

When the earth is so benevolent, does it make sense for anyone  to bemoan his fate and say he has no way of making a living? So long as he is able bodied,  he can till the land, using his  energy and strength.

A man who is able to work, but does not realise that he can reap rich rewards by making agriculture his livelihood , is one who will be mocked and  made fun of by the very earth  whose value he has not realised. An unkind ruler, who does

not realise his responsibilities  and who is in the company of  the uneducated, burdens the  earth by his irresponsible actions.

A responsible ruler must  have three important qualities:  he must not procrastinate when  important decisions have to be taken; he must be educated; and  he must have the courage to  make the right decisions. According to the poet Tiruvalluvar, such a responsible ruler  is capable of ruling the entire universe, which was measured  by Lord Narayana.

The worship of the earth is a  practice current even today, as  is seen in the puja offered to the earth before the commencement  of any construction  activity.

The earth yields to the one  who works hard, but the yield  depends on yet another gift  from God: rain. Tiruvalluvar underscores the value of timely  rain, and says the rain is selfless  too.

What does the rain gain by  pouring down on the scorched  earth, making life possible on  it?

Be it the earth or the rain, humans have a lesson to learn  from them — the importance of  selfless service. Tiruvalluvar compares the need for good rulers  to the need for copious rain.