Learn order and organization from the world of nature

July - Aug 2004

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Our earth is inhabited by myriads of living beings. Among them, man has undoubtedly the most evolved consciousness by virtue of his superior intellect and other higher potentialities. But, at the same time, he is prone to commit the mistake of looking down upon the lower forms of life as petty and insignificant. This is not proper. If man, in spirit of humility and curiosity, were to observe closely the life-patterns of sub-human species, he will find there much to learn from, and he will be overwhelmed by the display of practical wisdom, understanding and unique abilities with which Mother Nature has endowed them. This experience will, on the one hand, reinforce his faith in the even handedness and fair play of the Creator and, on the other, he may find there some instructive models of behavior for betterment of his own life-models which these supposedly lowly creatures follow diligently to lead a contented and healthy life.
Let us take the example of black-bee in this respect. Rest is anathema to the black-bee. It collects pollen from three to four hundred flowers during the day. It is noteworthy that this collection is made from only one species of flowers at a time. Its community has three classes – males king, females and workers. By the fall of winter, all the members die leaving only a few females. The latter have to negotiate the hard time of winter eating only the leftover crumbs. With the onset of spring, the famished female begins to build its habitat patiently and, with gradual breeding, a new life cycle starts. Black-bees are totally untouched by greed; hence there is no question of hiding the laboriously collected nectar.
Another example is that of the honeybee which leaves even the black-bee behind in terms of toil and sweetness. It is not for nothing that the adage “busy as bee” has been associated with this tiny creature. Its enterprise and diligence is unparalleled. It has to make about forty thousand ferries just to make half a liter of honey; each trip of two to three kilometers: thereby making it to cover a distance of three round trips of the earth for this labor. The honeybee is a social creature too, with a specific structure of community organization. At the center, there is the queen bee. There are some idler princes, and the rest are worker bees that do all the labor ranging from gathering honey to the protection and service of the queen.
The termite, too, is known for its community life and organizational prowess. Its existence on the earth is believed to be 250 million years old. The termite lives in colonies, each such colony inhabited by many thousands. It is a marvel of its power of organization that, in Africa, huge termite colonies, towering up to twenty feet, are found. Even bulldozers become inadequate to raze these, and explosives have to be used.
Any talk of hard labor, organization and sociability will remain incomplete without the account of her ladyship, the ant. Ant is an insect, which can be found in every nook and corer of the world, barring only the Polar Regions and the snow-capped mountain peaks, there are approximately fourteen thousand sub-species of the ant.
Ant’s living and behavioral pattern is entirely social, and we are hardly aware of the excellent mutual cooperation that exists within its community life.
In size, ant is tiny, but its smallness is deceptive. On the strength of its organization and skill, ant is able to repel even much larger insects. Ants tend to roam in large clusters; each such cluster may comprise up to twenty million ants. That is why even much bigger insects cannot confront them. When the caravan of African red ants is on the move, people start fleeing from their houses, and village after village becomes deserted. All creatures that come in their way, ranging from the smaller ones to even elephants and camels, dread these ants.
Ants do their work in groups. Collecting food, making of holes, procreation, and rearing of young ones – all these tasks are performed with excellent rapport. In ant society, there is a preponderance of females. The male ant’s role is confined to procreation only, and its life span, too, is very short; it dies after just one coition.
The emergence of ants after monsoon gives the impression that columns of their army have been let loose from some military cantonment. The sight of winged and flying ants suddenly appearing into view in the rainy season evokes wonder. It is another matter that abandoning the ground and taking to the air in this free manner often proves fatal for them, as they become easy prey to insectivorous birds. While this fate of ants holds a lesson for observance of prudence; their feature of the division of labor is at once very remarkable as well as educative.
The ants have their tasks cut out and they diligently, like disciplined soldiers, keep to their respective charges refusing to give up come what may. The queen is engaged throughout the year in laying eggs and breeding only. The other class is of worker ants that look after the queen and take full care of her. They gather food and feed the queen and her babies. It is their responsibility to carry the eggs to specially protected egg-chambers and keep them supplied with provisions. A notable feature is that, of the collected eatables, they offer only the most delicious pieces to the queen. All the worker ants are females.
While on the topic of the social life of birds and animals, a mention of the presence of democratic trait in their societies would be apposite. Dr. L. Conrad of the Sussex University, USA has studied the community lives of many such animals and has drawn some interesting conclusions. According to her, in the herd of animals, collective decision is made on the basis of majority opinion. For example, when a herd of reindeers or a swarm of lonely-bees appears to dance we should not be misled into thinking that they are merely dancing or expressing joy at having found nectar somewhere. In reality, they are having a poll among themselves about whether to proceed towards flowers or the grass field. This whole process is spontaneous, a result of natural instinct, without any conscious deliberation or planning.
The manner and method of such spontaneous decision-making varies from animal to animal. According to researchers, when, in a flock of deer, more than 60% stand up, they should be taken to be casting their votes by raising their legs i.e. expressing their opinions. Similarly, when, in the herd of African buffaloes, the females begin staring with a fixed gaze, we should know that they are giving their opinion or vote. Large swans, too, express their wish by the movement of their heads. They take to flight only when a large number of swans engage in slow movement, or a small number of them make rapid movement.
Thus, animals or birds know by their sheer natural instincts when they have to move or fly, and this decision is arrived at on the basis of majority opinion. There are a few exceptions to the rule, though, which do not follow the democratic system. Cat is one such example, which has no interest in collective decision-making. Deeper investigations into this phenomenon of collective decision-making are likely to unravel many more mysteries.
An interesting feature observed in this regard is that these animals have an intuitive understanding of the importance of time. Humans should learn from their behavior that punctuality of time is of crucial importance for successful conduct of life. Only the work, which is done at the right time, will lead to success; decisions made, after the opportune moment has passed, are likely to prove futile. Also, decisions taken in a natural way, which are in conformity with the will of the majority, prove fruitful and beneficial for the progress of community life.
The lives of these creatures hold lessons for us not merely in the matter of social order and organization but also in the realm of individual struggle for survival. One can learn profitably from the ‘ship of the desert’, camel, how to survive in hostile conditions with minimum needs. In humans water constitutes 12% of the body weight while in camels it is 25%. The camel drinks more than 100 liters of water at a time and can, therefore, go without water for several days at a stretch.
None can excel the cockroach in longevity of survival of this species on earth. Its beginning on the earth is estimated to go back to 160 million years. During this long period, this planet has seen many vicissitudes; many ice ages and tumultuous changes, which obliterated the existence of giant dinosaurs. The cockroach has survived all these catastrophes, which really is an awe-inspiring feat. On deeper probe, the secret of its amazing endurance becomes apparent. It has no equal in eating habit. It is omnivorous and can digest literally everything. What is more, it can survive for one month without any food or water, for two months on water only without any food, and for five months on food only even if it gets no water. If submerged under ice, it goes into hibernation, and becomes active with the melting of snow. This unique capacity to adapt itself to the extremes of hostile conditions is the secret of its long survival on earth.
It is clear that Mother Nature has equipped the creatures with the instinct and ingenuity by which they may successfully lead their individual and collective lives on the path of progress. Man, who, in his false arrogance of material achievements, has lost even the quality of humaneness, can benefit much from the life-patterns of these creatures and animals. He should be humble enough to welcome and imbibe excellence, from wherever it comes.

*****


Bharat Ratna M. Visheweshwaraiya was traveling in a first class coupe, which had some Englishmen, too, as his co-passengers. All of a sudden, Vishweshwaraiya got up and began to pull the chain to stop the train. The Englishmen tried to dissuade him, but he paid no heed to them and pulled the chain and thus brought the train to an abrupt halt..
The guard and other train personnel came over there to investigate the reason for chain pulling. Vishweshwaraiya explained: “ Some distance ahead, the track is damaged and the train may overturn. So there is need to proceed very slowly and with extreme caution.”
Everyone was incredulous. An engineer is not an astrologer. How could he be prescient of future events and foretell? In reply, he merely said: “I have developed the habit of seriously examining and pondering any matter. The sound being produced by the friction between the rail and the wheels tells me that the track ahead is damaged”.
At that time, nobody believed in what he was saying. But when, after moving for two furlongs, the track was found uprooted, all were left speechless and started profusely thanking him for saving their lives and began to call him a prophesier. Vishweshwaraiya laughed and said: “ Anyone who pays minute attention to simple and ordinary things and seriously tries to know and understand the message can be a prophesier”.

 
 
         
    
 
 
         
    


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