Mother Nature, The Original University

20 litres of water, chemicals, ink, droplets of the sweat of a few direct labourers, and wood pulp. These are some of the things explicitly and implicitly visible on our degree certificate. Recently, holding the thick paper decorated with golden calligraphy surprisingly did not bring a smile to my lips, but rather, the touch emanated memories of a bulbul bird that once lived on a river tamarind tree speaking melodies. While plenty is learnt within the four walls and through rectangular devices, does adorning a wall full of parchments truly make us invisible?

We are born to rule. We are the masters of all creations. These popular statements used to spike up my ‘feel good chemicals’ only until I gave it some thought. What makes us invincible? In the words of Yuval Noah Harari, we have the ability to cooperate in extreme flexibility with countless strangers. Does this mean our lives are superior to other species?

The primal motive of all living things, at least from the perspective of evolution, is to pass on the best genes to the next generation, and in this process, one tries to survive, hunt and procreate. In light of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, we may find it difficult to agree with the primal motive principle, because, as humans, we dream, and desire a life beyond mere survival, even if it isn’t always in the best interest of our planet.

A human perceives the meaning of life differently from any other creature of any size. Infinite permutations and combinations of events determine our identities beginning with when we were born, the people we meet, the cultures and beliefs we were inculcated with, and interestingly, the things that we never indulged in!

The Sanskrit phrase “Tat Tvam Asi” of the Sama Veda, translated as “that is you” or “that you are” reminds us that we are not a separate particle of existence, but a piece of an eternal continuum, of all existence, living and non-living. There is divinity in all things we encounter. We are connected to all things we encounter. The very beginning, the present and the future are all connected. When the trees exhale, we inhale and vice versa. The following are a few questions or thoughts that led me to a brief discovery of this eternal ideology.

Is the Burj Khalifa tall enough?

Humans have been excellent engineers for thousands of years. Architectures from the enormous pyramids of Giza to the mysterious caves of Ellora awe us with their magnificence. Yet, there is a common construction found in the savannahs that we have all seen, but no human engineer has attempted to build something close to it. It’s undertaken by an insect that’s blind and deaf — termites. If the dimensions of a termite hill were translated into a human-sized scale, the termites would be the size of humans and the fortress would stand two kilometres high! If we were to build it, which we haven’t yet done, just imagine the army of architects, engineers, batteries, computers, and regiments of construction equipment that will be required! Nevertheless, in total darkness, millions of termites built their equivalent, each blind insect knowing exactly where it needs to place its mud pellets to make nurseries, supporting pillars, chambers, gardens, defence walls, and spiral cooling vanes in total coordination. As with so many animal architectures, we have little idea how they do it.

Oscars to Nobel Prizes. Why should a ‘human’ always steal the show?

Many of us need recognition or awards to remind ourselves of the greatness that we brought to this world. While it makes us feel good to touch, caress or even bite a piece of metal on a podium that’s a few feet above the ground, I wonder how certain animals consistently deliver magnificence without the need for external recognition.

All creatures sacrifice for their young ones, for it is the law of natural selection. Most parents, whether humans or birds, ensure that their young ones are fed first and well, especially in case of limited food. I used to believe that altruistic behaviours are a human trait, only exhibited by a few such as Mother Teresa and Gandhi. But are we really the only ones who altruistically sacrifice?

It was during the initial COVID-19 times that I began to learn more about bats. One particular bat awoke my curiosity. It was vampire bats, usually found plenty in South America.

There is no surprise in voluntary sacrifices for direct relatives and bloodlines since the main objective is to transfer the best genes to the next generation. However, altruistic sacrifices of animals pose a great challenge to evolutionary theory. Sacrifices of this kind are not likely to be passed on to the next generation since their owners will leave less potency than those who act selfishly. Vampire bats feed on blood and they need to drink half their body weight every night. However, a third of the immature bats in a colony may fail to get their daily quota of their favourite brand of red wine. If no blood is consumed for 2 nights, the bats will die. Careful investigation using genetic fingerprints shows that those fed in the colony are sometimes not closely related at all. This unselfish act by the bats makes me consider that some vampires can be kind, like the ones they show in the Twilight Saga!

When one glitch in Google Maps could land us into the abyss, how come the birds fly without a Siri?

Tarzan was one of my favourite cartoons growing up. It was only recently that I thought that had I actually lived like a Tarzan in the Congo Basin, how would I ever taste some exotic Arabian dates or discover the icy scalps of the Arctic?

Probably a long random arduous journey to an unknown land. That’s what the Vikings did, the first travellers of the Silk Route did before any maps, compasses and checkpoints came into existence. Even with maps, we still sometimes struggle to find the precise location especially if the destination is situated in remote coordinates.

But the story is not the same for the young cuckoo. These birds have been abandoned by their parents before they hatch. But it manages to find its way down to southern Africa from East Africa spanning about 7500 miles! How do they do this? They must have inherited a mental map!

From 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G but still buffering!

We need the support of external satellites to connect with someone who’s located a few miles away while dolphins, whales, bats, and elephants, can communicate hundreds of miles apart with the aid of ultrasounds. Once again going back to bats, what we hear as bat sounds are their social utterances. For navigation bats use ultrasound far beyond the range of any human ear. Some are so high that they enable their makers to detect the presence of a wire no thicker than a human hair stretched across their flyway. While radio signals were utilised by humans to catch the most wanted men such as Pablo Escobar and Eli Cohen, bats watching the struggle could be screeching laughing in the corner of a mahua tree.

LinkedIn to Instagram, where can I find the right people and content?

Hunting for jobs and reels is close to impossibility without the aid of technology. Animals are yet to explore LinkedIn and I don’t think they need to. An albatross can sense a burning opportunity 15000 away and fly towards it without even thinking about a visa. Not even many of the present-day commercial jets can fly this long non-stop.

Without a Bumble account, a female elephant can broadcast the news of her date availability. She does this not only with certain scents but also with sounds and in a way that ensures not merely she gets a mate but gets the biggest and most powerful one available.

Without using the MyFitnessPal app, some crocodiles know and can survive up to 3 years without food, whereas, we need the guidance of an expert trainer or a well-researched journal to learn and practice the right approach for intermittent fasting.

How did we, a two-legged wingless creature, manage to fly? It is not by drinking Red Bull but by observing a bulbul bird, through a deeper understanding of the laws of nature.

Every species is different. Even within the same species, no two souls behave the same. As we journey life in our unique setup, let us take a moment to acknowledge and learn the silent gospels that float around us. As we strive to reach each of our self-actualisations, let us remember that all living creatures, big or small, tasty or band, vile or pleasant are neither inferior nor superior to any other living creatures.

In a world where time is money, where a Kindle opens up our idea of the world, let us also listen to the original master, nature. Even a minute of silent contemplation on a falling mahogany seed can add to the literature of aerodynamics! Let us open our eyes not just to the Python programming language but also to the original Python snake’s language. We all have seen how a boy with a parseltongue was able to open the chamber of secrets which even the programming languages perhaps couldn’t open!

Every atom in this existence has something to teach, something for us to learn from. A flower blossoming, a lizard cutting off its tail, a raindrop falling, even a mosquito drinking blood without instilling a pinch of sensation. From hard skills like construction to soft skills like patience, let us all partake and immerse in the world’s biggest university, the incredible nature, whenever we can!