Spiritual Environmentalism PDF

8/20/2019 Spiritual Environmentalism PDF

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―Mystical experience of nature can be of particular relevance to our troubled age, bringing

deeper into our consciousness and emotions the logic that nature sustains humanity as

humanity must, in turn, sustain nature. Rationality alone, however, cannot be our guide in the

task of restoring our environment. A spiritual connection to nature must inspire the emotional

commitment that is the yin, complementing the yang of intellectual understanding.‖ Carl vonEssen

―Trees are extraordinary revelations of the spirit in nature. And, given the multitude of ways

that trees and their products benefit and enrich human culture, they are an especially

appropriate symbol of the interdependence of spirit and nature.‖ Steven C. Rockefeller and

John Elder

―If we reconstructed human spirituality painstakingly, we would end up with a mangnificent

tree whose branches go in so many directions, yet all trying to touch the heavens.‖ Henryk

Skolimowski

―For Indigenous peoples, land cannot be owned, bought, or sold. She does not belong to us,

we belong to her. We are born out of this land; we spend our lives on this land as her guests;

and after death we go back to that same land. . . . Although Indigenous peoples around the

world vary widely in their customs, traditions, rituals, languages, and so on, land is

considered by all as the center of their universe, a parent, a giver of life, the core of our

cultures, rituals, and traditions.‖ Nomalungelo I. Goduka

―Nature is seen by humans through a screen of beliefs, knowledge, and purposes, and it is in

terms of their images of nature, rather than of the actual structure of nature, that they act. Yet,

it is upon nature itself that they do act, and it is nature itself that acts upon them, nurturing or

destroying them.‖ Roy A. Rappaport

―With its philosophical insight into the interconnectedness and thoroughgoing

interdependence of all conditioned things, with its thesis that happiness is to be found through

the restraint of desire in a life of contentment rather than through the proliferation of desire,

with its goal of enlightenment through renunciation and contemplation and its ethic of non-

injury and boundless loving-kindness for all beings, Buddhism provides all the essential

elements for a relationship to the natural world characterized by respect, care, and

compassion.‖ Bhikkhu Bodi

―Scientists tell us that we have enough technology to save our planet. . . . Yet we don‘t take

advantage of this new technology. . . . The technological has to work hand-in-hand with the

spiritual. Our spiritual life is the element that can bring about the energies of peace, calm,

brotherhood, understanding, and compassion. Without that, our planet doesn‘t stand a

chance.‖ Thich Nhat Hahn

"The Lord lives in the heart of every creature. He turns them round and round upon the wheel

of Maya. Take refuge utterly in Him. By his grace you will find supreme peace, and the state

which is beyond all change." – Hinduism


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Peace ... comes within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their openness,

with the universe and all its powers and when they realize that at the center of the universe

dwells Wakan-Tanka, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us."--From

- The Sacred Pipe, by Black Elk, Lakota Sioux Medicine Man

OBJECTIVES

This project is about how the different spiritual and religious traditions in the world have

emerged from the soul of environmentalism and how in the future they could contribute to

the creation of a global culture sustainable environmentalism through spirituality.

As the above quotations indicate, almost all of the world's religions and spiritual customs, in

their own sacred writings and scriptures, say that one should understand and study the "peacein nature" to create ― peace in man‘s habitat‖. It is a known fact that exploitation of nature,

degradation etc. has often been undertaken by man in the name of growth, development and

societal welfare. Yet man wants to profess to want peace and harmony using nature. So what

is 'peace'? And how has spirituality helped to promote environmental peace, and how might

they help create a more peaceful world in the 21st century? These are a few of the questions

that this project will attempt to explore. This project will also show a comprehensive study on

the deep relation between the environment, humans and their spiritual being. Through this

study, I wish to get an understanding of how man‘s spirituality is interlinked with Mother

Nature, how the historic and present day religious practices seek to show gratitude for the

resources provided for existence of life on Earth and how nature teaches us of humility,

positivity, healing and constant growth.


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INTRODUCTION

Religion is the root of any culture, and environmentalism has become a full-fledged religion

in its own right. It is the most comprehensive substitute for spirituality in the world today, so

far as world view, theology, ethics, politics, economics, and science are concerned, and one

needs to understand it in order to counter it effectively, from presuppositions to policies, from

classroom to movie theatre, from evening network news to Internet and local newspaper.

Environmentalism — the word comes from a French word meaning ―surroundings,‖ that is,―everything,‖ meaning literally ―everythingism‖. Because environmentalism is inherently

totalitarian, demanding to define and control every aspect of life, it aims to take control of our

entire political, religious and legal structures.

For more than a century and a half anthropologists have studied various aspects of religion

and spirituality. Since the19th century, anthropologists such as Edward B. Tylor and James

G. Frazer occasionally touched on the relationships between religion and/or spirituality on the

one hand and aspects of ecology and environment on the other. Indeed, this is almost

inevitable with some subjects like Animism. However, only since the mid-1960s have

anthropologists gradually developed a special focus on these relationships identified here as

spiritual ecology.

What exactly is Spiritual Environmentalism one may ask?

In the present context, spiritual ecology is a complex and diverse arena of

intellectual and practical activities at the interface of religions and spiritualties on

the one hand, and on the other, of ecologies, environments, andenvironmentalisms. The term spiritual ecology parallels the well-established

primary components of contemporary ecological anthropology consisting of

primate ecology, physiological ecology, cultural ecology, prehistoric ecology,

historical ecology, and political ecology. (Sponsel 1997). Spirituality is far more

inclusive than the term religion, encompassing individuals who do not affiliate

with any particular religious organization such as a church, synagogue, temple, or

mosque, yet it is also an integral component of any religion in principle (Nye 2003,

Saint-Laurent 2000, Taylor 2005).


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Spiritual Environmentalism – A Brief History

Spiritual ecology identifies the Scientific Revolution -- beginning the 16th century, and

continuing through the Age of Enlightenment to the Industrial Revolution -- as contributing

to a critical shift in human understanding with reverberating effects on the environment. The

radical expansion of collective consciousness into the era of rational science included a

collective change from experiencing nature as a living, spiritual presence to a utilitarian

means to an end.

During the modern age, reason became valued over faith, tradition, and revelation.

Industrialized society replaced agricultural societies and the old ways of relating to seasons

and cycles. Furthermore, it is argued that the growing predominance of a global, mechanized

worldview, a collective sense of the sacred was severed and replaced with an insatiable drive

for scientific progress and material prosperity without any sense of limits or responsibility.

Some in Spiritual Ecology argue that a pervasive patriarchal world-view, and a monotheistic

religious orientation towards a transcendent divinity, is largely responsible for destructive

attitudes about the earth, body, and the sacred nature of creation. Thus, many identify the

wisdom of indigenous cultures, for whom the physical world is still regarded as sacred, as

holding a key to our current ecological predicament.

Spiritual ecology is a response to the values and socio-political structures of recent centuries

with their trajectory away from intimacy with the earth and its sacred essence. It has been

forming and developing as an intellectual and practice-oriented discipline for nearly a

century.

Spiritual ecology includes a vast array of people and practices that intertwine spiritual and

environmental experience and understanding. Additionally, within the tradition itself resides

a deep, developing spiritual vision of a collective human/earth/divine evolution that is

expanding consciousness beyond the dualities of human/earth, heaven/earth, mind/body. This

belongs to the contemporary movement that recognizes the unity and interrelationship, or

"interbeing," the interconnectedness of all of creation.

Visionaries carrying this thread include Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) who founded the

spiritual movement of anthroposophy, and described a "co-evolution of spirituality and

nature‖ and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a French Jesuit and palaeontologist (1881-1955) who

spoke of a transition in collective awareness toward a consciousness of the divinity within

every particle of life, even the densest mineral. This shift includes the necessary dissolution

of divisions between fields of study as mentioned above. "Science, philosophy and religion

are bound to converge as they draw nearer to the whole.‖

Thomas Berry, the American Passionist priest known a 'geologian' (1914-2009), has been one

of the most influential figures in this developing movement, with his stress on returning to a

sense of wonder and reverence for the natural world. He shared and furthered many of

Teillard de Chardin‘s views, including the understanding that humanity is not at the center ofthe universe, but integrated into a divine whole with its own evolutionary path. This view


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compels a re-thinking of the earth/human relationship: "The present urgency is to begin

thinking within the context of the whole planet, the integral earth community with all its

human and other-than-human components."

More recently, leaders in the Engaged Buddhism movement, including Thich Nhat Hanh,

also identify a need to return to a sense of self which includes the Earth. Joanna Macy

describes a collective shift – referred to as the "Great Turning" – taking us into a new

consciousness in which the earth is not experienced as separate. Sufi teacher Llewellyn

Vaughan-Lee similarly grounds his spiritual ecology work in the context of a collective

evolutionary expansion towards oneness, bringing us all toward an experience of earth and

humanity – all life – as interdependent. In the vision and experience of oneness, the term

"spiritual ecology" becomes itself, redundant. What is earth-sustaining is spiritual; that which

is spiritual honours a sacred earth.

An important element in the work of these contemporary teachers is the call for humanity‘s

full acceptance of responsibility for what we have done – physically and spiritually – to the

earth. Only through accepting responsibility will healing and transformation occur.

Including the need for a spiritual response to the environmental crisis, Charles, Prince of

Wales in his 2010 book "Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World," writes: "A

specifically mechanistic science has only recently assumed a position of such authority in the

world... and not only has it prevented us from considering the world philosophically any

more, our predominantly mechanistic way of looking at the world has also excluded our

spiritual relationship with Nature. Any such concerns get short shrift in the main stream

debate about what we do to the Earth." Prince Charles, who has promoted environmentalawareness since the 1980s, continues: "... by continuing to deny ourselves this profound,

ancient, intimate relationship with Nature, I fear we are compounding our subconscious sense

of alienation and disintegration, which is mirrored in the fragmentation and disruption of

harmony we are bringing about in the world around us. At the moment we are disrupting the

teeming diversity of life and the ‗ecosystems‘ that sustain it— the forests and prairies, the

woodland, moorland and fens, the oceans, rivers and streams. And this all adds up to the

degree of ‗disease‘ we are causing to the intricate balance that regulates the planet‘s climate,

on which we so intimately depend."

In May 2015 Pope Francis‘s Encyclical, ―Laudato Si‘: On Care for our Common Home,‖endorsed the need for a spiritual and moral response to our environmental crisis, and thus

implicitly brings the subject of spiritual ecology to the forefront of our present ecological

debate. This encyclical recognizes that ―The ecological crisis is essentially a spiritual

problem,‖ in line with the ideas of this developing field. American environmentalist, author,

and journalist Bill McKibben who has written extensively on the impact of global warming,

says that Pope Francis has "brought the full weight of the spiritual order to bear on the global

threat posed by climate change, and in so doing joined its power with the scientific order."

Scientist, environmentalist, and world leader in sustainable ecology David Suzuki also

expresses the importance of including the sacred in addressing the ecological crisis: "The way


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we see the world shapes the way we treat it. If a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore; if a

river is one of the veins of the land, not potential irrigation water; if a forest is a sacred grove,

not timber; if other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not

an opportunity -- then we will treat each other with greater respect. Thus is the challenge, to

look at the world from a different perspective."

Historically we see the development of the foundational ideas and perspective of spiritual

ecology in mystical arms of traditional religions and spiritual arms of environmental

conservation. These ideas put forth a story of an evolving universe and potential human

experience of wholeness in which dualities dissipate — dualities that have marked past eras

and contributed to the destruction of the earth as "other" than spirit.

A Catholic nun interviewed by Sarah MacFarland Taylor, author of the 2009 book, ―Green

Sisters: Spiritual Ecology‖ (Harvard University Press, 2009), articulates this perspective of

unity: ―There is no division between planting new fields and prayer.‖

Religion and Ecology

Within many faiths, environmentalism is becoming an area of study and advocacy. Pope

Francis‘s May 2015 encyclical, Laudato si', offered a strong confirmation of spiritual ecology

and its principles from within the Catholic Church. Additionally, over 150 leaders from

various faiths signed a letter to the UN Climate Summit in Paris 2015, ―Statement of Faith

and Spiritual Leaders on the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP21

in Paris in December 2015‖, recognizing the earth as ―a gift‖ from God and calling forclimate action. These contemporary events are reflections of enduring themes coming to the

fore within many religions.

Christian environmentalists emphasize the ecological responsibilities of all Christians as

stewards of God's earth, while contemporary Muslim religious ecology is inspired by

Qur'anic themes, such as mankind being khalifa, or trustee of God on earth. There is also a

Jewish ecological perspective based upon the Bible and Torah, for example the laws of

baltashchis (neither to destroy wantonly, nor waste resources unnecessarily). Engaged

Buddhism applies Buddhist principles and teachings to social and environmental issues. A

collection of Buddhist responses to global warming can be seen at Ecological Buddhism.

In addition to Pope Francis, other world traditions currently seem to include a subset of

leaders committed to an ecological perspective. The "Green Patriarch," Bartholomew 1, the

Ecumenical Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, has worked since the late nineties to

bring together scientists, environmentalists, religious leaders and policy makers to address the

ecological crisis, and says protecting the planet is a "sacred task and a common vocation …

Global warming is a moral cr isis and a moral challenge.‖

The Islamic Foundation For Ecology And Environmental Sciences (IFEES) were one of the

sponsors of the International Islamic Climate Change Symposium held in Istanbul in August

2015, which resulted in "Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change" — a declaration


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endorsed by religious leaders, noted Islamic scholars and teachers from 20 countries. In

October, 2015, 425 rabbis signed "A Rabbinic Letter on the Climate Crisis", calling for

vigorous action to prevent worsening climate disruption and to seek eco-social justice.

Hindu scriptures also allude strongly and often to the connection between humans and

nature, and these texts form the foundation of the Hindu Declaration on Climate Change,

presented at a 2009 meeting of the Parliament of World Religions. Many world faith and

religious leaders, such as the Dalai Lama, were present at the 2015 Climate Change

Conference, and shared the view that: "Saving the planet is not just a political duty, but also a

moral one." The Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, has also stated, "The environmental

emergency that we face is not just a scientific issue, nor is it just a political issue — it is also a

moral issue.‖

These religious approaches to ecology also have a growing interfaith expression, for example

in The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD) where world religious leaders

speak out on climate change and sustainability. And at their gathering in Fall 2015, the

Parliament of World Religions created a declaration for Interfaith Action on Climate Change,

and "brought together more than 10,000 activists, professors, clergy, and global leaders from

73 countries and 50 faiths to confront climate change"

Religion and Environmentalism

Religion and environmentalism is an emerging interdisciplinary subfield in the academic

disciplines of religious studies, religious ethics, the sociology of religion, and theologyamongst others, with environmentalism and ecological principles as a primary focus . This is

founded on the understanding that, in the words of Iranian-American philosopher Seyyed

Hossein Nasr, "the environmental crisis is fundamentally a crisis of values," and that

religions, being a primary source of values in any culture, are thus implicated in the decisions

humans make regarding the environment.

Eastern religions and Indigenous peoples

KAITIAKI

Kaitiaki is a New Zealand term used for the Māori concept of guardianship, for the sky, the

sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of protecting and

looking after the environment are referred to as kaitiakitanga. The concept and terminology

have been increasingly brought into public policy on trusteeship or guardianship — in

particular with the environmental and resource controls under the Resource Management Act.

Traditionally all Māori trace their ancestr y to the beginning of existence, the single entity that

became Ranginui and Papatuanuku. Ranginui became the sky and Papatuanuku the mother

earth, with their children taking the form of the various physical elements that humans

eventually emerged from. This genealogy is a bond between humans and the rest of the physical world both "immutable and inseparable". Papatuanuku, embodied in the physical


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form of the earth continues to provide sustenance for all. Accordingly, Māori read more into

the interpretation of kaitiakitanga than just the surface meaning of the words translated into

English. It is a system that ensures harmony within the environment, providing a process of,

as well as preventing intrusions that cause permanent imbalances and guards against

environmental damage.

BUDDHISM

The best asset religion offers is the moral framework by which practitioners must abide.

Since many environmental problems have stemmed from human activity, it follows that

religion might hold some solutions to mitigating destructive patterns. Buddhism idealizes and

emphasizes interconnection, thereby creating a mindset that creates a productive and

cooperative relationship between humans and nature. That all actions are based on the

premise of interconnection makes the Buddhist mindset effective in cultivating modesty,compassion, and balance among followers, which may ultimately mitigate the harm done to

the environment.

Buddhism recognizes impermanence in nature, or that everything is constantly changing, or

in the process of changing, so that nothing is really worthwhile attaching to in the first place

(such as illusions). Thus by detaching, ignorance, greed, aversion, and hence suffering is

extinguished.

Buddhism is basically Dhamma that has two interrelated areas: (l) the teachings of Buddha,

and (2) nature that includes everything, including the laws of nature that apply to all life.Examples of the teachings are compassion and loving kindness that were taught by the

Buddha. Thus Buddhism has a respect for all living beings and approaches them with

compassion and loving kindness, such as a reverence for life. The blessings of Buddhist often

state, ―May all being be happy, May all being be free from their sufferings, May all beings be

peaceful and free.‖

On the Dhamma in nature, Dhamma basically means that we (humans) are simply a part of

life along with other beings and that we are included in nature as just another species or

living being among other species or living beings. It also means that there are laws in nature

like impermanence that operate and apply to nature. Many of these values and laws from

Dhamma can be correlated with Deep Ecology.

One benefit of the Buddhist interconnected mindset is the inevitable humility that follows.

Because humans are entwined with natural systems, damage done upon the Earth is also harm

done to humans. This realization is quite modifying to a human race that historically pillages

the Earth for individual benefit. When rational humans minimize the split between humanity

and nature and bridge the gaps, only then will a mutual respect emerge in which all entities

coexist rather than fight. Buddhism maintains that the reason for all suffering comes from

attachment. When release from the tight grasp humanity has on individuality and

separateness occurs, then oneness and interconnection is realized. So rather than emphasizing


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winners and losers, humanity will understand its existence within others; this results in a

modesty that ends egoic mind.

Another benefit of Buddhist practice to the environment is the compassion that drives all

thinking. When humans realize that they are all connected, harm done to another will never

benefit the initiator. Therefore, peaceful wishes for everyone and everything will ultimately

benefit the initiator. Through accepting that the web of life is connected — if one entity

benefits, all benefit — then the prevailing mindset encourages peaceful actions all the time. If

everything depends on everything else, then only beneficial events will make life situations

better. Acceptance of compassion takes training and practice, which is also encouraged by

Buddhist moral conduct in the form of mediation. This habitual striving for harmony and

friendship among all beings creates a more perfect relationship between humanity and nature.

Lastly, Buddhist mindset relies on taking the middle road or striving for balance. Siddhartha

Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, spent his life searching for the outlet of human suffering,

eventually concluding that a balance must be established between self-destruction and self-

indulgence. While modern, industrial humans emphasize economic and social aspects of life

and lastly environmental aspects, this view is lopsided. When human preferences are levelled

with environmental preferences — giving a voice to natural systems as well as human

systems — then can balance and harmony be realized.

Therefore, using this idealized and disciplined framework that Buddhism has to offer can

create lasting solutions to amending the broken relationship between humanity and nature.

What results is an ethic, rather than a short-term policy or technological fix. When never-

ending consumption patterns cease for the betterment of the world as a whole, then allsystems will harmoniously interact in a non-abusive way. Without needing to adopt a new

religion, just recognizing and accepting this mindset can help to heal the environmental

injuries of the past.

Buddhists today are involved in spreading environmental awareness. In a meeting with the

U.S Ambassador to the Republic of India Timothy J. Roemer, the Dalai Lama urged the U.S

to engage China on climate change in Tibet. The Dalai Lama has also been part of a series on

discussions organised by the Mind and Life Institute; a non profit organisation that

specializes on the relationship between science and Buddhism. The talks were about ecology,

ethics and interdependence and issues on global warming were brought up.

As a highly respected religion or philosophy in many Asian countries, Buddhism has a great

potential for influencing people and their thinking, values, and behavior toward protection of

wildlife and tropical forests under Deep Ecology orientations. However, much of this

potential has not been developed, nor have many monks, nuns, and lay people been exposed

to Deep Ecology orientations per se under the more anthropocentric orientations of some

Buddhism. With increasing pressures on wildlife and tropical forests, many Buddhist leaders

are bringing forth more Deep Ecology orientations on an intuitive basis from their Buddhist

backgrounds as well as through training experiences.


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CHRISTIANITY

Major Christian denominations endorse the Biblical calling of our stewardship of God's

Creation and our responsibility for its care. Green Christianity is a broad field that

encompasses Christian theological reflection on nature, Christian liturgical and spiritual

practices centered on environmental issues, as well as Christian-based activism in the

environmental movement. Within the activism arena, green Christianity refers to a diverse

group of Christians who emphasize the biblical or theological basis for protecting and

celebrating the environment. Christianity has a long historical tradition of reflection on nature

and human responsibility. Christian environmentalists emphasize the ecological

responsibilities of all Christians as stewards of God's earth.

Beginning with the Genesis 1:26-28, God instructs humanity to manage the creation in

particular ways.

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the

earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,

and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." [1:28]

Adam's early purpose was to give care to the Garden of Eden:

"And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to

keep it." (Genesis 2:15)

Green Christians point out that the biblical emphasis is on stewardship, not ownership — that

the earth remains the Lord's (Psalms 24:1) and does not belong to its human inhabitants.

Leviticus 25:23 states:

"The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and

my tenants."

As a result of the doctrine of stewardship, Christian environmentalists oppose policies and

practices that threaten the health or survival of the planet. Of particular concern to such

Christians are the current widespread reliance on non-renewable resources, habitat

destruction, pollution, and all other factors that contribute to climate change or otherwise

threaten the health of the ecosystem.


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HINDUISM

In Hinduism, practitioners and scholars find traditional approaches to the natural environment

in such concepts as dharmic ethics or prakrti (material creation), the development of

ayurveda, and readings of vedic literature. Hindu environmental activism also may be

inspired by Gandhian philosophy and practical struggles, such as the Bishnoi community in

Rajasthan and Chipko resistance to forestry policies in Uttar Pradesh, India. Mahatma Gandhi

played a major role in Indian environmentalism, and has been called the "father of Indian

environmentalism". Gandhi's environmental thought parallels his social thoughts in that

environmental sustainability and social inequalities should be managed in similar fashions.

His non-violent teachings left a lasting impact, even agriculturally. Contemporary agrarian

practices use the Bhagavad-Gita to establish practices that are deemed non-violent.

At the sixty-fifth session of the UN General Assembly, in 2010, the UN Secretary-General

submitted a report on how sustainable development approaches and initiatives have allowed

communities to reconnect with the Earth. The report recognized that, ―Around the world,

ancient civilizations have a rich history of understanding the symbiotic connection between

human beings and nature‖.

It was a session devoted to ‗Sustainable development: Harmony with Nature‘. On the Hindu

Tradition it noted, ―The Vedic philosophy of India has always emphasized the human

connection with nature. Vedism is a way of life based on scriptures called Aranyakas, or

forest books, which were written by sages who lived in the forest. The Mahabharata,

Ramayana, Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Puranas and Smriti contain some of the

earliest messages on ecological balance and the need for people‘s ethical treatment of nature.They emphasize harmony with nature and recognize that all natural elements hold divinity‖.

Core Values of Hinduism

The concept of Sustainable Development has three aspects to it: environmental, social, and

economic. Many studies have discussed the close connection between Hinduism and

ecology. In a recent article, two Malaysian scholars write, ―The religious traditions of India

are rich and various, offering diverse theological and practical perspectives on the human

condition. ―

The Vedic traditions of Hinduism offer imagery that attests to the power of the natural world.

Scholars of the Vedas have identified various texts and rituals that extol the earth (bhu), the

atmosphere (Bhuvah), and sky (sva), as well as the goddess associated with the earth (Prthvi),

and the gods associated with water (Ap), fire and heat (Agni) and wind (Vayu).‖

The concept that the Earth is the supporter of all life and that human action should be careful

not to destroy the balance is also a strong theme running through the Vedas. In the Atharva

Veda, for instance, a hymn goes, ―May that Mother Earth, like a Cosmic Cow, give us the


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thousand fold prosperity without any hesitation, without being outraged by our destructive

actions.‖

When a classical Bharata Natyam dancer steps on to the stage, she touches the floor and in a

little prayer asks forgiveness from the Earth for the fact that she is going to stamp hard on the

ground while she dances.

Several elements of nature have also taken on specific meaning. The inner city of

Ahmedabad has few trees but the ones usually seen are Peepal (Ficus religiosa), the tree of

enlightenment. It is a tree people will generally not cut. The monkey, the elephant, the

peacock and the snake have religious significance and are not harmed. Even the Blue Bull

(Boselaphus tragocamelus), the largest antelope in Asia, which lives near agricultural fields

and often raids and damages crops, is thought to be a relative of the cow and therefore

protected.

In an article on the Earth Charter and Hinduism, Kamla Chowdhry wrote, ―Hindus regard

everything about them as pervaded by divine presence. The rivers, mountains, lakes, animals,

flora and fauna, are all manifestations of God, and therefore there is a deep respect and

gratitude felt towards nature.‖ This respect is manifested in a vast network of sacred rivers,

sacred mountains, sacred forests, trees and plants, and even sacred cities across India. ―The

whole emphasis of the present as also the ancient Hindu religious practices is that human

beings cannot separate themselves from their natural surroundings, because Earth has the

same relationship with man as that of mother with her child‖.

References from Hindu Scriptures

Hinduism has many references to needs and consumption. The Isa Upanishad speaks of how

we should consume only according to our needs.

In the Mahabharata, the final war took place between two sets of cousins: the Pandavas, who

represented the good and the just, and the Kauravas, the evil and unjust. Before the war they

both went to Lord Krishna to seek his help. Krishna agreed to help both. He offered his entire

army of millions to one side, and himself to the other--not as a warrior but only as an advisor.

Arjuna, who came on behalf of the Pandavas, had the first choice. Without the slightest

hesitation he chose Krishna and his counsel. The importance of knowledge over material

property is seen throughout Hindu stories and scriptures.

Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of Knowledge and Learning. ―The name Saraswati came from

―saras‖ (meaning ―flow‖) and ―wati‖ (meaning ―a woman‖). So, Saraswati is symbol of

knowledge; its flow (or growth) is like a river and knowledge is supremely alluring, like a

beautiful woman…..She is not adorned heavily with jewels and gold, …but is dressed mod-

estly — representing her preference of knowledge over worldly material things.… In India itis customary that, out of respect, when a person‘s foot accidentally touches a book or any


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written material (which are considered as a manifestation of Saraswati)…, it will be followed

by an apology in the form of a single hand gesture (Pranāma) with the right hand, where the

offending person first touches the object with the finger tips and then the forehead and/or

chest.‖

Earth-based Traditions and Earth Spirituality

Care for and respect to earth as Sacred — as Mother Earth (Mother Nature) — who provides

life and nourishment, is a central point to Earth-based spirituality. Pagan Cosmology is a

tradition within Earth-based spirituality that focuses particularly in Spiritual Ecology and

celebrating the sacredness of life. Glenys Livingstone describes it in her book as "an Eco

spirituality grounded in indigenous Western religious celebration of the Earth-Sun annual

cycle. By linking to story of the unfolding universe this practice can be deepened. And a

sense of the Triple Goddess — central to the cycle and known in ancient cultures — may bedeveloped as a dynamic innate to all being. The ritual scripts and the process of ritual events

presented here, may be a journey into self-knowledge through personal, communal and

ecological story: the self to be known is one that is integral with place."

Spirituality and Ecology

While religiously-oriented environmentalism is grounded in scripture and theology, there is a

more recent environmental movement that articulates the need for an ecological approach

founded on spiritual awareness rather than religious belief. The individuals articulating this

approach may have a religious background, but their ecological vision comes from their own

lived spiritual experience. The difference between this spiritually-oriented ecology and a

religious approach to ecology can be seen as analogous to how the Inter-spiritual Movement

moves beyond interfaith and interreligious dialogue to focus on the actual experience of

spiritual principles and practices. Spiritual ecology similarly explores the importance of this

experiential spiritual dimension in relation to our present ecological crisis.

The Engaged Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh speaks of the importance of mindfulness in

taking care of our Mother Earth, and how the highest form of prayer is real communion withthe Earth. Sandra Ingerman offers shamanic healing as a way of reversing pollution in

Medicine for the Earth. Franciscan monk Richard Rohr emphasizes the need to experience

the whole world as a divine incarnation. Sufi mystic Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee directs our

attention not just to the suffering of the physical world, but also its interior spiritual self, or

anima mundi (world soul). These are just a few of the many different ways practitioners of

spiritual ecology within different spiritual traditions and disciplines bring our awareness back

to the sacred nature of creation.


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Environmental Conservation

The environmental conservation field has been informed, shaped, and led by individuals who

have had profound experiences of nature‘s sacredness and have fought to protect it.

Recognizing the intimacy of human soul and nature, many have pioneered a new way of

thinking about and relating to the earth. Today many aspects of the environmental

conservation movement are empowered by spiritual principles and interdisciplinary

cooperation.

Robin Wall Kimmerer, Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology at the State

University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, has recently

founded the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment which bridges scientific based

study of ecology and the environment with traditional ecological knowledge, which includes

spirituality. As she writes in this piece from Oxford Journal BioScience: "Traditional

ecological knowledge is increasingly being sought by academics, agency scientists, and

policymakers as a potential source of ideas for emerging models of ecosystem management,

conservation biology, and ecological restoration. It has been recognized as complementary

and equivalent to scientific knowledge... Traditional ecological knowledge is not unique to

Native American culture but exists all over the world, independent of ethnicity. It is born of

long intimacy and attentiveness to a homeland and can arise wherever people are materially

and spiritually integrated with their landscape."

In recent years, the World Wildlife Fund (World Wide Fund for Nature) has developed

Sacred Earth: Faiths for Conservation, a program to collaborate with spiritual leaders and

faith communities from all different spiritual traditions around the world, to faceenvironmental issues including deforestation, pollution, unsustainable extraction, melting

glaciers and rising sea levels. The Sacred Earth program works with faith-based leaders and

communities, who "best articulate ethical and spiritual ideals around the sacred value of Earth

and its diversity, and are committed to protecting it."

One of the conservation projects developed from the WWF Sacred Earth program is

Khoryug, based in the Eastern Himalayas, which is an association of several Tibetan

Buddhist monasteries that works on environmental protection of the Himalayan regionthrough apply the values of compassion and interdependence towards the Earth and all living

beings that dwell here. Organized under the auspices of His Holiness, the 17th Karmapa,

Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the Khoryug project resulted in the publication of environmental

guidelines for Buddhists and "more than 55 monastery-led projects to address forest

degradation, water loss, wildlife trade, waste, pollution and climate change."

Krishna Kant Shukla, a Physicist and musician, is noted for his lectures on "Indian Villages

as models of sustainable development" and his work in establishing Saha Astitva a model eco

village and organic farm in tribal Maharashtra, India.


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One trend to note is the recognition that women — by instinct and nature — have a unique

commitment and capacity to protect the earth‘s resources. We see this illustrated in the lives

of Wangari Maathai, founder of Africa‘s Green Belt Movement, which was initially made up

of women planting trees; Jane Goodall, innovator of local sustainable programs in Africa,

many of which are designed to empower girls and women; and Vandana Shiva, the Indianfeminist activist working on a variety of issues including seed saving, protecting small farms

in India and protesting agri-business.

Other contemporary inter-disciplinary environmentalists include Wendell Berry, a farmer,

poet, and academic living in Kentucky, who fights for small farms and criticizes agri-

business; and Satish Kumar, a former Jain monk and founder of Schumacher College, a

center for ecological studies.

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