Gandhi is a role model for simple living. Gandhi's entire life can be seen as an ecological treatise. This is one life in which every minute act, emotion or thought functioned much like an ecosystem: his small meals of nuts and fruits, his morning ablutions and everyday bodily practices, his periodic observances of silence, his morning walks, his cultivation of the small as much as of the big, his spinning wheel, his abhorrence of waste, his resorting to basic Hindu and Jain values of truth, nonviolence, celibacy and fasting.
The moralists, nonviolent activists, feminists, journalists, social reformers, trade union leaders, peasants, prohibitionists, nature-cure lovers, renouncers and environmentalists all take their inspirations from Gandhi's life and writings.
Acknowledgement: Adapted from the essays by Christopher K. Chapple, O. Dwivedi, K. I am also indebted to kind comments by Reverend Fletcher Harper and for his invitation to write this article. A version of this post was published originally via GreenFaith: Interfaith Partners for the Environment. News U. Politics Joe Biden Congress Extremism. Special Projects Highline. HuffPost Personal Video Horoscopes. Follow Us. Terms Privacy Policy. Part of HuffPost Religion.
All rights reserved. The following are 10 important Hindu teachings on the environment:. Suggest a correction. What's Hot. Forgot password? Don't have an account?
Sign in via your Institution. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Sign in with your library card Please enter your library card number. Search within Related Content Hinduism and Science. Go to page:. Abstract and Keywords A society's cultural and spiritual underpinnings of environmental stewardship can be a solid source of strength as well as a benefit to that society.
That which disturbs such ecology is adharma. Hindu religion wants its followers to live a simple life. It does not allow people to go on increasing their material wants. They have to milk a cow and enjoy, not cut at the udder of the cow with greed to enjoy what is not available in the natural course.
Do not use anything belonging to nature, such as oil, coal, or forest, at a greater rate than you can replenish it. For example, do not destroy birds, fish, earthworms, and even bacteria which play vital ecological roles; once they are annihilated you cannot recreate them.
Thus only can you avoid becoming bankrupt, and the life cycle can continue for a long, long time. It is narrated in the third chapter of this great work that a life without contribution toward the preservation of ecology is a life of sin and a life without specific purpose or use. Life is sustained by different kinds of food; rainfall produces food; timely movement of clouds brings rains; to get the clouds moving on time yajna, religious sacrifice, helps; yajna is performed through rituals; those actions that produce rituals belong only to God; God is revealed by the Vedas; the Vedas are preserved by the human mind; and the human mind is nourished by food.
This is the cycle that helps the existence of all forms of life on this globe. One who does not contribute to the maintenance of this cycle is considered as a destroyer of all life here. When the Lord desired to create life, He created the Sun, Moon, and Earth, and through them a congenial atmosphere for life to come into being.
Therefore the Sun, Moon, Earth, Stars and all objects in the universe jointly, not individually, create the atmosphere for the creation, sustenance, or destruction of everything in the universe. The Earth is the only daughter of the Sun to produce children. The Moon is essential for the creation of the right atmosphere for those children to exist and evolve. This we say because of the influence of the Moon on high and low tides in our rivers and oceans.
We cannot refute this influence of the Moon on life. It is proved by the movement of all liquid on this globe depending on the movement of the Moon. Therefore ecology in totality must be preserved: just a part of it would not suffice.
Hinduism is a religion that is very near to nature. It asks its followers to see God in every object in the Universe. Earth is worshipped as the spouse of God, hence very dear and near to God. All lives on Earth are considered as children of God and Earth. I pervade the Universe. All objects in the Universe rest on me as pearls on the thread of a garland.
The Upanishads narrate that after creating the Universe, the Creator entered into each and every object to help them maintain their interrelationship. Therefore to contribute toward the maintenance of this interrelationship becomes worship of God.
Hindus believe that there is soul in all plants and animals. One has to do penance even for killing plants and animals for food. This daily penance is called visva deva. Visva deva is nothing but an offering of prepared food to the Creator, asking His pardon. The Hindu religion gives great importance to protecting cattle.
At every Hindu house there is a cow and it is worshipped. The cow is a great friend of humans. Being committed to the climate justice program is important but not enough. Whether we act on that commitment is the true litmus test of whether we are fulfilling our dharma toward the environment. It requires sacrificing personal time Project MUSE promotes the creation and dissemination of essential humanities and social science resources through collaboration with libraries, publishers, and scholars worldwide.
Forged from a partnership between a university press and a library, Project MUSE is a trusted part of the academic and scholarly community it serves.
Built on the Johns Hopkins University Campus. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
0コメント