10 ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION FOR HINDUS
Introduction
In Hinduism, there are numerous references to nature worship, and millions of Hindu ministers use Sanskrit to express their reverence for rivers, mountains, animals, and the soil.
The Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Sutras, and other sacred scriptures in Hinduism contain numerous references to God’s worship in nature. Sanskrit mantras are sent by millions of Hindus to honour their rivers, mountains, forests, animals, and the planet. Although the Chipko movement is a well-known example of Hindu environmental leadership, most Hindu environmental efforts are centuries old.
Hinduism is a hugely diversified religious and cultural phenomenon with many different regions and regional variations. Many themes develop in the world as a result of the Call of Faith. The following are the Hindu Dharma Diverse Theology composers:
- The five elements – space, air, fire, water, and earth – are the basis of the interwoven web of life and should be handled with respect.
- Religion, which is considered as a person’s “obligation,” can be re-purposed by the earth’s carer to incorporate his preferences. • Living instruments are a powerful tool for the global economy’s development.
- Our karma is affected by the mending of our nature.
Many of these are taught by Gandhi, who supports his attempts to defend contemporary social, religious, and environmental planets.
The following are the ten most influential Hindu environmental scholars
- The Five Great Elements (Punch Mahabhutas) form a web of life that reflects the world and the human body’s interconnectivity. The five great components of the environment (space, air, fire, water, and earth) are all derived from nature, the primal energy, according to Hinduism. Each of these elements has its own life and shape; the elements are simply linked to each other. “Space arises from Brahma, arises from space, fire arises from the air, water arises from fire, and earth arises from the earth,” the Upanishads explain the interdependence of these elements in the supreme real relation of Brahman, from which they arise: “Space arises from Brahma, arises from space, fire arises from the air, water arises from fire, and earth arises from the earth.”
Hinduism recognises that the human body is made up of five elements and that each element is linked to one of the five senses. Near the tongue, the nose is associated with earth, the eyes with fire, the skin with air, and the ears with space. Man’s relationship with the natural world is built on the foundation of our senses and elements. Nature and the environment are not hostile to humans, foreigners or outsiders, according to Hinduism. They are an essential aspect of our being and make up our physical structure.
- Ishavasyam — Divinity is all-pervasive and manifests in countless forms. Numerous references to the supreme deity’s omnipresence, including its completeness and nature, may be found in Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita (7.19, 13.13) and the Bhagavad Purana (2.2.41, 2.2.45). Hindus believe in and adore nature’s God. Many Hindus, for example, regard India’s Baladhya rivers, such as the Ganges, to be goddesses. In India, it is said that the universe was created for the benefit of all, including merchants and residents of each habitation, implying that people take pleasure in their roles within the broader system of interactions.
- Religion includes environmental protection. Dharma, the most significant Hindu idea, has been interpreted as a duty, virtue, social, and religious notion in English. Protecting the environment is an essential expression of faith in religion.
Other aspects of the natural elements of existence have their “perceptiveness” among the members of Indian communities, just as they do in other traditional groups.
Forest and water resource conservation methods have been strictly followed by local ecosystems in many rural Hindu communities such as Bishnoi, Bill, and Swadhyay. These cultures, on the other hand, use conservation-oriented behaviours as a religious manifestation. Jeshnoiguards animals and flora created by self-employed Vrikshamandirs (Vrindire) and Nirmal artists. They believe that expressing and respecting creation is an important component of their religion.
- Your Karma is influenced by your environmental actions. Karma is a basic Hindu belief that every action we perform has consequences – both good and evil – that shape our karma and decide our future, in which we will be reborn in our next life. When you’re abducted, you’ll assume a place. Moral behaviour generates positive karma, whereas our actions toward the environment generate negative karma. Even if we have harmed the environment in the past, we have the freedom to choose to protect the environment in the future by altering our destructive karmic practices and replacing them with positive karmic practices.
- Goddess Earth is a goddess and our mother, and she deserves our respect and protection. Many Hindu ceremonies acknowledge that humans benefit from the land and give thanks and protection in exchange. Before getting out of bed, many Hindus touch the ground and beseech the goddess to forgive them for stepping on her body. Every day, millions of Hindus create kolams, which are works of art made of rice or other food products and placed on their doorstep in the morning. These Kolam Hindus show their wish to live off the land, much like the earth does. The Chipko movement, which is known for the Chipko women’s commitment to defending their community’s trees from outside interests, exhibits a similar commitment to the environment.
- Hinduism’s technical and yogic traditions affirm the sacredness of the material world and provide teachings and practise to help humans connect with divine energy. According to Hinduism’s technical tradition, the entire universe is a manifestation of divine energy. Yoga is a set of mental and physical activities that are aimed to connect a person to this divine force. Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit phrase “to join” or “to combine.” Both religions affirm that God manifests himself in all events, objects, and people. Because both traditions regard the earth as a goddess, contemporary Hindu gurus have misrepresented the abuse of the environment, women, and communities using these teachings.
- Reincarnation belief contributes to a sense of oneness in all of creation. Hindus believe in the reincarnation cycle, which states that each organism goes through millions of cycles of rebirth and rebirth in various forms, depending on their previous birth’s karma. As a result, a person can reincarnate as another human, an animal, a bird, or a member of a larger community of life. Reincarnation promotes a sense of unity among individuals and all living beings since it is believed that everyone goes through countless lives on their journey to ultimate salvation.
Hinduism, which beliefs in reincarnation, teaches that all species and regions of the world are part of a millennia-old web of interwoven interactions, each of which deserves respect and esteem.
- Ahimsa is the most ideal religion. Karma increases when nonviolence is brought to Earth. Hurting or harming another, according to Hindus, damages one’s karma and impedes progress toward salvation. Hindus are urged to desist from violence-related activities and eat a vegetarian diet to avoid accumulating further bad karma.
Many Hindus oppose the institutional reproduction and killing of animals, birds, and fish for human food because of this nonviolence belief.
- Sannyasa (sannyasa) denotes the way of emancipation and is beneficial to the environment. Asceticism — temperance in consumption and simplicity in living – is taught in Hinduism.
Shows how to get to heaven by treating the environment with care. “Take what you want for your subsistence without feeling right or ownership,” says a well-known Hindu doctrine, TainTayaktenBhunjitha.
Many Hindus, due to their ascetic lifestyle, are inspired by SunderlalBahuguna, one of the most notable Hindu environmental advocates. He became one of the most amazing ascetics of our time as a result of his regular fasts and arduous march to support and disseminate Chipko’s teachings. Hindus recognised a living illustration of the sacrifice of worldly aspirations revealed in Hindu scriptures in the ability to withstand hardship and the spirit of self-sacrifice.
- Gandhi is a great example of how to live a simple life. Gandhi’s entire life can be viewed as a treatise on the environment. It’s a way of life in which every single action, emotion, or thought functions as an ecosystem: a small lunch of nuts and fruits, a morning bath and daily physical activity, occasional quiet observance, a morning walk, and cultivation. It takes the essential Hindu and Jain ideals of Charkha, hatred of rubbish, truth, non-violence, celibacy, and fasting as it grows larger. Gandhi’s life and words inspire moralists, nonviolent activists, feminists, journalists, social reformers, trade union leaders, farmers, protestors, natural healers, hermits, and environmentalists.
(In Hinduism and Ecology: The Intersection of Earth, Sky, and Water, Christopher K. Chappell, O.P. Dwivedi, K. L. Sheshgiri Rao, Vinay Lal, and George A. James acknowledge Christopher K. Chappell, O.P. Dwivedi, K. L. Sheshgiri Rao, Vinay Lal, and George A. James. The Web of Life was also published by Harvard University Press. I’d also want to thank Harold Coward and Rita DasguptaSherma for their SUNY Press pieces Purifying the Earthly Body of God: Religion and Ecology in Hindu India.
Reverend Fletcher Harper, thank you for your warm words and for inviting me to write this piece.)