Manuscript prepared for prescribing training modules [Samskarams] for students to promote protection of

forests and ecological balance and to prevent pollution. This material will explain how environmental economics
requires support from culture and faith which market economics destroys. It will be an interesting area study.
SG
The first category of three thematic samskaras comprehend human relation with nature. These samskaras, in some form
or other, have traditionally prevailed in all ancient societies of the world. They have come to acquire renewed meaning
and importance once again. Some background is is needed to understand how the contemporary civilisation has become
conscious of the traditional wisdom about the relation between nature and humans.
The three themes, which deals with human beings to nature and to other living organisms, are inter-related. They
encompass ecology which deals with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including
other organisms. While themes 1 and 2 relate living organisms, environment issue deals with the entire natural
environment. As already explained, there is mutual relation and mutual dependence among living and non-living
elements of nature. Nature, which represents in the ancient view the Pancha Mahabhootas. The five great elements of
nature: Akasha (Space), Vayu (Air), Agni (Fire), Apa (Water), and Prithvi (Earth) (in the same order) constitute the
Pancha Mahabhutas ancient Indian tradition. According to Taitiriya Upanishad each element emerged from the
previous, less dense element, which is how material form develops out of un-manifest space. Space is the most subtle of
the five elements; earth is the densest. [1]
[1] [http://www.omved.com/our-products/vastu/the-five-elements-panchabhuta]

The background to the theme damage to environment and ecology

The background to the Thematic Samskaras to preserve and promote the mutual relations between humans and nature is
the huge damage to world's environment and ecology which has taken place in the last couple of centuries particularly.
It is necessary to understand what environment and ecology mean. Environment means:
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, one of the greatest challenges facing human beings is how to stop the
continued harm to Earth. [2]
[2] [Environmental Ethics http://www.scienceclarified.com/El-Ex/Environmental-Ethics.html#ixzz2AsmkzDvJ]

Most environmental and ecological issues relate to destructive human interference with nature. [3]
[3] [http://www.uwindsor.ca/criticalsocialwork/social-work-and-the-environment-understanding-people-and-place]

The most critical part of the environmental challenge in the destruction of the forests. More generally, forests provide
the essential habitat for most of Earth's species of plants, animals, and microorganisms. This is especially true of
tropical rain forests. Recent reductions of forest area are a critical environmental problem because they endanger or
threaten animal and plant species and have an impact on climates around the world. The problem is especially difficult
to deal with since most destruction of tropical rain forests has been performed in order to convert forest land to
agricultural use. [4]
[4] http://www.scienceclarified.com/Ex-Ga/Forests.html
The world is losing forest cover at unbelievable pace
Here are some startling facts which many and certainly the young ones should know about how deforestation has
destroyed forests and it is continuing at a disastrous rate:

Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that
the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years.
Leslie Taylor. "The Healing Power of Rainforests."

Global deforestation sharply accelerated around 1852.

Map reveals extent of deforestation in tropical countries, guardian.co.uk, July 1, 2008

About half the Earth's mature tropical forests between 7.5 million and 8 million km 2 of the original 15 million
to 16 million km2 that until 1947 covered the planet have now been destroyed.
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/rainforests/rainforests-facts.xml

In 2011 Conservation International listed the top 10 most endangered forests, which included Indo-Burma
region characterized by having all lost 90% or more of their original habitat and each harboring at least 1500
endemic plant species (species found nowhere else in the world)
The World's 10 Most Threatened Forest Hotspots, Conservation International, February 2, 2011

Some scientists have predicted that unless significant measures (such as seeking out and protecting old growth
forests that have not been disturbed) are taken on a worldwide basis, by 2030, there will only be 10%
remaining, with another 10% in a degraded condition; the balance 80% will have been lost, and with them
hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable species.
E. O. Wilson, 2002, The Future of Life, Vintage

Scientists estimate that one fifth of the world's tropical rainforest was destroyed between 1960 and 1990. They
claim that that rain forests 50 years ago covered 14% of the world's land surface, now only cover 57%, and
that all tropical forests will be gone by the middle of the 21st century.
John F. Mongillo; Linda Zierdt-Warshaw (2000). Linda Zierdt-Warshaw. ed. Encyclopedia of environmental science. University of
Rochester Press.

A 2002 analysis of satellite imagery suggested that the rate of deforestation in the humid tropics
(approximately 5.8 million hectares per year) was roughly 23% lower than the most commonly quoted rates.
Achard Frederic, Eva Hugh D, Hans- , Stibig Jurgen, Mayaux Philippe (2002). "Determination of deforestation rates of the world's humid
tropical forests". Science 297

Conversely, a newer analysis of satellite images reveals that deforestation of the Amazon rain forest is twice as
fast as scientists previously estimated.
Satellite images reveal Amazon forest shrinking faster, csmonitor.com, 21 October 2005

A 2005 report by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) estimates that the Earth's total
forest area continues to decrease at about 13 million hectares per year.
Committee On Forestry. FAO (2001-03-16). Retrieved on 2010-08-29

Up to 90% of West Africa's coastal rainforests have disappeared since 1900.

"Forest Holocaust". National Geographic.

In South Asia, about 88% of the rainforests have been lost.

http://www.csupomona.edu/~admckettrick/projects/ag101_project/html/size.html

Much of what remains of the world's rainforests is in the Amazon basin, where the Amazon Rainforest covers
approximately 4 million square kilometres.
The Amazon Rainforest, BBC, 14 February 2003

The regions with the highest tropical deforestation rate between 2000 and 2005 were Central Americawhich
lost 1.3% of its forests each yearand tropical Asia.
Rhett A. Butler (November 16, 2005). "World deforestation rates and forest cover statistics, 20002005". mongabay.com.

In Central America, two-thirds of lowland tropical forests have been turned into pasture since 1950 and 40% of
all the rainforests have been lost in the last 40 years.
John Revington. "The Causes of Tropical Deforestation". New Renaissance Magazine.

Brazil has lost 9095% of its Mata Atlntica forest.

"What is Deforestation?". kids.mongabay.com.

Paraguay was losing its natural semi humid forests in the countrys western regions at a rate of 15.000 hectares
at a randomly studied 2 month period in 2010,
"Paraguay es principal deforestador del Chaco". ABC Color newspaper, Paraguay. Retrieved August 13, 2011.

Madagascar has lost 90% of its eastern rainforests.

IUCN Three new sites inscribed on World Heritage List, 27 June 2007

As of 2007, less than 1% of Haiti's forests remained.

International Conference on Reforestation and Environmental Regeneration of Haiti"

Mexico, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Bangladesh, China, Sri Lanka, Laos,
Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Guinea, Ghana and the Cte d'Ivoire, have lost large
areas of their rainforest.
Chart Tropical Deforestation by Country & Region. Mongabay.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-04. Rainforest Destruction. rainforestweb.org

Several countries, notably Brazil, have declared their deforestation a national emergency.
Amazon deforestation rises sharply in 2007, USATODAY.com, January 24, 2008/ Vidal, John (31 May 2005). "Rainforest loss shocks
Brazil". The Guardian (London). Retrieved April 1, 2010.

What are the consequences of destruction of forests?

The destruction of forests leads to diverse environmental and ecological issues. Destruction of forests pollutes the
atmosphere, affect water cycle, destroys biodiversity and impacts on economic development.

Deforestation causes atmospherical pollution and is shaping climate and geography. Deforestation is a
contributor to global warming and is often cited as one of the major causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect.

http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000385/index.html

Deforestation affects Water Cycle. The water cycle, also known as the Hydrological Cycle, describes the
continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. Although the balance of water on
Earth remains fairly constant over time, individual water molecules can come and go, in and out of the
atmosphere. The water moves from one reservoir to another, such as from river to ocean, or from the ocean to
the atmosphere, by the physical processes of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and
subsurface flow. In so doing, the water goes through different phases: liquid, solid (ice), and gas (vapor). The
water cycle involves the exchange of heat, which leads to temperature changes. For instance, when water
evaporates, it takes up energy from its surroundings and cools the environment. When it condenses, it releases
energy and warms the environment. These heat exchanges influence climate. By transferring water from one
reservoir to another, the water cycle purifies water, replenishes the land with freshwater, and transports
minerals to different parts of the globe. It is also involved in reshaping the geological features of the Earth,
through such processes as erosion and sedimentation. Finally, the water cycle figures significantly in the
maintenance of life and ecosystems on Earth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cycle

The destruction of forests also affects biodiversity. The 1992 United Nations Earth Summit defined
"biological diversity" as "the variability among living organisms from all sources, including, 'inter alia',
terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are part: this
includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems". This definition is used in the United
Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
D. L. Hawksworth (1996). Biodiversity: measurement and estimation. Springer. p. 6.
2011

ISBN 978-0-412-75220-9. Retrieved 28 June

Deforestation also damages economic growth. Damage to forests, rivers, marine life and other aspects of
nature could halve living standards for the world's poor, concludes The Economics of Ecosystems and
Biodiversity (TEEB) review is modeled on the Stern Review of climate change. The report will be released at
the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in Bonn, where 60 leaders have pledged to halt
deforestation by 2020.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7424535.stm

These consequences are explained in detail with reference to studies which have been conducted by different, credible
agencies.
a) Atmospherical pollution

Tropical deforestation is responsible for approximately 20% of world greenhouse gas emissions.
http://www.fondationchirac.eu/en/deforestation/

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change deforestation, mainly in tropical areas, could
account for up to one-third of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions.
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, Working Group I Report "The Physical Science Basis", Section 7.3.3.1.5 (p. 527)

But recent calculations suggest that carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation and forest degradation
(excluding peatland emissions) contribute about 12% of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions with a
range from 6 to 17%.
G.R. van der Werf, D.C.Morton, R.S. DeFries, J.G.J. Olivier, P.S. Kasibhatla, R.B. Jackson, G.J. Collatz and J.T. Randerson (2009). "CO
2
emissions from forest loss". Nature Geoscience 2 (11): 737738. doi:10.1038/ngeo671

Deforestation causes carbon dioxide to linger in the atmosphere. As carbon dioxide accrues, it produces a layer
in the atmosphere that traps radiation from the sun. The radiation converts to heat which causes global
warming, which is better known as the greenhouse effect.
Mumoki, Fiona. The Effects of Deforestation on our Environment Today. Panorama. TakingITGlobal. 18 July 2006. Web. 24 March
2012.

Other plants remove carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere during the process of
photosynthesis and release oxygen back into the atmosphere during normal respiration. Only when actively
growing can a tree or forest remove carbon over an annual or longer timeframe. Both the decay and burning of
wood releases much of this stored carbon back to the atmosphere. In order for forests to take up carbon, the
wood must be harvested and turned into long-lived products and trees must be re-planted.
I.C. Prentice. "The Carbon Cycle and Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide" IPCC

Deforestation may cause carbon stores held in soil to be released. Forests are stores of carbon and can be either
sinks or sources depending upon environmental circumstances. Mature forests alternate between being net
sinks and net sources of carbon dioxide (see carbon dioxide sink and carbon cycle). In deforested areas, the

land heats up faster and reaches a higher temperature, leading to localized upward motions that enhance the
formation of clouds and ultimately produce more rainfall.
NASA Data Shows Deforestation Affects Climate In The Amazon. NASA News. June 9, 2004

However, according to the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, the models used to investigate remote
responses to tropical deforestation showed a broad but mild temperature increase all through the tropical
atmosphere. The model predicted <0.2C warming for upper air at 700 mb and 500 mb. However, the model
shows no significant changes in other areas besides the Tropics. Though the model showed no significant
changes to the climate in areas other than the Tropics, this may not be the case since the model has possible
errors and the results are never absolutely definite.

Findell, Kristen L.; Thomas R. Knutson (2006). "Weak Simulated Extratropical Responses to Complete Tropical Deforestation". Journal
of Climate 19 (12): 28352850. doi:10.1175/JCLI3737.1

Reducing emissions from the tropical deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries has
emerged as new potential to complement ongoing climate policies. The idea consists in providing financial
compensations for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation"

S. Wertz-Kanounnikoff, L. Ximena Rubio Alvarado, Bringing 'REDD' into a new deal for the global climate, Analyses, n 2, 2007,
Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations.

The incineration and burning of forest plants to clear land releases large amounts of CO2, which contributes to
global warming.

Philip M. Fearnside1 and William F. Laurance, TROPICAL DEFORESTATION AND GREENHOUSE-GAS EMISSIONS, Ecological
Applications, Volume 14, Issue 4 (August 2004) pp. 982986

Scientists also state that, Tropical deforestation releases 1.5 billion tons of carbon each year into the
atmosphere.

R Defries, F Achard, S Brown, M Herold, D Murdiyarso, B Schlamadinger, C Desouzajr (2007). "Earth observations for estimating
greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation in developing countries". Environmental Science Policy 10 (4): 385394.
doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2007.01.01

b) Hydrological effect affects water cycle

The water cycle is affected by deforestation. Trees extract groundwater through their roots
and release it into the atmosphere. When part of a forest is removed, the trees no longer
evaporate away this water, resulting in a much drier climate. Deforestation reduces the
content of water in the soil and groundwater as well as atmospheric moisture. The dry soil
leads to lower water intake for the trees to extract.
"Underlying Causes of Deforestation". UN Secretary-Generals Report.

Deforestation reduces soil cohesion, so that erosion, flooding and landslides ensue.
Daniel Rogge. "Deforestation and Landslides in Southwestern Washington". University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
China's floods: Is deforestation to blame? BBC News. August 6, 1999

Trees, and plants in general, affect the water cycle significantly:

"Soil, Water and Plant Characteristics Important to Irrigation". North Dakota State University.

Tropical rainforests produce about 30% of our planet's fresh water.

"How can you save the rain forest. October 8, 2006. Frank Field". The Times (London). October 8, 2006. Retrieved April 1, 2010.

c) Bio-Diversity

Deforestation on a human scale results in decline in biodiversity.

Sten Nilsson, Do We Have Enough Forests?, American Institute of Biological Sciences, March 2001

And on a natural global scale is known to cause the extinction of many species.
Sahney, S., Benton, M.J. & Falcon-Lang, H.J. (2010). "Rainforest collapse triggered Pennsylvanian tetrapod diversification in
Euramerica". Geology 38 (12): 10791082. doi:10.1130/G31182.1.

The removal or destruction of areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced
biodiversity.
http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/deforestation.htm

Forests support biodiversity, providing habitat for wildlife

Rainforest Biodiversity Shows Differing Patterns, ScienceDaily, August 14, 2007

Moreover, forests foster medicinal conservation

"Medicine from the rainforest". Research for Biodiversity Editorial Office.

With forest biotopes being irreplaceable source of new drugs (such as taxol), deforestation can destroy genetic
variations (such as crop resistance) irretrievably.
Single-largest biodiversity survey says primary rainforest is irreplaceable, Bio-Medicine, November 14, 2007

Since the tropical rainforests are the most diverse ecosystems on Earth and about 80% of the world's known
biodiversity could be found in tropical rainforests, removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover
has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity.
Tropical rainforests The tropical rainforest, BBC; http://library.thinkquest.org/11353/trforest.htm; U.N. calls on Asian nations to end
deforestation, Reuters, 20 June 2008; Tropical rainforests Rainforest water and nutrient cycles, BBC; Rhett A. Butler, Primary rainforest
richer in species than plantations, secondary forests, mongabay.com, 2 July 2007; Sahney, S., Benton, M.J. & Falcon-Lang, H.J. (2010).
"Rainforest collapse triggered Pennsylvanian tetrapod diversification in Euramerica". Geology 38 (12): 10791082. doi:10.1130/G31182.1

It has been estimated that we are losing 137 plant, animal and insect species every single day due to rainforest
deforestation, which equates to 50,000 species a year.
Rainforest Facts. Rain-tree.com (2010-03-20). Retrieved on 2010-08-29

Others state that tropical rainforest deforestation is contributing to the ongoing Holocene mass extinction.
The great rainforest tragedy, The Independent, 28 June 2003; Leakey, Richard and Roger Lewin, 1996, The Sixth Extinction : Patterns of
Life and the Future of Humankind, Anchor, ISBN 0-385-46809-1

The known extinction rates from deforestation rates are very low, approximately 1 species per year from
mammals and birds which extrapolates to approximately 23,000 species per year for all species. Predictions
have been made that more than 40% of the animal and plant species in Southeast Asia could be wiped out in
the 21st century.
Biodiversity wipeout facing South East Asia, New Scientist, 23 July 2003

Such predictions were called into question by 1995 data that show that within regions of Southeast Asia much
of the original forest has been converted to monospecific plantations, but that potentially endangered species
are few and tree flora remains widespread and stable.

Pimm, S. L.; Russell, G. J.; Gittleman, J. L.; Brooks, T. M. (1995). "The Future of Biodiversity". Science 269 (5222): 347350.
doi:10.1126/science.269.5222.347. PMID 17841251

Scientific understanding of the process of extinction is insufficient to accurately make predictions about the
impact of deforestation on biodiversity.
Pimm Stuart L, Russell Gareth J, Gittleman John L, Brooks Thomas M (1995). "The future of biodiversity". Science 269 (5222): 347341.
doi:10.1126/science.269.5222.347. PMID 17841251

Most predictions of forestry related biodiversity loss are based on species-area models, with an underlying
assumption that as the forest declines species diversity will decline similarly. However, many such models
have been proven to be wrong and loss of habitat does not necessarily lead to large scale loss of species.
Timothy Charles Whitmore; Jeffrey Sayer; International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. General Assembly;
IUCN Forest Conservation Programme (15 February 1992). Tropical deforestation and species extinction. Springer. ISBN 978-0-412
45520-9. Retrieved 4 December 2011

Species-area models are known to overpredict the number of species known to be threatened in areas where
actual deforestation is ongoing, and greatly overpredict the number of threatened species that are widespread.
Pimm, S. L.; Russell, G. J.; Gittleman, J. L.; Brooks, T. M. (1995). "The Future of Biodiversity". Science 269 (5222): 347350.
doi:10.1126/science.269.5222.347. PMID 17841251

A recent study of the Brazilian Amazon predicts that despite a lack of extinctions thus far, up to 90 percent of
predicted extinctions will finally occur in the next 40 years.
Sohn, Emily. "More extinctions expected in Amazon". Discovery. Retrieved July 13, 2012.

d) Economic impact

Damage to forests and other aspects of nature could halve living standards for the world's poor and reduce
global GDP by about 7% by 2050, a report concluded at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
meeting in Bonn.
Nature loss 'to hurt global poor', BBC News, May 29, 2008

Historically, utilization of forest products, including timber and fuel wood, has played a key role in human
societies, comparable to the roles of water and cultivable land. Today, developed countries continue to utilize
timber for building houses, and wood pulp for paper. In developing countries almost three billion people rely
on wood for heating and cooking.
Forest Products. (PDF) . Retrieved on 2011-12-04

The forest products industry is a large part of the economy in both developed and developing countries. Shortterm economic gains made by conversion of forest to agriculture, or over-exploitation of wood products,
typically leads to loss of long-term income and long-term biological productivity. West Africa, Madagascar,
Southeast Asia and many other regions have experienced lower revenue because of declining timber harvests.
Illegal logging causes billions of dollars of losses to national economies annually.
"Destruction of Renewable Resources". rainforests.mongabay.com.

Rapidly growing economies also have an effect on deforestation. Most pressure will come from the world's
developing countries, which have the fastest-growing populations and most rapid economic (industrial)
growth.
Kenneth Chomitz. "Roads, lands, markets, and deforestation : a spatial model of land use in Belize." 04/30/95.

Western civilisation, the cause of Environmental destruction and degradation

Just a the West has, through unbridled individualism and individual rights, gender rights and other
sectional rights consciousness weakened its cultural, filial, and social capital and that, in turn, broke
its economy, in the area of environment and ecology also the Western civilisation has been held
guilty of the large scale destruction and degradation of environment that took place since Middle
Ages. In all ancient belief systems all over the world later called Pagan religions nature was
worshipped. It was only later that the belief system was interpreted to authorise human to dominate
nature.
The relation between environment and religion became a subject of intense public discourse in US
1967. The issue of religious attitudes toward nature was publicized in a widely-read paper titled
"The Historic Roots of our Ecological Crisis," published in Science magazine [1967] by Lynn
White Jr. This paper more generally critiqued Western societies for using science and technology to
dominate and degrade their environment, but he accused Christianity in specific of enforcing a
human-centered worldview.
[http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/environmental_ethics/lesson10.html]

More recently, 'Ecoscience' [1977] a reserach book co-authored by John P Holdredn, Adviser on
scientific isues to US President Barack Obama [along with Paul Ehrlich, Anne Ehrlich] the authors
state:
Lynn White, Jr., professor emeritus of history at the University of
California, Los Angeles, and past president of the American Historical
Association, has suggested that the basic cause of Western societys
destructive attitude toward nature lies in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
He pointed out, for instance, that before the Christian era,
people believed trees, springs, hills, streams, and other objects
of nature had guardian spirits. Those spirits had to be
approached and placated before one could safely invade those
territories: By destroying pagan animism, Christianity made it
possible to exploit nature in a mood of indifference to the
feelings of natural objects. [P. 809]
The Lynn White thesis, articulated in its most well-known form in Whites The Historical Roots
of Our Ecologic Crisis, (1967) was one of the most important interpretations of history to come out
of medieval studies in the second half of the twentieth century. Linking the ethos of medieval
Christianity to the emergence of what White called an exploitative attitude toward nature in the
Western world during the Middle Ages, Whites ideas set off an extended debate about the role of
religion in creating and sustaining the Wests increasingly successful control of the natural world
through technology.
Whites work was informed by his view that not only were the Middle Ages the decisive period in
the genesis of Western technological supremacy but that the uniquely activist character of medieval
Christianity provided the psychic foundations of modern technological inventiveness.
White was hardly the first scholar to associate Christianity with the birth of western science and
technology. Max Weber, Robert Forbes, and Ernst Benz, among others, had earlier suggested
general causal links.
White believed that religion was perhaps the most important force shaping human societies and
furthermore that religious values often operated below the level of conscious expression yet had

direct effects on human behavior. As a medievalist, he was inclined to see the Middle Ages as the
wellspring of Western culture.
In the twenty years following the publication of The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis, over
two hundred books and articles used Whites ideas as a focal point. His ideas penetrated the popular
press, appearing in Time Magazine, Horizon, The New York Times, The Boy Scout Handbook and
The Sierra club Bulletin. The great bulk of these responses were to one particular aspect of Whites
argument, his claim in Roots that Christianity inculcated a specifically exploitative attitude
toward nature and consequently that Christianity bore a great burden of guilt for the current
environmental crisis.
Elspeth Whitney, University of Nevada, Las Vegas[www.clas.ufl.edu/]

As the Western culture was theologically Judeo-Christian in construct, the colonisation process
universalized the exploitative attitude to forest and nature in the colonised nations. That was why
Lynn White said that Christianity has to bear a great burden of the guilt for the current enviromental
crisis, not only in the West but everywhere because of colonial exploitation.
The discourse that Christian belief system was responsible for environmental decay was founded on
the interpretation placed on the Biblical verse on man and nature. The Encyclopaedia of Britannica
[15th Ed Macropaedia Vol 4 Chapter on Christianity says:
The Christian understanding of nature goes back to God's biblical command for man. In
Genesis God introduces the created world and its creatures to man and says: Fill the
earth and subdue it ....The fact that the biblical command Subdue the earth was
understood and obeyed purely in the sense of exploitation has in connection with the
development of technical capabilities led to the destruction of the landscape, damage
to the Earth by erosion, to pollution of the waters, -- that is not only the rivers but also
the oceans; to pollution of the atmosphere, and to a catstrophic degree, to the
extermination of the animal world and the genetic manipulation of the breeding of
animals, purely for profit and gain. Significantly, Christians in particular, have
vehemently opposed the violation of nature [p821]
Just take deforestation in US. Before European settlement, forests covered nearly one billion acres
of what is now the US. Since the mid-1600's, about 300 million acres of forest have been cleared.
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_forest.html Estimates for the decrease in global forested
area during the last 300 years range from 8 to 13 million km2, corresponding
with 15 to 25 % of the original extent in 1700.
LANDUSE,LANDCOVERANDSOILSCIENCESVol.I LandUseChangesDuringthePast300Years KeesKleinGoldewijk, Navin
Ramankutty ; www.eolss.net/sample-chapters/c19/E1-05-01-04.pdf

The paradigm shift in the West-centric world

United Nations disapproves of religions that "converted the world into a
warehouse of commodities for human enjoyment" and "destroyed the sacreness
of nature"
In his seminal work "ecologic Special Report titled "Green Religion and Public Policy [October, 2001]
Henry Lamb the founder of the Environmental Conservation Organisation [1988] Sovereignty
International, Inc [1996] and Freedom21, Inc [1999] brings out the huge paradigm shift that is
taking place in the Christian West, particularly US, in environment related religious beliefs as

under:
"In the beginning, God created..." is the assumption on which western culture has advanced for more than two
millennia. This assumption is now obsolete - in the minds of the world's policy makers. Western civilizations have
believed that man was created in "God's image," and is the crown jewel in all of God's creation. This belief too, is
obsolete in the minds of many people who implement public policy:
"Human happiness, and certainly human fecundity, are not as important as a wild and healthy planet. Somewhere along
the line -- about a billion years ago -- we quit the contract and became a cancer. We have become a plague upon
ourselves and upon the Earth. Until such time as homo sapiens should decide to rejoin nature, some of us can only hope
for the right virus to come along." So says David Graber, a research biologist with the National Park Service. [David
A. Graber (research biologist with the National Park Service), "Mother Nature as a Hothouse Flower," Los Angeles
Times Book Reviews, Sunday, October 22, 1989, p. 9]
The western world has progressed using plants and animals as resources to meet the needs of people. Plants and
animals are no longer resources; they are living beings, of equal value to humans, with equal rights: Deep ecologist,
Bill Devall, says: "...all organisms and entities in the ecosphere, as parts of the interrelated whole, are equal in intrinsic
worth. All things in the biosphere have an equal right to live and blossom and to reach their own individual forms of
unfolding and self-realization."
[Bill Devall and George Sessions, Deep Ecology: Living as if nature mattered, (Peregrine Smith Books, Salt Lake City, 1985, p. 67.]

The United Nations agrees with this view. In its 1140-page instruction book for implementing the Convention on
Biological Diversity, Global Biodiversity Assessment, we are instructed to: "...accept biodiversity as a legal subject,
and supply it with adequate rights. This could clarify the principle that biodiversity is not available for uncontrolled
human use. It would therefore become necessary to justify any interference with biodiversity, and to provide proof that
human interests justify the damage caused to biodiversity."
[Global Biodiversity Assessment, (Cambridge University Press, for the United Nations Environment Program, 1995), p. 787]

The religions that taught the world that "In the beginning, God created...," are condemned by the United Nations:
"Societies dominated by Islam, and especially by Christianity, have gone farthest in setting humans apart from
nature and in embracing a value system that has converted the world into a warehouse of commodities for human
enjoyment. In the process, not only has nature lost its sacred qualities; conversion to Christianity has meant an
abandonment of an affinity with the natural world for many forest dwellers, peasants, fishers all over the world.
These people followed their own religious traditions which included setting apart between 10 and 30 percent of the
landscape as sacred groves and ponds. Most of these people were drawn into the larger market economy and
converted to Christianity by the late 1950s. On so converting to a religious belief system that rejects assignment of
sacred qualities to elements of nature, they began to cut down the sacred groves to bring the land under
cultivation...." [Ibid p839]
Lamb Concludes: This new, "enlightened" view of the world has permeated our schools for more than a generation.
Our churches, and our governments -- at every level are filled with people who subscribe to this new world view.
How, exactly, this paradigm shift has occurred is worthy of close examination. More importantly, how will this change
in world view impact the lives of Americans today and in the future?
Therefore, according to Henry Lamb, for the past one generation, environmental paradigm is effecting huge changes in
the Christian Church and theology. So finally environmental decline has brought about the much needed introspection
even in religions which did not denied divinity to nature, which has been the core belief of all ancient cultures and
religions. So environmental consciousness is actually reviving the ancient spiritual consciousness of the world. The
Hindu spiritual values in which the Ancient Indian environmental consciousness inheres is becoming relevant as the
Hindu spiritualism is the only ancient model that is in a living form in the contemporary world.

Indian Christian Cleric says 'Hinduism can help Christianity to develop

reverential attitude to nature'
In this background it is relevant to refer to a paper titled Re-Discovering Christian Eco-theological

Ethics by Rev Father Shaji George Kochuthara, CMI, in which he deals with comparative
philosophical position in the West and in India and how the West has to learn from India concept of
reverence for nature to save the environment. In the abstract of the paper Fr Kochuthara says that
Christianity, with the theology of dominating earth, is often accused of having been responsible
for the present crisis. He admits that that certain emphases in the Christian tradition did not
facilitate a reverential attitude to nature, and says that uncompromising commitment to a
transcendental God and the prohibition of worship of any other being, implying a denial of the
immanence of God in His creation. Any attempt to consider the nature as sacred would be
labeled as pantheism and idolatry and the Christian emphasis on the spiritual nature of human
beings over against the physical nature of the other creatures are some of the main reasons for
the lack of reverence for nature in Christian tradition, even though he contends that it is unjust to
attribute to Christianity the sole responsibility for environmental destruction. The most important
part of his paper is that Hinduism can help us [Christians] to discover further on our own ecotheology. He further says that we [Christians] develop a reverential attitude to nature.
[catholicethics.com/sites/default/files/u3/Shaji_Hekima%2043.pdf]

Thus, apart from admitting that certain emphases in the Christian tradition did not facilitate
a reverential attitude to nature, and that any attempt to consider nature as sacred would be labelled
as idolatry or pantheism is also a reason for lack of reverence for nature in Christian
tradition, Rev Father goes on to say that Christians should develop reverence
for nature and Hinduism can help Christians to discover such reverence in
Christian theology.

The reverence to nature in ancient Hindu culture brought

out by Rev Father's paper
Rev Father Shaji George Kochuthara then goes on to exhaustively deal with how the ancient
Hindu literature revers nature. This is what the Reverend has to say on Hindu view of reverence to
nature.
One of the fundamental cosmological insights of the Indian tradition regarding this world is
that it is indwelt by the Lord of the Universe and hence it is sacred: Isavasyam idam sarvam
yatkinca jagatyam jagat. (This revolving world together with every minute particle in it is
indwelt by the Lord) The same insight can be seen in the Bhagavad Gita (And I have inserted
myself into the heart of everything)
The Hindu vision affirms the sacredness not only of the human being, but everything in
nature. This calls for a new dimension in the humans relationship with nature: Human life
is sacred, as it is a sparkle of the Divine; so also is its environment. Since life and its setting
are both sacred, we have to relate ourselves to humanity and nature on an equal footing.
According to the Hindu concept, the material causes of the created world are the Pancha
Bhootas (Five Great Elements), namely, (earth), (air), (space), (water) and Agni (light/fire).
These cosmic elements create, nurture, and sustain all forms of life; after death and decay
they absorb what was created earlier. Thus, in the preservation and sustenance of the
environment, these elements play a vital role. These are deified in the sacred scriptures.
Particularly of interest is the Hindu concept of the earth:
The Vedic attitude toward the earth springs from mankinds primordial experience of being on
the one hand a guest, and on the other an offspring... The earth is the foundation, the basis

out of which emerges all that exists and on which everything rests. The earth is the basis of
life and, when considered as divine being, she always occupies a special place among the
Gods.
Vedic Man would find any attempt at dominating or subjugating the earth incomprehensible.
The earth is an object of worship and not of exploitation, an object of awe and not of curiosity
(or research, as would be said in academic circles). Investigation of the earth is of the same
nature as personal introspection. To harm the earth is a masochist vice. Man is from the earth
and part of the earth, yet he surmises more and more that he is not only of the earth, not just
an earthly thing.
The worshipping of the earth is not adoration of a creature as an absolute, that is, it is not
idolatry. In fact, it is the veneration of the highest value in the hierarchy of existence, 41 for
undoubtedly this earth is the firstborn of being.
The relationship between the human and the earth is one of partnership:
Prayer to the Earth in Atharva Veda, depicts the earth, the universal mother, dispenser of
every sort of good. After describing the origins of earth, there follows a geographical
description. Then there is an account of her fragrance from plants, water, lotus, animals,
human beings. The Earth is the dwelling place of people. It is upon her that they sing and
dance and find their happiness. The earth is protected by the Gods; she is the conveyer of
Agni, the Universal Fire, and the place where men offer ritual sacrifices. She is the dwelling
place of all living creatures. She is a cosmic giant, a cosmic power, the receiver of prayers
and the bestower of blessings, the protector and the inscrutable judge. The earth is
considered the mother: The Earth is my mother, I am her son.
This reverence for the earth and dependence on her is expressed in a touching way: Whatever
I dig up of you, O Earth, May you of that have quick replenishment! O purifying One, may my
thrust never Reach right unto your vital points, your heart!
In the Hindu tradition there is an underlying unity of all life, the world and all that exists. The
interconnectedness of all life and all creatures is affirmed by the scriptures.
The Divine permeates everything and radically connects all life, whether human or not. That
is, God and nature, the individual and others are all one, are all ultimately unified. Following
the same pattern, Bhagavad Gita affirms that atman is ultimately identical with Brahman.
Hinduism is a religion in which the human is conceived as part and parcel of nature. The
natural phenomena are from a divine source. Behind the wide spectrum of gods and the
rituals and sacrifices, there is this insight into the sacredness and divine origin of nature.
Thus, every natural force and phenomenon (for example, sky, sun, moon, rain, wind, thunder,
rivers, mountains, forest, etc.) is considered to be a god and there are hymns praising and
venerating them. Human being is not on the earth to conquer, dominate, and exploit, but to
be an integral part of the organic whole. The gods, men, and nature formed one organic
whole.
Animals, in the Vedic vision, are not inferior creatures, but manifestations of gods on the
lower scale of evolution compared to man. Animals like monkey, elephant, tiger, cow, bull,
etc. occupy important places in the spectrum of gods. Spiritually, there is no distinction
between human beings and other forms of life. All forms, including plants and animals, are
manifestations of god as limited beings (jivas). Even microorganisms are jivas, having souls
of their own. The protection and worship of the cow symbolizes human responsibility to the
sub-human world. This also stresses the reverence for all forms of life.
The West and Christianity need learn from Hinduism reverence for nature

After exhaustively considering the sources of ancient Hindu literature that see humans as part
of nature and profess and proclaim reverence to nature, the Rev Father talks about how the
Christianity can learn from Hinduism on how to rever nature. The Rev Father says:
This attitude of reverence and gratitude to the earth and the whole cosmos in Hinduism shows
us the possibility of working together to face the ecological crisis and to respond together to
the spiritual inadequacy that many feel in the face of this crisis. There are differences in the
basic faith vision and convictions, but a more critical re-evaluation of interpreting Hindu
approach to nature as pantheistic and naturalistic will help us to understand better the
richness of these traditions and to find common grounds to work together. Many have said the
same regarding African religions which have a reverential approach to the nature. Besides
convincing us of the possibility of working together, this will also help us to re-discover our
own eco-theology and eco-ethics, to reconsider the interpretations in the past and to correct
the imbalances.

Historical Evidence of Environmental Protection India

The Indian environmental consciousness was not just a matter of its religious and ethical literature.
It was a functioning reality. A Regular and independent Forest Department functioned at the time of
Chandragupta Maurya [BCE 3C] which also find mention in Kautilyas Arthashastra. Wildlife
sanctuaries & protection find mention in Arthashastra like 1) Pashuvan (Game Forest), (2) Mrigvan
(Deer Forest), (3) Dravyavan (Productive Forest), (4) Hastivan (Elephant Forest) The Arthashastra
also gives an extensive account of dams and bunds that were built for irrigation during the period of
the Mauryan Empire. The water supply systems were well managed within the framework of strict
rules and regulations. Different types of taxes were collected from the cultivators depending upon
the nature of irrigation. The tax rate was 25% of the produce in respect of water drawn from natural
sources like rivers, tanks and springs. A set of punishments were prescribed for various
violations of water laws like, Causing damage to gardens, parks and bunds,
Failure to maintain the water body, Breaking a reservoir or tank full of water.
Large-scale construction of tanks (Tataka) for tapping rain water was also done
in Tamil Nadu. The Chola period (985-1205 A.D.)
[megphed.gov.in/knowledge/RainwaterHarvest/Chap2.pdf]

The Gupta Kings were also concerned about the state of forests and wildlife.
[http://greencleanguide.com/2011/07/26/environmental-jurisprudence-in-india-part-1/]

To conserve rain water the Chola kings built a network of tanks in Tamil Nadu which can still be seen.
[nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/.../6276/.../IJTK%208(4)%20525-530.pd.]

Buddhism and Jainism evolved from non-violent practices in the society

With the advent of Buddhism and Jainism rise in India [600-500 BCE] environment and ecological
sensitivity increased. Buddha and Mahavir (a Jainist teacher) emphasize vegetarianism and
compassion for all beings. Said Mahavir, It is not enough to live and let live. You must help others
live. This is the idea embodied in the Jain word ahimsa. Both Jainism and Buddhism may have
evolved from the beliefs and practices of the Bishnoi, Sindhi, and Thari people. The renowned
Indian conservationist Valmik Thapar, described the Bishnoi in his 1997 book Land of the Tiger as
the primary reason that desert wildlife still exists on the subcontinent. Link forward to 1778.
(Adapted from M. Clifton, 2007)

Ashoka's Pillar Edicts and environmental protection

One of the famous Seven Pillar Edicts King Ashoka [BCE 256] states: Twenty-six years after my
coronation various animals were declared to be protected parrots, mainas, ruddy geese, wild
ducks, bats, queen ants, terrapins, boneless fish, fish, tortoises, porcupines, squirrels, deer, bulls,
wild asses, wild pigeons, domestic pigeons and all four-footed creatures that are neither useful nor
edible Asoka practiced a form of Buddhism which like Hinduism and Jainism holds that animals
should not be eaten, and that an aged or disabled cow or work animal should be retired and welltreated. Asoka sent missionaries to Thailand and Sri Lanka to teach Buddhism, including his son
Arahat Mahinda. Interrupting a hunt upon arrival in Sri Lanka in 247 B.C., Arahat Mahinda
stopped King Devanampiyatissa from killing the deer and told the king that every living creature
has an equal right to live, according to Sri Lankan elephant conservationist Jawantha Jayewardene.
Persuaded, the king became a Buddhist and decreed that no one should kill or harm any living
being, Jayewardene continues. He set apart a large area around his palace as a sanctuary that gave
protection to all fauna and flora. This was called Mahamevuna Uyana, and is believed to be the first
sanctuary in the world. Arahat Mahinda and the other Asokan emissaries also introduced animal
sheltering as a central function of monasteries wherever they went. Buddhist monasteries in
Thailand and Sri Lanka to this day often double as animal shelters, though at some the custom was
long ago distorted into keeping just a lone chained temple elephant. (M. Clifton, 2007) According to
Buddhist scholar Ven. S. Dhammika, Ashoka is significant today. With widespread
disillusionment in prevailing ideologies and the search for a political philosophy that goes beyond
greed (capitalism), hatred (communism) and delusion (dictatorships led by infallible leaders),
Asokas edicts may make a meaningful contribution to the development of a more spiritually based
political system.
[http://66.147.244.135/~enviror4/ancient/classical-1000-bce-500-ce/]

The relevance of Ancient Indian tradition for environmental sustainability -Study

The balance and mutual relationship between the pancha bhoota concept as expounded in the Indian philosophy and the
present day environmental issues has been brought out in a research paper titled Indian Ethos in sustainability from
Ancient to Gandhi: Sustainability Education at IBMT by Prof MD Saibaba Institute of Business management and
Technology Bangalore presented at the ESCIP International Business School France, International Days 2010. The
author says:

Environmental sustainability or the code for universal existence has always been there in the Indian
Philosophy through the ages.It has been an integral part of IndianPhilosophy. RIGVEDA and
ATHARVAVEDA (5000BC) have been the earliest known documented ancient texts of Indian
Origin. The importance of Environmental sustainability has been propounded as the amalgamation
or the proper equilibrium of five Pancha Boothas as we call it. The five elements of the Physical
Universe are: Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether (Aakash). The texts say that all that exists consists
of these elements. Hence, we in India consider them to be reflections of Divinity. All these elements
have been worshipped and revered since ancient times.
In the Atharva Veda there is prayer which draws attention to the ecological balance of these
elements and how the earth is the upholder of the moral order. We beseech the earth to protect us
and to purify us. We pray to her to give us the mountains as well as the flowing rivers. We ask her to
bear herbs of manifold potency, on whom food and crops grow and animals roam. We seek the
blessings of the Ether to bless us by fertilizing the earth by proper rainfall at times. We also pray
that let the earth be kind to us and we to it.

This philosophy of coexistence given by the Indians tells us about the high level of importance given
by our ancestors for sustainability. We have lot of reverence to our plants. The Rig-Veda tells about
the importance of plants & herbs with respect to their medicinal value and personifies the jungle as
the mocking genius of the woods.
The Vedas devote many hymns to the water. We consider him to be the great superintendent of the
cosmic moral order. It is he who looks after the heaven, earth and well beyond that boundary. Air is
similarly considered to be the basic life giver and any kind of disrespect to it is abhorred.
Water, earth, tree and plant maintain the spatial balance of the cosmos, the night and dawn are the
keepers of celestial temporal order and each is the goddess, mother, wife, woman or girl. They are
essential for the celestial or terrestrial order, the Ita - a central concept of Indian cosmology and
philosophic thought. Any disturbance in the order needs penance, ritual or sacrifice thereby placing
the factor of sustainability at its highest order. The Indian philosophical thought is in tune with
nature. The present generation has to fall back upon the previous wisdom and learn by their
mistakes.
It is by integrating the five elements of Mother Nature in a balanced proportion that it is possible
for us to achieve sustainability of environment.
Bless that Mother Nature be kind to us; the heavens give us peace. The earth be gentle; Gentle be
the waters that flow; Gentle be the plants and herbs that grow. May the past be kind; the future
benign. (Atharva-veda.19.9.1). This in a nutshell gives us the much required knowledge for
preserving our environment for future generations to come.
As an answer to the present challenge, eco-philosophy insists that mankind should rediscover the
human meanings related to the meaning of the environment or its surrounding (including all living
organisms, rocks and the environment) or life ecosystem. Eco-philosophy is a social sciences'
philosophy that has a strong foundation on biological and ecological concepts. Social sciences'
philosophy is the study of the aims and methods of social science. Standard anthologies organize
their material around such questions as whether natural things differ fundamentally from social
things and whether the sciences of social things must then use different methods from the sciences
of the natural things, and so on.
Gandhi, is the modern connect between ancient Indian humanistic traditions and modern values.
His philosophy is centered on sustainability. Truth and Harmony according to him are the ethical
codes for Sustainability.

Forest and Wild Animals Mutually Protective says

Mahabharat
The contemporary Western civilisation is basically Judeo-Christian in construct in Greco-Roman
form and it wiped out the Pagan cultures which had had a tradition of nature worship and reverence
for nature. The environmental destruction which followed became wholly attributed to Christianity.
The lesson is self evident: when the ultimate source literature undermines reverence to nature
environment becomes a casualty. The same thing happened in India during the colonial British rule
who had no sense of reverence for nature. In India the forest was administered by tribals who
revered and worshipped nature, and the huge tiger population of India protected the forests. The
Mahabharata says: "Don't destroy forests with tigers and don't make forests devoid of tigers. Forests
can't be saved without tigers and tigers can't live without forests because forests protect tigers and
tigers protect forests." (Virat Parrva 5:45-46). This was the traditional Indian grammar for
ecological balance forest maintenance. See how when tigers were exterminated in India, forest
cover of India dwindled. Compare the forest cover of India in 1900 and now and the tiger
population then and now. According to a research work the total area under forest in India was 40%

[Journal of Tropical Forest science 13 (4): (2001)p606]. the tiger population then was 40000, which
was 80% of the world's tiger population and now 1800 [Atimes.com (2006-03-21). Retrieved on
2012-02-26]. Tigers were eliminated by guns provided by the colonialists who, first destoyed the
traditional community managed forestry, and this helped to deforest India. So it is not only in
America, but in India too, the Western civilisation destroyed the forest resources.

Animals, India and Indian economy

The fact that animals find India safer than elsewhere in the world is explicit from the fact that while
17% of world's population, its livestock population 18% living in just 2.4% of world's total
geographical area. [] India ranks first with respect to buffalo, second in cattle and goats, third in
sheep and fifth in poultry population in comparison to the world livestock and poultry population. []
According to the 2006 Hindu-CNN-IBN State of the Nation Survey 31% of Indians are vegetarians,
while another 9% consumes eggs in addition. [] With 4 out of 10 Indian not touching meat, the
existence of huge animal population in India only supports the view that Indians care for animals
and their husbanding animals is not for making food out of them. The care for animals in India is
manifest in vegetarianism and also the status of the cow in Indian tradition and spirituality which is
aligned to protection of animals.
Cow represents divinity in India. The cow was elevated to divinity in the Rig Veda. In Book VI,
Hymn XXVIII attributed to Rishi Bhardwaja extols the virtue of the cow. In Atharva Veda (Book X,
Hymn X), the cow is formally designated as Vishnu, and all that the Sun surveys. Indian society
has addressed the cow as gow mata. The Churning of the Sea episode brings to light the story of the
creation of the cow. Five divine Kamadhenus (wish cows), viz, Nanda, Subhadra, Surabhi, Sushila,
Bahula emerged in the churning. Thousands of names in our country are cow-related: Gauhati,
Gorakhpur, Goa, Godhra, Gondiya, Godavari, Goverdhan, Gautam, Gomukh, Gokarna, Goyal,
Gochar etc. They signify reverence for the cow, and our abiding faith that the cow is Annapurna
Importance of Cow in Indian Culture By Stephen Knapp http://www.ariseindiaforum.org/importance-of-cow-in-indian-culture/

The Cow as Mahatma Gandhi saw it

No one could have explained the relation between cow and Indian culture better than Mahatma
Gandhi. Gandhi says:
"The central fact of Hinduism is cow protection. Cow protection to me is one of the most wonderful
phenomena in human evolution. It takes the human being beyond this species. The cow means the
entire sub-human world. Man through the cow is enjoined to realize his identity with all that lives.
Why the cow was selected for apotheosis is obvious to me. The cow was in India the best
companion. She was the giver of plenty. Not only did she give milk, but she also made agriculture
possible
"Cow protection is the gift of Hinduism to the world. And Hinduism will live so long as there are
Hindus to protect the cow. Hindus will be judged not by their tilaks, not by the correct chanting of
mantras, not by their pilgrimages, not by their most punctilious observances of caste rules, but their
ability to protect the cow.
"I would not kill a human being to protect a cow, as I will not kill a cow to save a human life, be it
ever so precious. My religion teaches me that I should by personal conduct instill into the minds of
those who might hold different views the conviction that cow-killing is a sin and that, therefore, it
ought to be abandoned. My ambition is no less than to see the principle of cow protection
established throughout the world. But that requires that I should set my own house thoroughly in
order first.
"Cow protection to me is not mere protection of the cow. It means protection of all that lives and is

helpless and weak in the world.

"The cow is a poem of pity. One reads pity in the gentle animal. She is the mother to millions of
Indian mankind. Protection of the cow means protection of the whole dumb creation of God. The
ancient seer, whoever he was, began with the cow. The appeal of the lower order of creation is all
the more forcible because it is speechless. The cow is the purest type of sub-human life. She pleads
on behalf of the whole of the sub-human species for justice to it at the hands of man, the first among
all that lives. She seems to speak to us through her eyes: 'You are not appointed over us to kill us
and eat our flesh or otherwise ill-treat us, but to be our friend and guardian.' I worship it and I
shall defend its worship against the whole world.
"Mother cow is in many ways better than the mother who gave us birth. Our mother gives us milk
for a couple of years and then expects us to serve her when we grow up. Mother cow expects from
us nothing but grass and grain. Our mother often falls ill and expects service from us. Mother cow
rarely falls ill.
"The reader will observe that behind the foregoing requirements lies one thing, and that is ahimsa
(non-injury), otherwise known as universal compassion. If that supreme thing is realized,
everything else becomes easy. Where there is ahimsa, there is infinite patience, inner calm,
discrimination, self-sacrifice and true knowledge."
[http://www.mkgandhi.org/main.htm]

Constitution of India directs ban on cow-slaughter

In 2003, the National Commission on Cattle under Justice G. M. Lodha called for stringent laws to protect the cow
and its progeny in the interest of the rural economy, a constitutional requirement under Directive Principles of State
Policy. Article 48 of the Constitution says: The State shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal
husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the
breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle. During the First War
of Independence in 1857, when Bahadur Shah Zafar was installed as emperor by the Hindus in Delhi for a brief
period, his Hindu prime minister, on the emperors proclamation, made cow killing a capital offence. In Maharaja Ranjit
Singhs kingdom, the only crime that invited capital punishment was cow slaughter.
[Stephen Knapp http://www.ariseindiaforum.org/importance-of-cow-in-indian-culture/]

The Indian livestock first in milk production in the world, more than paddy and wheat in
value, provide 15 million jobs mostly women, generate 1/5 of GDP in agriculture, and yield
30000 MW worth of energy
India has vast resource of livestock and poultry, which pay a vital role in improving the socioeconomic conditions of rural masses ...Animal Husbandry sector provides large self-employment
opportunities. According to National Sample Survey Offices latest quinquennial survey (NSS 66th
round; July 2009-June 2010), total number of workers in usual status, engaged in farming of
animals were 13.6 million in rural areas and 14.9 million in rural and urban areas combined. Total
number of workers Livestock Sector not only provides essential proteins and nutritious human diet
through milk, eggs, meat etc., but also plays an important role in utilization of non-edible
agricultural by-products. Livestock also provides raw material/by products such as hides and skins,
blood, bone, fat etc. The contribution of milk alone (262214 crore) was higher than paddy (151634
crore), wheat (99667 crore) and sugarcane (58470 crore) during 2010-11.....According to estimates
of the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the value of output from livestock and fisheries sector
together at current prices was about 461434 crore during 2010-11, which is about 28.4% of the
value of output of 1623968 crore from total agricultural and allied sector.......India is the largest
producer of milk in world. ........... milk production increased significantly to 102.6 million tonnes at
the end of the Tenth Plan (2006-07) as compared to 53.9 million tonnes in 1990-91. The estimate of

the milk production in 2010-11 was 121.8 million tonnes as compared to 116.42 million tonne in
2009-10 indicating growth of 4.66%.
[Annual report 2011-12 Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture dahd.nic.in/dahd/.../Annual%20Report
%20English%202011-12.pdf]

Total Livestock population in India has increased from 292.8 million in 1951 to 530 million in 2007
at the rate of 1.06%. [p2]India continues to be the largest producer of milk in the world (15.70% of
total milk) having 112.5 million tonnes production with 263 g/day/capita availability (200910). The
milk production followed quadratic trend during 197980 to 200910. If the same trend continues
the milk production will reach to a level of 135 million tonnes by 2015 16. [p3]. The Indian
livestock sector is the endeavor of small holders and is a centuries old tradition and over 70% of
rural households depend upon livestock farming for supplementary income. This sector is highly
gender sensitive and about 90% of the activities related to care and management of livestock are
carried by familys women folk. As a result of gradual transition from subsistence to market system,
the economic dimensions of livestock keeping have gained significance...The contribution of milk
in national economy is higher (228809 crore) than paddy (135307 crore), wheat (103226 crore) and
sugar cane (37366 crore). Animal husbandry sector provides large self employment opportunities
and about 6.7% of work force in rural areas is engaged in this sector. [p2]
[Vision 2030 Indian Veterinary Research Institute www.ivri.nic.in/vision2030.pdf]

Cattle rearing is an age-old practice of Indian socio-agriculture system and evidence of indigenous
(Bos indicus) cattle domestication and its utilization in Indian sub-continent goes back to 5000 BC
as embedded in relics of Indus Valley Civilization. Agrarian society of ancient India, reared cattle
not only for milk, draft, manure, fur, hide and other earthly materials, but also brought them up as
agrarian companion; and by its own virtue, socio-economic position of cattle gradually rose to the
echelon of mother equivalent i.e. Gomata. At present, the country has one of the widest diversified
cattle genetic resources of 34 recognized indigenous (Bharatiya) cattle breeds, several indicus x
taurus crossbreds and some B. taurus (Jersey, Holstein Friesian) purebred cattle fairly adapted to
Indian climatic conditions. India is having the second largest cattle population (199 million) and
since a decade it is the largest producer of milk (112 MMT in 2009- 10) in the world. Cattle
contribute to about 43 per cent of total milk; out of which 20 per cent is produced by indigenous
cows and 23 per cent by crossbreds and exotic cows. The draught power of bullocks is phenomenal
and contributes to an equivalent of 30000 MW of electricity, ploughs almost 2/3 of Indias
cultivated area (100 million hectares) i.e doing work for about 15 million tractors and thus saving 6
million tons of fossil fuel.
Vision 2030 Project Directorate on Cattle Indian Council of Agricultural Research www.pdcattle.ernet.in

In 2002 India had a livestock population of 500 million (20% of the world's total), more than half of
which was cattle which formed the backbone of Indian agriculture. Mechanisation of agricultural
operations has pushed cattle to redundancy in large parts of the country. Short hybrid grain varieties
and harvester machines have reduced the availability of cattle fodder. Alongside, meat export
almost doubled between 1990 and 95, while livestock population only increased by half that rate.
Further, indigenous breeds of cattle have been taken over by foreign breeds introduced during the
white revolution, which are treated as milch and meat machines. From all these changes, India's cattle
population is increasingly viewed as a mere economic resource for optimal returns, a transformation that is greatly
impacting traditional farm-life. Recognizing this, the government instituted the National Commission on Cattle in
August 2001, to suggest ways and means for the preservation and protection of the nation's cattle wealth.
http://www.indiatogether.org/agriculture/cattle/notforsale.htm

Ancient peoples all over the world had revered the entire creation the earth,
water, trees and mountains as divine
"It is in the world's own enlightened self-interest that we support the destinies and ways of life of its
Indigenous Nations. They hold a universal message in sustainable and compassionate thinking and
living for us all in these challenging contemporary times. Native Peoples are our elder guides into a
way of life that must be restored lest we take the whole of creation with us in our downward spiral
of confusion and suffering." -- Statement of support of Sacred Mountains Foundation, Inc. from
Peter Gold anthropologist, author of Navaho and Tibetan Sacred Wisdom and director of Ancient
Ways Project
http://www.sacredmountainsfoundation.org/

In Hinduism the worship of the earth, water including seas lakes and rivers, plants and trees,
mountains are fundamental.
Verily, the whole world is the body of God. .................says Vishnu Purana 1.12.38
Earth, in which lie the sea, the river, and other waters,
in which food and cornfields have come to be,
in which live all that breathes and that moves,
may she confer on us the finest of her yield....
Set me, O Earth, amidst what is thy center and thy navel,
and vitalizing forces that emanate from thy body.
Purify us from all sides. Earth is my Mother; her son am I;
and Heaven my Father: may he fill us with plenty....................Says Atharva Veda 12.1

All Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, Upanishad, Puranas, and Itihasas including Bhagavad Gita
emphasized the importance and significance of the ecological balance among the Maha
Panchabhutas the earth, the air, the fire, the water and the sky. In fact the whole universe is made
up of these five elements. It means that every living and nonliving creature is made up of these
elements. Upanishadic statement embodies this belief: sarvam khalvidam Brahmasi Every thing
in Brahman. Hindus believe that there is divinity in every aspect of the universe. Nature itself is divine. All the
components of the Nature are the manifestations of the Divine. One cannot separate one from the other. They are the
two aspects of the Supreme. Hindus perceive divinity in the human being, animals, trees, rocks, mountains, water,
snake, dust particle and every thing that is seen and unseen. Many Hindu temples have manifestations of the Divine in
the form of Human forms, animal forms, both animal and human forms combined as well as formless. The Shanti
Mantra in Vedas which celebrate and worship the entire creation for peace says:
We invoke and imbibe Aum, the primordial sound of
cosmic Harmony and pray for:
Peace and Harmony in Heaven;
Peace and Harmony in the Sky and on the Earth;
Peace and Harmony in the Waters;
Peace and Harmony in the Herbs, the Vegetation and the Forests;
Peace and Harmony among the
Peoples and the Rulers of the World;
Peace and Harmony in Spiritual Quest and Realization;
Peace and Harmony for one and all;
Peace and Harmony Everywhere and in Every Thing;
Peace, True and Real Peace,
Let that Peace repose in my inner space,
Peace of Peace, Everlasting Peace,
We pray for Peace.
Global Hindu Heritage Foundation; http://www.savehindutemples.blogspot.in/2011/02/ghhf-three-ngos-submit-detailed-report.html

The Earth as Divine

In other Ancient traditions

In Ancient India tradition

Atharva Veda says that The Earth is mother, the Heavens are father. For Hindus Earth is sacred and call her Bhumata,
Bhudevi Goddess Mother. Hindus revere the Earth for her tolerance, forbearance, patience and serenity. The Vedic
Hymn to the Earth, the Prithvi Sukta in Atharva Veda, is undeniably the most all-compassing holistic hymn ever written
about the interdependence of the panchabhutas. The Vedic seer solemnly talked about the continuing, steady and
balanced filial allegiance of humankind to Mother Earth: Mata Bhumih Putroham Prithivyah: Earth is my mother, I am
her son. Mother Earth is respected, revered and celebrated for all her storehouse of natural resources and particularly
for her gifts of herbs and vegetation.
A provocative, enduring and everlasting hymn known Prithvi Sukti describing the Goddess Earth was found in Atharva
Veda with 63 verses. She is described as Vasudha for possessing wealth, Hiranyavaksha for having gold bosom, Jagato
Niveshini for being the abode of the whole universe, Visvambara being representative of the universe and others. She is
described as providing food and prosperity; sustaining the animal world; proving space for lakes, rivers and oceans; and
supporting the herbs, trees, and mountains. She is described as holding Agni, as geothermal field as well as
geomagnetic field. One should refrain from any and all efforts to damage its natural environment and deplete the
natural resources to bring the untold calamity to the cosmos.
Mountains and Hills as Divine
In other Ancient traditions
In all ancient civilisations mountains have been revered and worshipped. Christopher L. C. E. Witcombe, author of
many books on ancient cultures writes:

Mountains loom large in any landscape and have long been invested with sacredness by many
peoples around the world. They carry a rich symbolism. The belief that the vertical axis of the
mountain drawn from its peak down to its base links it with the world-axis is attached, for example,
to Mount Tabor of the Israelites and Mount Meru of the Hindus. In Ancient Greece the preeminent god of the mountain was Zeus for whom there existed nearly one hundred mountain cults.
Zeus ruled supreme on Mount Olympus, was a god of rain and lightning. In Japan, Mount Fuji
(Fujiyama) is revered by Shintoists as sacred to the goddess Sengen-Sama, whose shrine is found at
the summit. Named after the Buddhist fire goddess Fuchi, the mountain is believed to be the
gateway to another world. In China there are nine sacred mountains, 5 Taoist and 4 Buddhist; all
are sites of pilgrimage and believed as the medium of communication with the immortals and the
primeval powers of the earth. In Tibet, Mount Kailas, one of the tallest peaks in the Himalayas, near
the source of the Ganges, is venerated by, and is a pilgrimage site for, Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists.
Buddhists regard the mountain as a mandala.
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/mountains.html

Sacred mountains are central to certain religions and are the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic
aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other celestial bodies. Many
religions have some sacred mountains - that either are holy (like Mount Olympus in Greek mythology) or are related to
famous events (like Mount Sinai in Judaism and descendant religions). In some cases, the sacred mountain is purely
mythical, like the Hara Berezaiti in Zoroastrianism. Volcanoes, such as Mount Etna in Italy, were also considered
sacred. Mount Etna was believed to have been the home of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_mountains

In Ancient Indian tradition

Hills and mountains have special significance within Hinduism. Most important are the Himalayas, the vast range in
North India to which countless ascetics have retired for a life of seclusion and austerity. Shiva is considered to reside on
Mount Kailash and his spouse's name, Parvati, means "daughter of the Himalayas." Within the Himalayan range and its
foothills are many places of pilgrimage such as Haridwar, Hrishikesh, Badrinatha, and Kedarnath.
The Vindhya Mountains separate the North from the Deccan (South) and are mentioned repeatedly in the Epics and the
Puranas. Another popular pilgrimage site is the cave of Vaishno Devi, north of Amritsar. Pilgrims climb many steps up
to the cave, which is dedicated to three goddesses Lakshmi, Kali and Sarasvati. It is the only temple in India where all
three are worshipped together. Also famous, in the South, is Vyenkata Hill, whose 2,800-foot peak is crowned with the
Tirupati temple.
Perhaps India's most famous hill is Govardhana, which was raised by Lord Krishna to protect the inhabitants of
Vrindavana from the wrath of Indra. The God of Rain was infuriated when child Krishna persuaded his father, head of
the village, to stop the Indra-sacrifice and worship the hill instead. Indra sent torrents of rain but Krishna picked up the
hill, and, holding it on the tip of the little finger of his left hand, used it as a giant umbrella. Govardhana Puja is still a
popular festival and the story is central for the followers of Pushti-marg, who call Krishna "Nathji."
http://hinduism.iskcon.org/practice/505.htm

While there are thousands of hills and mountains which are revered and worshipped in India, the list
of some of the Sacred Mountains of India are:
Agastyamalai
Govardana Hills
Mount Abu
Nanda Devi
Sabarimalai
Tirumala Hills

Alagarkoil / Pazhamudhir Cholai

Kamagiri Hills
Mount Arunachala
Palani Malai
Shathasringa Hills
Yadavagiri

Chamundi Hills
Kinnaur Kailash
Mount Kangchenjunga
Panchachuli
Simhachalam

Gabbar Hills
Mahabaleshwar
Mukurti Peak
Rangaswamy Peak
The Droog

http://www.ecoheritage.cpreec.org/innerpageof.php?$mFJyBfKPkEs

Plants and Trees as divine

In other ancient traditions

Christopher Witcombe traces the pre-Christian tradition of trees as divine. The summary of his
views are: the From the earliest times, trees have been the focus of religious life for many peoples
around the world. As the largest plant on earth, the tree has been a major source of stimulation to
the mythic imagination. Trees have been invested in all cultures with a dignity unique to their own
nature, and tree cults, in which a single tree or a grove of trees is worshipped, have flourished at
different times almost everywhere. Even today there are sacred woods in India and Japan, just as
there were in pre-Christian Europe..........In the early historical period, however, there is
considerable evidence that trees held a special significance in the cultures of the ancient world. In
Ancient Egypt, several types of trees appear in Egyptian mythology and art......as divine. Trees also
figure prominently in the culture and mythology of Ancient Greece. In Ancient Rome, a fig-tree
was to Romulus. Sacred groves were also found in the city of Rome. The Celts believed trees to be
sources of sacred wisdom. Elements of pagan tree cults and worship have survived into JudeoChristian theology. In Genesis, two trees -- the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of
Good and Evil -- grow at the centre of the Garden of Eden. In Ancient Assyria, contemporary
with the ziggurats, trees, fruit trees especially, were associated with fertility. The significance of
trees in Ancient Assyria is shown in the numerous reliefs of winged deities watering or protecting
sacred trees. In China, the Tree of Life grows on the slopes of Kuen-Luen, while the Moslem Lote
tree marks the boundary between the human and the divine. From the four boughs of the Buddhist
Tree of Wisdom flow the rivers of life. In Japan, trees such as the cryptomeria are venerated at Shinto shrines.
Especially sacred is the sakaki, a branch from which stuck upright in the ground is represented by the

shin-no-mihashira, or sacred central post, over and around which the wooden Shrines at Ise are
built. The shin-no-mihashira is both the sakaki branch and the pillar confirmed in the nethermost
ground, like the heaven-tree in many Japanese legends. Sacred forests still exist in India and in Bali,
Indonesia. Single pillars made of tree trunks called Irmensul ('giant column') representing the 'tree
of the universe' were set up on hilltops by some German tribes. A highly venerated Irmensul in what
is now Westphalia was cut down by the Christianizing Charlemagne in 772.
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/trees.html

It is mentioned of the Kalpavriksha and Chaityavriksha in the ancient scriptures indicating that the
worship of the tree is indeed an ancient Indian practice. The Ancient Aryans worshiped nature.
Plants, Trees and the other elements were always revered and several rituals were connected to
them. Tree worship continues to be an element of modern Indian traditions. There are many trees
which are considered Sacred. Some of the Sacred Trees are as follows :
Ashoka Tree is one of the most legendary and sacred trees of India....Ashoka is a Sanskrit word
meaning that which gives no grief. Of course, the tree has many other names in local
languages...The Hindus regard it as sacred, being dedicated to Kama Deva, God of Love. The tree is
a symbol of love. Lord Buddha was born under the Ashoka tree, so it is planted in Buddhist
monasteries.
Like Peepal Tree, the Banyan Tree also symbolizes the Trimurti-Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and
Lord Brahma. The tree also symbolizes life and fertility in many Hindu cultures. That is the reason,
banyan tree is worshiped by those who are childless and this tree should never be cut. The Great
Banyan in the Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah, is considered to be the largest tree in the world.
Lord Dakshinamurthy, who is worshiped as the "ultimate guru", and an embodiment of knowledge
is usually depicted beneath a banyan tree. He symbolizes Lord Shiva and is seen as the the destroyer
of ignorance and embodiment of knowledge
In India, Bael tree is considered to be very sacred because it is associated with Lord Shiva. It is said
that Lord Shiva is pleased by offerings of leaves from the Bael Tree, also known as bilva or bel tree.
The Beal tree is also sacred to the Jains. It is said the 23rd Tirthankara, Bhagwan Parasnathji
attained "Nirvana" enlightenment under a Bael tree. Besides religious significane, almost all parts
of the tree have medicinal qualities Bael is an ingredient in many Ayurvedic and Siddha
formulations.
Peepal Tree also known as "Ashvattha" in Sanskrit, is a very large tree and the first-known depicted
tree in India. A seal discovered at Mohenjodaro, one of the cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation
depicts the peepal being worshiped. According to the Brahma Purana and the Padma Purana, when
the demons defeated the gods, Lord Vishnu hid himself in the Peepal Tree and that is why it is
believed that the Peepal Tree is a symbol of Vishnu and is worshiped since a long period of time.
There is another belief that the tree represents the Trimurti-the roots being Brahma, the trunk
Vishnu and the leaves Shiva. Some says that Lord Krishna is believed to have died under this tree,
after which the present Kali Yuga started. According to another belief, Goddess Lakshmi also
inhabited the tree, specially on Saturday and hence it is considered auspicious to worship it. In fact
women worship the tree to bless them with a son tying red thread or red cloth around its trunk or on
its branches. According to the Skanda Purana, to cut down a peepal tree is considered a sin. Even
Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment under the peepal tree and the peepal is also
sacred to Buddhist. Hence it is also called the Bodhi tree or "tree of enlightenment".
Tulsi is always associated with purity and a highly revered and used for all religious purposes
among the Hindus. It is considered very auspicious to have a Tulsi plant in the front courtyard of
many Hindu households. Tulsi beads can always be seen around the necks of serious yogis and
mystics in India, worn to purifying the mind, emotions and body. Dispelling the unwanted
influences of others, gross and subtle, is one of the many benefits bestowed by Tulsi plant and
hence worshipped by all. Tulsi plants are also prized in Ayurveda, where they are considered an

integral part of that sophisticated healing system. In practically every temple in India, no puja can
be started without few Tulsi leaves. There is always a special place reserved for this sacred plant.
Likewise, Coconut tree, mango tree, neem tree, sandalwood tree, bamboo tree are also revered in
Hindu tradition.
http://www.religiousportal.com/sacredtrees.html

River/Water as divine

In other ancient traditions

Water is a primordial element which underlays creation myths and stories around the world. The
Egyptian Heliopolitan creation story recounts that the sun-god Atum (Re) reposed in the primordial
ocean (Nun). In Assyro-Babylonian mythology, first the gods and subsequently all beings arose
from the fusion of salt water (Tiamat) and sweet water (Apsu). Water divinities of various kinds
appear in the mythologies of many cultures. And not surprisingly, the world abounds in sacred
springs, rivers, and lakes. Even within the Judeo-Christian tradition, which generally avoids
the veneration of the various phenomena of Nature, there are numerous examples of sacred
springs or wells, and rivers. The water of the River Jordan is sacred because Jesus Christ was
baptized in it by Saint John the Baptist. The spring at Lourdes is sacred because of its healing
properties in connection with the appearance of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette.
In Japan, water prefigures the purity and pliant simplicity of life. The Japanese make pilgrimages
to waterfalls. The lotus-stream of the Buddha or Boddhisattva rises up from the waters of the soul,
in the same way the spirit, illumined by knowledge, frees itself from passive existence. The Roman
philosopher Seneca declared that Where a spring rises or a water flows there ought we to build
altars and offer sacrifices. The Celts venerated natural springs of water for their sacred and
medicinal value and many examples of holy wells are known, many of them were later
Christianized through rededication to a saint. This practice of venerating sacred wells continued into
the Christian era in the West, though they were now referred to as wishing wells.
In China, the water of the fountain at Pon Lai was believed to confer a thousand lives on those who
drink it and a similar reputation was attached to the springs of Mount Lao Shan. Sacred springs
were enshrined by the Ancient Greeks. Goddesses and nymphs were connected with certain rivers,
springs, and wells by the Celts and Romans. Often the river was named after the goddess, such as
the Shannon River, after Sinann, and the Boyne, after Boann, in Ireland, and the Seine, after
Sequana, in Gaul (France). ....The Celts subsequently established a shrine there dedicated to Sulis,
and later the Romans built on the same spot a temple to Sulis Minerva (and renamed the town
Aquae Sulis). In 218 CE, after defeating the Romans, Hannibal and his armies stopped to imbide
the waters at Perrier in the south of France. The water at Evians-les-Bains, on the southern side of
Lake Geneva, was discovered in ancient times; in 363 CE, the Roman emperor Flavius Claudius
Jovianus stopped there on his way to Germany. The natural spring waters at Evians-les-Bains are
marketed today as Evian. The waters at San Pellegrino in Lombardy in northern Italy have
beenknown since Roman times. Rediscovered in the 12th century, one of the famous pilgrims
(pellegrino means pilgrim) who came to take the waters there was Leonardo da Vinci. The spa was
established there in 1848, and bottling of the water begun in 1899.
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/water.html

In ancient Indian Traditions

In India, water has been an object of worship from time immemorial. It has diverse socio-religious uses and plays a
central role in many religious ceremonies and rites. Water and in turn water bodies have been traditionally held sacred
for the following reasons:

Almost all rivers, lakes, springs are attributed some degree of holiness and are often associated with the local
pantheon of Gods and Goddesses.

Most Indian rivers are usually believed to be manifestations (avatars) of Goddesses. Rivers have been given a
divine status and have been worshipped since ancient times.

Water plays a vital role in holy rituals / rites. It cleanses our body and hence, symbolizes purification.

The ecological significance of water as a source and sustainer of life.

Some of the well-known sacred lakes and rivers of India are tabulated here

LAKES

Gumti

Drongasagar

Jhelum

Gurudongmar

Kali Ben

Hemakund

Kaveri

Khecheopalri

Krishna

Mani Mahesh

Mahanadhi

Manikaran

Narmada

Pushkar

Pamba

Tsomgo

Phalgu

RIVERS

Pykara

Bhagirathi

Shipra

Brahmaputra

Tapti

Chambal

Thamirabarani

Gandaki
Tungabhadra
Ganga

Vaigai
Yamuna

Ghaghara
Godavari Gomti
http://www.cpreecenvis.nic.in/Database/Sacred_rivers_885.aspx

The rhythm of life is dictated by water and Hindus hold rivers in great reverence. India is a country
that not only nurtures the resources nature has bestowed upon her, but also worships them for the
all-round prosperity they bring in their wake. Rivers are one such gift which are considered highly
sacred throughout the length and breadth of the country. This is primarily because these mighty
rivers have perennially been a source of livelihood to millions of people living in areas lying along

their courses. No wonder people see in them a manifestation of divine female power (shakti).
"Sindhu in might surpasses all the streams that flow.... His roar is lifted up to heaven above the
earth; he puts forth endless vigour with a flash of light .... Even as cows with milk rush to their
calves, so other rivers roar into the Sindhu. As a warrior- king leads other warriors, so does Sindhu
lead other rivers.... Rich in good steeds is Sindhu, rich in gold, nobly fashioned, rich in ample
wealth.''says the Rig Veda
The rivers are generally female divinities, food and life bestowing mothers. As such, they are
prominent among the popular divinities represented in the works of art of the classical period. The
most holy of rivers, the best known and most honored, is the Ganga or Ganges. She is personified as
Goddess Ganga. The sacred river Ganga not only provides water for the land; the water is itself the
symbol of life without end. The doorway of every temple in India is guarded by an
anthropomorphic representation of river Ganga.
'O Mother Ganga, may your water,
abundant blessing of this world,
treasure of Lord Shiva, playful Lord of all the earth,
essence of the scriptures and
embodied goodness of the gods,
May your water, sublime wine of immortality,
Soothe our troubled souls.'
The story of the descent of the Ganga is an ecological story. The above hymn is a tale of the
hydrological problem associated with the descent of a mighty river like the Ganga. H.C. Reiger, the
German Himalayan ecologist, described the material rationality of the hymn in the following words:
In the scriptures a realization is there that if all the waters which descend upon the mountain were
to beat down upon the naked earth would never bear the torrents In Shivas hair we have a very
well-known physical device which breaks the force of the water coming down the vegetation of
the mountains.
The ancient city of Allahabad (formerly known as Prayag) lies at the confluence of the Ganga
(Ganges) and the Yamuna, two sacred rivers that have been cradles of the Indian civilisation. The
city is mentioned in the oldest Indian literature such as the Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata and the
Puranas. According to Hindu tales, Lord Brahma, the creator chose a place where three of the
holiest rivers on earth could meet in harmony. The city is also referred to as `Tirth Raj' or the `king
of pilgrimage centers'.
"The Ganga is a living presence, a protector, a healer of ills. The Ganga is as alive as it ever was
with the hopes and dreams of an entire culture.
Says Pundit Jawaharalal Nehru "I am proud of this noble heritage which was and still is ours, and I
am aware that I too, like all of us, am a link in that uninterrupted chain which finds its origin in the
dawn of history, in India's immemorial past. It is in testimony of this and as a last homage to the
cultural heritage of India that I request that a handful of my ashes be thrown in the Ganga at
Allahabad, so that they may be borne to the vast ocean that bears on the shores of India."
(source: The India I Love - By Marie-Simone Renou p.128). Refer to If the Ganga lives, India
lives. If the Ganga dies, India dies - By Vandana Shiva
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Nature_Worship4.htm

In all the scripture Water is given a special place because it is believed to have spiritually cleansing powers. Water is
considered the first element of Panchabhutas. Rig Veda says that in the beginning, all was water, and there was
darkness which engulfed it. (Book X, Hymn 129, verse3). In fact Atharva Veda (XIX; hymn 2:1-2) gives very
significant place to water:
May the waters from the snowy mountains bring health and peace to all people. May the spring waters bring calm to

you. May the swift current be pleasing to you; and may the rains be a source of tranquility to all. May the waters of
oasis in desert be sweet to you; and so be the waters of ponds and lakes. May the waters from the wells dug by humans
be good to them, and may the healing powers of water be available to all beings.
All Hindus, especially rivers, consider water sacred and there are seven sacred rivers, namely the Ganges, Yamuna,
Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri. In fact the river Ganges is personified as a goddess, while
Saraswati River has been referred to as goddess in Vedas. Although Hinduism encompasses so many different beliefs
among those that most Hindus do share is the importance of striving to attain purity and avoiding pollution. This relates
to both physical cleanliness and spiritual well being.
The nature of water described is described in Rig-Veda as follows:
The waters which are from heaven
and which flow after being dug,
and even those that spring by themselves,
the bright pure waters which lead to the sea,
may those divine waters protect me here.
Rig Veda also described different forms of water; rain water, natural spring, wells and canals, lakes and rivers. It is
considered the source of healthy living and source of joy. Without water life cannot be sustained in human beings,
animals, vegetation, insects, worms, and birds. Water is considered sacred and nectar. Water should remain pure and
unpolluted if we have to get the benefit of medicinal, spiritual and cleansing value. The Padma Purana condemns the
pollution of water by saying the person who pollutes water ponds, wells or lakes goes to hell.
Almost all the holy places are located on the banks of rivers, coasts, seashores and mountains. For Hindus, morning
cleansing with water is a basic obligation. Water is used for all our worship services in the Temple including
abhishekam. Water charged with chanting of Mantras is distributed as Teertha. Traditionally tarpana is offered back into
the river reciting mantras. Every temple has a pond near it and devotees are supposed to take a bath or wash feet before
entering the temple.
Global Hindu Heritage Foundation; http://www.savehindutemples.blogspot.in/2011/02/ghhf-three-ngos-submit-detailed-report.html

Stones revered as Divine

Other Ancient Civilisations

Stones of various kinds and sizes have been invested with sacredness from the earliest times. The
worship of stones can be found in most ancient cultures, while sacred stones can be found in most
of the world's religions. In olden times all the Greeks worshipped unwrought stones instead of
images and thirty square stones stood near a spring sacred to Hermes or Pharae in Greece. The word
megalith in Greek was a combination of mega [large] and lith [stone] Beginning as early as
5000 BCE, large stones either unwrought or roughly worked were erected across prehistoric Europe
to stand in lines or in circles or otherwise arranged in conjunction with earthworks usually
identified as burial mounds. Similarly, the Beforo monument near Bouar in the Central African
Republic, the Tatetsuki stone circles standing the summit of a tumulus at Okayama in Japan, and the
moai statues on ceremonial platforms on Easter Island are also stones
The moving and arranging of massive stones into a building or some other configuration in a sacred
context also characterizes many early cultures around the globe, from the Ina in South America, to
the Egyptians and Mycenaeans.
Smaller individual stones can also become invested with the sacred. The Stone of Scone, also
known as the Coronation Stone or the Stone of Destiny, until very recently rested on a shelf beneath
the seat of the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey in London (it has now been returned to
Scotland. It is said that the stone could identify a rightful ruler of the country by emitting a loud cry.
Since the 13th century, every British king or queen (except for the first Mary) has been crowned
monarch while seated in this chair over this stone. The stone had been brought to London by order
of King Edward I from Scotland in 1297. In Scotland the stone had been kept at Scone Palace in
Perthshire where 34 successive Scottish kings had been crowned while seated upon it. According to
tradition, the stone had been brought to Scotland from Ireland where, up to that time the newly
crowned kings of Ireland had been crowned upon it on the Hill of Tara. Legend further explains that

the stone had come to Ireland from Judah in the 4th century BCE when the daughter of the last king
of Judah married into the Irish royal family. Previously, the stone had been kept in the Temple of
Jerusalem (cf Dome of the Rock) when the kings of Judah had been crowned upon it. Traditionally,
the stone is believed to be that which Jacob used as a pillow when he had his dream of angels at
Bethel.
Another example of a holy stone is the very sacred Black Stone (reddish black, with some red and
yellow particles ) inside the holy shrine of the Ka'ba [Ka'ba] at Mecca. It is thought that the Black
Stone, now in pieces (three large parts, with smaller fragments which are tied together with a silver
band), may be a meteor, or a piece of lava, or a piece of basalt. Its original diameter is estimated to
have been 30 cm. Besides the Black Stone, built into the western corner of the Ka'ba is less sacred
Stone of Good Fortune.
Stones and rocks in Japan were initially seen as symbols of mononoke (supernatural forces which
permeate matter and space). Later, an abstract, undifferentiated mononoke was replaced by more
definite animistic deities which resided in the stones and rocks. These rock abodes are called
iwakura. All over the precinct of the Shrine at Ise are rocks and stones which are venerated as the
abodes of deities, such as the subsidiary shrine at the Naiku called Takimatsuri-no-kami. Elsewhere
in Japan are many stones and stone arrangements representing the male and female principle, such
as the stone circle at Oyu in Akita Prefecture in Northeastern Japan. The emotional attachment to
natural stones, originally religion-inspired, has persisted in Japan and is manifest today in the
creation of richly symbolic and spiritual stone gardens.
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/stones.html

The modern world wakes up too late in 1970s about environmental and
ecological issues
While all ancient people had realised the mutually related and mutually dependent relation between nature and humans,
the contemporary [modern] civilisation, which had long ignored the traditional wisdom in its pursuit of economic
development, came to realise the risk of the serious loss of the mutually enriching relation between nature and humans a
bit late. It was as late in 1970, almost two hundred years after industrialism and modern economics redefined human
relation with nature to the determent of the latter, that the world woke up to the issue. In 1972 the United Nations
Conference on Human Environment [known as the Stockholm Conference] took place which proposed the concept of
sustainable development. Out of the conference was born the United Nations Environmental Programme [UNEP] to
develop and recommend environmentally-sound economic development programmes. In 1983 General Assembly
realized that there was heavy deterioration of the human environment and natural resources and appointed the World
Commission on Environment and Development WCED or what was known as the Bruntland commission. the
commission thus defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." "This commission believes that people can
build a future that is more prosperous, more just, and more secure. Our report is not a prediction of ever increasing
environmental decay, poverty and hardship in ever more decreasing resources. We see instead the possibility for a new
era of economic growth, one that must be based on policies that sustain and expand the environmental resource
base...We have the power to reconcile human affairs with the natural laws and to thrive in the process."

An additional outcome of the WCED report, was the United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED). A two-year series of preparatory meetings culminated in the Earth
Summit in Rio de Janeiro, June 1992. This marked the second meeting of world leaders to discuss
environmental and development issues and was substantially larger than it's predecessor the
Stockholm Conference held 20 years earlier. Over 100 heads of state and government attended the
Earth Summit and 170 nations sent delegations. As part of the Earth Summit, natinal leaders had an
opportunity to sign international conventions on climate change and biodiversity, a "Declaration of
Environment and Development" and an Agenda for the 21st Century (a.k.a. Agenda 21), which
sought to establish a concerted effort to educate people about the state of both environment and
development, and to assist them to make decisions that lead to sustainability. Chapter 28 of Agenda

21 (known as Local Agenda 21) states: "Local authorities construct, operate and maintain economic,
social and environmental infrastructure, oversee planning processes, establish local environmental
policies and regulations, and ...as the level of government closest to the people, they play a vital role
in educating, mobilizing and responding to the public to promote sustainable development."
In December 1997, more than 150 nations adopted a historic agreement known as the Kyoto
Climate Agreement to protect the earth's atmosphere and climate. This climate agreement was
established in Kyoto, Japan. For the first time, nations agreed to place legally binding limits to their
emissions of heat trapping greenhouse gases. 38 industrial nations agreed to to reduce their
emissions of six greenhouse gases to 5% below the 1990 emission levels by the year 2012. While
not a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, President Bush commits the US to an agressive strategy to cut
greenhouse gas intensity by 18% over the next 10 years. The Global Climate Change initiative also
supports vital climate change research and ensures that America's Workers and citizens of the
developing world are not unfairly penalized. Beginning in April 2001, preparation for the World
Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa took place
at the local, national, sub-regional, regional and global levels. Negotiations occurred addressing not
only Agenda 21, but also confronting new critical issues the world is facing in this century with
globalization. There were four global PrepComs held in preparation for WSSD. The World Summit
on Sustainable Development (WSSD) marked the 10-year anniversary of the 1992 Earth Summit,
the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
WSSD took place from August 26 - September 4, 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa. It presented
a timely opportunity for governments, United Nations' agencies, multilateral financial institutions,
NGOs, and civil society to reinvigorate their global commitment towards sustainable development.
Approximately 60,000 people from all over the world attended the Summit. The Summit resulted in
a series of commitments in five priority areas that were backed up by specific government
announcements on programs, and by partnership initiatives. The five priority areas included water,
energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula
Dobriansky identified U.S. objectives for the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development
(WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa."The United States intends to work in partnership with
governments, the private sector and NGOs to achieve sustainable development initiatives to reduce
the number of people living without safe drinking water; enhance access to clean energy, reduce
hunger and increase agricultural productivity; ensure universal access to basic education; stem
AIDS and reduce TB and malaria; and manage and conserve forests and oceans. "