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INTRODUCTION
Human beings are never alone as a species in the Universe. They are also inter-connected with the Earth, Sun, Moon and other planets orbiting in their appointed domains. In the ultimate reality, nothing remains unconnected in the cosmos. Ecology is the study of each individual’s and each species’ or association of species’ requirements and their limits of tolerance in relation to environmental factors.
Human beings have been interested in ecology since the beginning of civilization. Even our ancient scriptures have included practices and values related with ecological and environmental conservation. The concept of ecological and environmental conservation “enters into every form of religion…. It rests on the earliest conceptions of the unity of life in nature, in the sense of communion and fellowship with the divine centre and source of life…”.
At the time when her history began, India was a land of vast forests. Those forests not only administered to the daily needs of the people, giving them shelter from heat of the sun and ravages to storms, green pastures for cattle and abundant fuel for sacrificial and architectural purposes, but they also made a permanent impression on the minds of the people.
Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the natural environment on individual, organizational or governmental levels, for the benefit of both the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and technology, the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently. This has been recognized, and governments have begun placing restraints on activities that cause environmental degradation. Since the 1960s, activity of environmental movements has created awareness of the various environmental issues. There is no agreement on the extent of the environmental impact of human activity, and protection measures are occasionally criticized.
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Large cities with thousands of steaming, polluting planets and factories can be found nowadays all over the world. The by-products of their activity affect all living beings. Much is spoken now about acid rain, global warming and ozone depletion caused by tons of harmful substances emitted by industrial enterprises.
Academic institutions now offer courses, such as environmental studies, environmental management and environmental engineering, that teach the history and methods of environment protection. But many of us do not know that protection of the environment has been stressed from the Vedic Period onwards in our Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) codes.
Environmental protection is influenced by three interwoven factors: environmental legislation, ethics and education. Each of these factors plays its part in influencing national-level environmental decisions and personal-national-level environmental values and behaviors.
The protection and preservation of environment is integral to the culture and religion of most human communities; nature is seen as an essential part of the society at large.
From the earliest days of the Hindu civilization, reverence for the environment has been an integral part of Hindu society. Our ancient forefathers perceived God’s presence around them through nature; they considered the natural forces which affected their lives as manifestations of the Supreme Being or God named Brahman.
People worship trees, mountains, rivers, and they worship the universe, the spiritual world. Now it is all gone. Hinduism can save the world from global annihilation. Hinduism has the potency and the power. But today people don't pay attention to our great ones.
Hinduism contains numerous references to the worship of the divine in nature in its Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Sutras, and its other sacred texts. Millions of Hindus recite Sanskrit mantras daily to revere their rivers, mountains, trees, animals, and the earth.
It is not true to say that the Vedas are a series of sacred texts used in religious rituals and sacrifices. The Vedas are essentially archetypal poetry of high literary value. They are mythical in nature and their language is symbolic. Being mythical, they have multiple meanings, and, therefore everyone seeks their requirement in accordance with the archetypal truths of the Vedas.
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There are a number of references about forests, trees and gardens (vatikas) made in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Our Rishis/Munis loved to live far from the towns and they had their ashrams built in the forests. It is believed that our Rishis used to rear trees as their own because trees absorb harmful gases such as carbon dioxide and emit life giving oxygen (pranavayu) for the benefit of human beings. Thus trees are the life-line (prana) of all life on this earth.
Our rishis had foreseen the environmental degradation. They had even thought of ways for keeping the environment clean and under control. They never allowed any imbalance to occur in environment. The Vedas talk about self-realization by way of various ‘yajnas’ for keeping the environment clean and free from insects. The effect of many pollutants and harmful materials could be got rid of by performing ’yajnas’.
The Vedas prohibit wasting or polluting water and natural resources. They prescribe that villages and towns should be surrounded by trees and forests.
A verse from Rig-Veda says, “Thousands and Hundreds of years if you want to enjoy the fruits and happiness of life, then take up systematic planting of trees”. These verses carry a message to desist from inflicting any injury to the earth and embark upon constant a forestation for survival or else the ecological balance of the earth would be jeopardized.
Hymn IX of Book 10 of Rig Veda is dedicated to Water. The hymn recognizes the life giving ability of water, not only physically but also spiritually. The prayer concludes that plentiful supply of pure water be always available.
Further, Rig Veda 1.6.3 states: "Nature's beauty is an art of God. Let us feel the touch of God's invisible hands in everything beautiful. By the first touch of His hand rivers throb and ripple. When He smiles the sun shines, the moon glimmers, the stars twinkle, the flowers bloom. By the first rays of the rising sun, the universe is stirred; the shining gold is sprinkled on the smiling buds of rose; the fragrant air is filled with sweet melodies of singing birds, the dawn is the dream of God's creative fancy."
The Yajurveda too mentions about plants and animals, the ill effects of cutting the trees; and the poisoning of the atmosphere; but it also discusses about energy relations of the global ecosystem. “No persons should kill animals helpful to air” (Y.V.13.37).
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The Atharvana Veda says that "Let there be peace in the heavens, the Earth, the atmosphere, the water, the herbs, the vegetation, among the divine beings and in Brahman, the absolute reality. Let everything be at peace and in peace. Only then will we find peace."
Although there was as such no concept of the word “Pollution” those days, but it was referred in terms of “Poisoning” of environment. In the verse 18.17 it recalls that three things cover the universe the air, water and the plants and they are essential for all lives on earth to exist. “Plants and herbs destroy poisons (pollutants)” (A.V.8.7.10); “Purity of atmosphere checks poisoning (pollution)” (A.V.8.2.25).
The Vedic Hymn to the Earth, the Prithvi Sukta in Atharva Veda, is unquestionably
the oldest and the most evocative environmental invocation. In it, the Vedic seer solemnly declares the enduring filial allegiance of humankind to Mother Earth: 'Mata Bhumih Putroham Prithivyah: Earth is my mother, I am her son.' Mother Earth is celebrated for all her natural
bounties and particularly for her gifts of herbs and vegetation. Her blessings are sought for prosperity in all endeavours and fulfilment of all righteous aspirations. A covenant is made that humankind shall secure the Earth against all environmental trespass and shall never let her be oppressed.
A soul-stirring prayer is sung in one of the hymns for the preservation and conservation of hills, snow-clad mountains, and all brown, black and red earth, unhurt, un-smitten, unwounded, unbroken and well defended by Indra.
The Vedic seers regarded the Earth as 'sacred space' for the consecrated endeavours and aspirations of humankind and for the practice of restraint and responsibility. This affirmative view of the inviolable sacred space in human consciousness is integral to the Vedas and the Upanishads. On it rests the Vedic vision of a world filled with the purity of the spiritual environment and the sanctity of environmental spirituality and morality.
The Vedas therefore, advise become divine bureaucrats of God to save this divine planet from social, moral and physical pollution.
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The Upanishads explains the interdependence of these elements in relation to Brahman, the supreme reality, from which they arise: “From Brahman arises space, from space arises air, from air arises fire, from fire arises water, and from water arises earth.”
The Isha-Upanishad has revealed the secrets of existence of life on earth and the importance of every organism for mutual survival.
Here is a hymn from Isha Upanishad: "Everything in the universe belongs to the Supreme God. Therefore take only what you need, that is set aside for you. Do not take anything else, for you know to whom it belongs".
Thus, in the Mudaka Upanishad the divine is described as follows: “Fire is head, his eyes are the moon and the sun; The regions of space are his ears, his voice the revealed Veda, The wind is his breadth, his heart is the entire universe, The earth is his footstool, Truly he is the inner soul of all.”
We have 18 main Puranas and 18 Sub-Puranas. All Puranas contain messages related to conservation of environment. For example, in Narasimhapuranam mentioned that killing of birds for eating was prohibited. “O, wicket men, if you kill a bird then you are bathing in a river, pilgrimage, worship and yagnas are all useless”. In the Skanta Purana, “The inhabitants of a house which has sacred basil (Ocimum sanctum-Tulsi plant) are fortunate.
In Varah Purana (172.39) says that “One who plants a peepal (Ficus religiosa), one neem (Azadirachta indica), one Banyan (Ficus benghalensis), two pomegranates (Punica grantum), two orange (Citrus reticulate), five Mango trees (mangifera indica) and ten flowering plants or creepers shall never go the hell’. The Matsya Purana mentions about ‘Vanamahotsava Festival’.
In Padma Purana (56.40-41) ‘the cutting of a green tree is an offence punishable in hell.’ Further, the Padmapurana warns: "A person who is engaged in killing creatures, polluting wells, and ponds and tanks, and destroying gardens, certainly goes to hell."
(Padmapurana, Bhoomikhanda96.7-8)
Valmiki Ramayana is the First Poem (Adi Kavya) in Sanskrit language. The interaction between man and nature is quite evident throughout the Poem. The very first instance which formed the source of the Epic poem is the episode of Valmiki cursing a hunter who shot down a heron bird when it was in union with the female counterpart. The following verse bursts forth from the mouth of Valmikiwhich became the “first” verse to be composed by a man:
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Yat Krauncha-mithunaad ekam avaadheeh kaama-mohitam ||
“O hunter! You will not live for long since you shot down the male one out of a pair of
heron birds as it was making love.”.
This suggests the importance attached to the preservation of life in forests. None was entitled to kill any animal, bird or animal in the vicinity of the tapovana (penance groves) or even the forests unless it was absolutely necessary.
During the Ramayana age there were dense forests e.g., Chitrakoota, Naimishaaranya, Dandakaranya, Panchavati etc., which abounded in wild life. A very interesting and eventful part
of Rama’s life is associated with his wanderings in the dense forests of India.
Trees are treated with great respect because, like all living things, trees have an atman or soul.
The holy scripture Bhagavatam (Volume 2, Chapter 1, Verses 32-33) says, "The air is His breath, the trees are the hairs of His body, The oceans His waist, the hills and mountains are His bones, The rivers are the veins of the Cosmic Being (Brahman), His movements are the passing of ages".
In The Bhagavad Gita, sloka 20, Chapter 10, Lord Krishna says, "I am the Self seated in the heart of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and the very end of all beings". All beings have, therefore to be treated alike."
Further, Bhagavad Gita 3:12 says that: For, so sustained by sacrifice, the gods will give you the food of your desire. Whoso enjoys their gift, yet gives nothing, is a thief, no more, no less.
In the Charak Samhita, destruction of forests is taken as destruction of the state, and reforestation an act of rebuilding the state and advancing its welfare. Protection of animals is considered a sacred duty.
The Mahabharata hints that the basic elements of nature constitute the Cosmic Being -- the mountains His bones, the earth His flesh, the sea His blood, the sky His abdomen, the air His breath and agni (fire) His energy.
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Hinduism has revered the tree for thousands of years. Official seals from the Indus Valley civilization (circa 3000 BC) depict the tree as a powerful symbol of abundance. King Ashoka (304 – 232 BC) created laws and edicts for the protection of forests.
By recognizing the five elements that were essential for life and elevating every species of plant and animal to sanctity, Ancient Indians recognized and respected the importance of biodiversity. But today people pollute and destroy with impunity. The earth and its bounties are sacred creations. Unless we revere them and revive a respect for their sanctity, we have little chance of saving them.
The protection of forests as sacred forests and of several tree species as sacred trees belongs to the religion-based conservation ethos of ancient people all over the world. Although such practices became extinct in most parts of the world, basically due to changes in religion, and during recent times due to changes in resource use patterns, conserving sacred forests continue to be of much importance in religion, culture and resource use systems in many parts of India.
IMPACTS OF RELIGION ACTIVITIES AS ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
“Waters have healing powers, they drive disease away; they have a balm for all, let them make medicines (RV, X; 137; 6, 7); this reminds us of the fact that water is the substance that has the greatest dissolving power. A very large amount of substances are water soluable.”
The above suktam has been mistakenly understood by our people. Sometime our rituals have become restricted to festivals without a trace of the spiritual core. The archetypal example is that of pollution of rivers. Ganga and Yamuna, the most revered of all the rivers, have been polluted beyond imagination and all in the name of reverence. From immersion of bodies to mass bathing on auspicious occasions like Kumbh and Ardh-Kumbh, several activities have led to a phenomenal increase in the microorganism content of the water, as indicated by the biological oxygen demand.
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Immersion of bodies is another major problem, as can be seen at cities situated along the banks of the Ganga. In towns like Varanasi, one can easily come across a dead body even when the river is almost flooded. Several times, the reason for this is economic as the overall cost of the last rites is beyond the means of poor people. "However, even some rich people, who can easily afford to cremate their dead according to the norm, do not do it.
The problem of pollution is also linked to the immersion of idols after worship. With growing urbanization and increase in population, worship is increasingly becoming an individual affair wherein each family has its own idol, unlike in the past, when festivals like Dusshere Festival, Ganpati Utsav were a social affair with the community participating as a whole.
With the thousands of idols that are immersed every year in the lakes, nearly a hundred tonnes of soil is added to the lakes. Not only the the Hindu rituals that are polluting the lake but also when Muslims observe the day of Moharram, tazia s (elaborately decorated representations
of the tomb of Husain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammed) are immersed in the lakes. This makes the lakes abundant with materials like clay, hay, cloth, paper, bamboo, wood, adhesive material and soluble/non-soluble paints containing various chemicals. In addition to the biodegradable material polluting the lakes, heavy metals like cadmium, chromium and zinc have also been detected in the lakebed making the air noxious.
Further, a study shows that the levels of air pollutants like sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, suspended particulate matter and carbon monoxide rise substantially during Deepawali, further deteriorating the ambient air quality.
A potential health hazard, noise pollution levels also register a substantial increase during Deepawali. A more common sources of noise pollution - also linked mostly to religious occasions - are the blaring loudspeakers that are put up on several religious festivals, in particular during Durga Puja.
Yet another festival, Holi, is showing how Hindus have drifted away from their culture and traditions. A festival of colours which follows the harvest of the rabi crop and the arrival of spring - just as Deepawali celebrates the harvest of the kharif crop - Holi was characterised by
natural colours extracted from plants.
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Although people from different backgrounds cite different causes for the deplorable spiritual state of Hindus, there is unanimity on one count: the increasing commercialization that is leading to degradation of values and ethics."All this is the gift of the so-called civilisation," says R R Pandey, professor of philosophy at the BHU. According to him, factors like globalisation have led to increased commercialization of our traditions and rituals. People cannot see beyond money.
"The decline in values has led to increased greed and corruption. This, in turn, has made us forget our stewardship towards nature, leading to exploitation and degradation of the environment.”
What has led to commercialization of values? "The traditions and scriptures have been misunderstood and misinterpreted. This can be the problem with a primarily ritualistic tradition. The rituals might remain, but the values might decline.”
Authorities tend to ignore environmental issues linked with religion, fearing that they might hurt the religious sentiments. Further, religious teachers keeping people in the dark about the scientific aspects of things. How will Hinduism face up to the challenges of the changing world in the new millennium?
According to Swami Sevak Charan of the Sri Vrindavan Conservation Project, teachings relating our traditions to the environment should be incorporated in school syllabi. "All these things have to be institutionalised," "Nature was the centre of everything. The deities and gods were symbols of natural forces. Some things were made mandatory to ensure that people follow them in the name of religion and help keep things in balance." If India is to have a clean and healthy environment, it is imperative that the spiritual force of Hinduism - hidden under the garb of polluting rituals - is brought to the fore again.
VEDAS, ENVIRONMENT AND POLLUTION
Hence, our activities are mainly responsible for deterioration of the environment today. The factors responsible for environmental pollution are uncontrolled population, urbanization, industrialization, pesticides, automobiles, excessive noise and deforestation.
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The depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer and the consequent adverse effects on human health, plant and animal life and ecosystems in general are some of the most serious environmental issues that concern all nations.
Keeping this dreadful situation in view, scientists and other experts are trying to find solutions to counter the imminent threat to environment. It is incumbent on our industrialists and politicians to take concrete steps to minimize damage to environment. Practical solutions need to be found to check environmental pollution.
Domestic and industrial harmful wastes should not be let into rivers and other water sources. Over the years, the rivers have become polluted and if this trend continues, drinking water, a basic need of life, will become scarce. Forests and trees need to be protected at all costs as these check soil erosion and control floods.
We should clearly aware and sensitive to the need to maintain an ecological balance between human activities and the beauty and proliferation of nature. Our policy should be aimed at responsible environmental protection; our objective is to prevent any type of contamination in our operations, as well as producing minimum impact in the places where we have our excursions. One of our main concerns should be not to affect the ecosystem of the flora that is endemic to the region nor alter any reproduction processes of local fauna.
Good environment is also essential to ensure basic human rights, even the right to life, for no human right can be secured in a degraded environment. Misuse of our natural resources, a key environmental issue, has direct impact on fundamental human rights such as right to food, right to water, right to air and right to life itself. It is important to draw linkages between environment and human rights to further build bridges between legislations relating to the two.
All these rights have an essential relationship with the environment of a human being. If we look at society from a historical perspective, the importance of protection and preservation of environment integral to the cultural and religious ethos of humanity can be ascertained. Although human beings are considered the most intelligent life form on earth, they are responsible for most of the damage done to planet earth.
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The Vedas deal exhaustively with the splendors of the cosmos in a wholesome manner. They unravel the mysteries of the vast and unexplored forests. The earth is upheld by stationary Sun, sunrays which revolve like deer is protected by people following Rta (Cosmic Laws of Necessity). There is a prayer O men: collect heroes who will help in the preservation of land (RV 5-75-11). Vedas told the mankind that Earth (Prithvi) moves very
fast on its subtle axle which does not get rusted and gives no jerks to animate and inanimate life/things. Earth produces medicinal herbs which make bodies of human beings and animals disease less. (RV 5-74-3)
