The conversation I had with a Hindu priest opened new doors for me and humbled in ways words cannot comprehend. I felt truly enlightened not just by the thought process that had gone into making any religion, but by the simple fact that there is so much we humans can do and all these things are easy and simple to do.
Hinduism is not a religion, it is a way of life encompassing multiple paths and scriptures to guide humans and show them the most must way to live. The religion believes in concepts of Dharma and Karma which imply that you actions have a huge impact on your life ahead. The religions core values revolve around simplicity and non violence.
Here are some excerpts from the very interesting conversation I had with Pandit Mahesh.
When I asked Pandit about the relationship between nature and man in Hinduism, he started by pointing out that nature and man are one. Hindus believe that there is God in everything and everyone, there is God in every pillar and every post. There is God in you and in me. The religion believes we are one with the infinite God (Brahman). Hindus do a lot to be in unison with the almighty. The scared textures and scriptures of Hinduism, be it the vedas, the upanishads or the bhagavat gita; all talk about the responsibilities one has to nature. Hindu mantras or chants thanks nature in all its forms. There was even a movement called the chipko movement in which people hugged trees to prevent them from getting hurt. Earth can be seen as a Goddess in many hindu temples (bhoomadevi), the five elements or Panchabhootas: fire, water, air, space and earth are also seen as gods in the religion. Rivers are also worshiped as gods in the religion and it is seen that rivers are considered to be pure and very sacred. A lot of locals and tribals who understand the true meaning of the religion do their best to preserve the ecosystem and environment.
Another major factor is that everything in Hinduism is tied to the karma theory. If one harms the environment, that person will face the wrath of nature. Moral and just behaviour creates good karma. The religion also encourages non-violence (ahimsa). Ahimsa teaches humans not to hurt anything in any form and also encourages simple lifestyles which in turn helps save the environment. Hindus are taught to waste less and use less.
The religion recognized the concept of global warming centuries ago. This concept was called pralaya and ways in which the pralaya can be prevented have been taught to hindu children from when they are born. The hindu declaration on climate change suggests that we cannot destroy mother nature without destroying ourselves first. The declaration states that we cannot solely rely on governments to take action, but must shoulder the responsibility ourselves. It is also mentioned in the declaration that climate change causes pain and suffering and we must do everything in our power to prevent climate change.
Although I agree that the hindu sentiment is good and positive and in its true spirit followers of the religion wouldn’t allow for any harm to mother nature, I do think that in its current state the religion is not doing a lot of help with the environment. A lot of milk is wasted everyday at hindu temples, hindu temples even have a lot of water being wasted and temples are also often seen wasting food. I think the religious leaders in the religion are slowly becoming aware of their shortcomings and rectifying their mistakes. For example, Sri Sri Ravishankar, a hindu religious leader had a campaign to clean an entire river and Sadguru from the isha foundation has also taken up not one, but multiple environmental causes. There have been turn off your lights campaigns and multiple environment campaigns conducted by these leaders and other leaders are following suit.
I think the best way forward is to spread awareness about the religion and its core essence to the common public so that they are aware of what they are and are not supposed to do. Temples can also take more ownership of their impact on the environment and see what they can do to help the society rather than harming it.
Simple steps can be taken by the followers of this religion to make life on earth better. For example, they can use less oil while performing poojas and other religious ceremonies, water and other resources can be controlled.