Human survival vs inner and outer
Dialogue
Prof.N.Radhakrishnan
The symbiotic relationship between
man and nature
Man always lived in harmony with
Nature and what sustained him in all the crisis he faced in his profound,
courageous and determined march towards unraveling the mysteries of various kinds is his respect
for all forms of life around him. What has guided him in this long, very often
distressing and disappointing and at the same time lively search for identify,
is the realization of how everything in nature is dependent on one another.
This is the core of the ancient wisdom.
The oriental traditions have been
credited with established norms of determining Man’s behavior towards Nature
and its resources. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism and Confucianism have
all treated nature with respect and considered it as the source of Man’s
happiness. The Vedas which were considered to be the bedrock of Hindu religion
and philosophy provide a world view with regard to what is now generally called
the ecological situation. The Hindu religion’s concern for peace and harmony in
the environment is well reflected in the famous hymn to the Earth in the Yajurved:
May there be peace in the celestial region
May
there be peace in the atmosphere
May peace reign on earth
May the waters be soothing
May
the herbs be soothing
May the plants be source of peace to
all
In Rigveda,
the sky is called father and the earth mother. The emphasis has been laid in
many hymns in the other Vedas and epics which for part of the Hindu literary
tradition. When the sky and earth are treated like the father and mother it is
meant to establish a symbolic relationship with the other objects of Nature
thereby constituting what can be called the Universal family of animals and
plants. From this, a theory of not only interdependence but respect for each
other and the need to protect everything in nature has been developed over the
years thought this emphasis got diluted later leading to not only exploitation
but even utter neglect of nature. Mahabharata advocated the protection of trees
with utmost priority. Bhishma’s advice to the Pandava brothers is:
“Although
trees are solid, they have the properties of the sky. They have life, they
flower and bear fruit. They feel warmth and get dry when the sun is too hot and
water is scarce. It shows that they have a sense of touch. Fruits and flowers
of the tree fall down under the effect of thunder, air and fire…. The bad smell
of pollution makes them suffer as it changes their colour and flavor. It shows
that they can smell. They have sensory nerves. They take water from the roots.
If they have any disease the sprinkling of medicine cures them. On cutting them
they feel sorrow and when new branches appear they feel happy. This shows that
they have sense to feel happiness and sorrow and have sensory nerves”.
Worshipping of trees became a
tradition and most of the villages in India had Vriksha Devta (Goddes of tree) and Sacred Groves. Tradition has it
that in tribal belts there were instances of women marrying trees.
Where did the drift begin?
The votaries of modernism, while they
scoff at the ancient way of living describing it barbaric or jungle life, seem
to have forgotten the fact that it is this very system that gave them all the
tools that they are using now to decry the worth of the foundation on which
they stand. The problem with modern man is that he now thinks that he is the
conqueror of the universe and that he has the proprietary rights over whatever
he has conquered and this attitude appears to be guiding him in most of his
endeavours.
This self-centered philosophy, and the
systems he has developed on the basis of this outlook- the hallmark of which is
the belief that nature has unlimited resources for all time to come-govern
modern man’s style of functioning. All of us who were lulled into the newly
acquired instruments of liberation which science and technology put in our
hands are rudely awakened by the alarm bells ringing all around now. From the
Himalayan heights of materialistic comforts and beliefs we are being led to the
abyss of all round environmental pollution, ecological devastation, ozone
depletion, green house effect and so on, creating waves of shock in all
thinking men and women.
The need for developing a
nonviolent ecology
The importance of the ecosystem which
was uppermost in the minds of our forefathers, in maintaining the quiet rhythm
and symphony of life ( not in the musical sense) has become a thing of past. We
had a sustainable ecosystem which was rooted in a nonviolent ecology. Thus
nonviolent ecology refers to a society which is economically and socially just,
ecologically sustainable, non-killing and compassionate in relating to its
environment.
Many people argue that since violence
is part of life, we need not worry about it. They find it to be inherent and
pervasive in nature and in human nature. One major point is that violence and
nonviolence are relative rather than absolute conditions. Some regions are
prone to violent forces in nature such as hurricanes or earthquakes, however,
there are other regions in which such violent forces are negligible or even
absent. Competitions and predation between animal species can be violent, however,
there are also nonviolent relations between species such as mutualism.
Ecocentric rather than
anthropocentric
Buddhism is ecocentric rather than
anthropocentric since it views humans as an integral part of nature. Buddhism
focuses on the interaction of mind and nature through the three practices of
direct knowing, discriminating awareness and deep compassion:
By cultivating these three practices,
one’s actions in relation to the environment come to be based in relationship
and interconnectedness, rather than in dualistic subject-object modes of
separation. Through this approach, one’s orientation to the world is
fundamentally altered from dominant species to member of a community, from part
to process.
While environmentalism emphasizes
that natural resources are limited, Buddhism is more direct in encouraging
individuals to limit their resources consumption to the optimal satisfaction of
the four basic needs of food, clothing, shelter and medicine. This vantage
point renders ecology a very concrete and personal matter.
We should deal with nature the way
we should deal with ourselves! We should not harm ourselves, we should not harm
nature. Harming nature is harming ourselves, and vice-versa. If we knew how to
deal with our self and with our fellow human beings, we should know how to deal
with nature. Human beings and nature are inseparable. Therefore, by not caring
property for any one of these, we harm them all.
The
Buddhist ethics and its relevance today
The key to Buddhist ethics is the
primacy of the mind. The Dhammapada
begins with the words: “ All we are is
the result of what we have thought” (Smith 1958: 121). From positive thoughts flow positive actions and positive consequences,
whereas from negative thoughts flow negative actions and negative consequences.
Furthermore, the actions of an individual in the present life can influence the
next one as well. The source of suffering is in the individual, and likewise
the source of happiness is in the individual. Enlightenment derives from the
understanding of this elemental reality (Saddhatissa 1970:33).Wisdom and
morality are mutually reinforcing (Saddhatissa 1970: 123-124). Accordingly,
Buddhism would encourage the cultivation of environmental understanding through
education as well as the practice of environmental ethics as basis for a
nonviolent ecology.
Since
the first negative precept extends to all life, it includes forms such as
insects which are not usually includes forms such as insects which are not
usually identified as a concern of environmentalists. Also because of this
precept normally Buddhism would not be involved in the kind of violence which
is sometimes practiced by radical environmentalists (Manes 1990)
A
nonviolent ecology would realize its ideals through its actions toward all life
forms, even those which are violent towards humans or nature. Education and
persuasion rather than violent confrontation would be used to reach those
humans who degrade or threaten other humans and / or nature.
It also depends on following the
Middle Way of detachment and moderation, while satisfying basic needs and
avoiding greed. Meditation on nature is an important part of this process of
reaching nirvana-the union with nature through the extinction of ego and of all
mortal cravings. Thus Buddhism would not blame the ecocrisis of science,
technology, industry, business, advertising, government, or some other
amorphous scapegoat. Rather it would view the ecocrisis as the product of the
collective behaviour of individuals who are driven by circumstance, ignorance,
and/or greed instead of by wisdom, need, moderation, compassion and
nonviolence.
All of us are quite familiar
with what has been happening within and outside us – in the troposphere in the
cosmic world, in the planetary positions where exists the fight between spirit
and matter. From the 18th century, science has established a greater
hold on the pace at which humanity has been interpreting itself through
physical developments. That was when science and technology revealed their
tremendous power to alter the rhythm of human life.
Need to foster the inner and outer dialogue
While science and technology
have offered us tremendous material advancement, the
problem remains as to where humanity is heading for. What is happening to the
individual, to the inner dialogue, the perpetual debate between the inner and
outer dialogue, the inner man and outer man, the inner woman and the
outer
woman, the inner human being and the outer human being? The best example is of
what happened in Gujarat in India in 2000 when nature which has been protecting
us with all its power to recreate, sustain, develop, shape and control, all
along, turned its fury on man.
The manner in which things are
happening – earthquakes, floods and droughts, changes in the troposphere,
atmosphere and in other areas, force us to ask few questions. Questions, which
are disturbing, those which we don’t want to ask, and are afraid of asking
Where do we go from here? What is in store for humanity? We hear people talking
about the role of religion, particularly those who call themselves
intellectuals, who take pride in asserting that religion is dead, that it has
no role in present day society which is essentially based on science and technology.
The world is proud of its IT achievements but what about this world itselt? Let us not be fooled into believing that IT is
going to solve all our problems.
The
oneness of the Living being and its Environment?
When do we realize the oneness of the Living Being and its Environment? Unless
and until we move away from our obsession with material growth and restructure
our priorities on the basis of basic moral considerations all our talks, all
the international agreements and covenants would remain as scraps of paper
exchanged between suave diplomats. Environmental conservation has to become a
central issue concerning the very survival of not only human race but the
entire universe itself.
Is there anything more
frightening than to be told that the earth’s forest covers are fast
disappearing, the blue waters of the oceans that surround the earth are getting
more and more polluted thereby the marine products which cater more than a half
of humanity’s food requirements are either getting repleted or threatened,
earth’s canopy, namely the sky is developing holes which would increase several
folds the temperature of the earth? To put more fright we are now told that
there are signs of ice melting in the polar regions which would eventually
increase the level of seas which in turn would spell disaster of an
unimaginable scale. The tragedy is, still the humanity, is unmoved and
unconcerned, notwithstanding the much-hyped Earth Summits and other international
gatherings on Sustainable Development. While whatever is happening to highlight
the danger looming large on humanity is to be appreciated, they suffer from a
basic lacuna : they highlight only the material and physical aspects while the
spiritual relationship of all creations and their organic relationship with
Nature are either ignored or side-tracked. People are to be encouraged to take
environmental issues as their personal concern. In order to drive home the
importance of our common future, all efforts are to be harmonized keeping in
view of the holistic nature of the problem. The spiritual and cultural aspects
of survival cannot be under-estimated or ignored in the din of economic progress our
obsession with money and material progress.
The lessons forgotten by modern
planners
The
law of growth presupposes that any growth will be subject to the innumerable
constant factors which govern human life. Modern planners seem to have
forgotten the simple truth that while something ought to be growing others
ought to be diminishing. Unlimited material consumption in a finite world is an
impossibility, as
Schumacher points out. Gandhi demonstrated convincingly the need to live a life
in harmony with nature. The efforts of the Soka Gakkai International under the leadership of Dr Daisaku Ikeda
reinforces in contemporary times the validity of the Gandhian assertion of this
essential truth.
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