Peace on Earth: Man and Environment: A Symbiotic Bond

By Pramod Pathak  

Concern for the environment is not new. Since ancient times people have known the importance of preserving it. The worshipping of trees and rivers, animals and birds was not based on superstition; it had a scientific basis. Even the Mahabharata offers lessons on symbiosis.

The tradition of sanctifying various trees and plants dates back to the Vedic period. Though wood as a fuel was a basic need and trees in general were treated with care and respect, some trees such as the Peepal, Banyan and Neem, commanded more respect than others. The Tulsi (Basil) plant was grown in every household in the centre of the courtyard and ritually watered. The rituals served an important purpose - they made people aware of the environment and its importance and so indirectly helped preserve and nurture it.

Today, we desperately need to revive interest in and respect for the environment. We need to make the effort to find out and understand the basic principles behind the rituals, traditions and customs that were essential elements of ancient civilisations. The worshipping of trees and bushes, rivers and ponds, animals and birds just emphasised their importance for human survival. Religion was used largely to ensure community participation in all those practices that would lead to the maintenance of ecological balance.

In Bihar, for instance, during the Chhath festival, devotees are required to stand in waist-deep water while paying obeisance to the Sun-god. This festival ensures community participation in maintaining ponds and lakes. Thus, collective action in maintaining water resources led to their preservation as reservoirs. Similarly, the Vedic prescription that planting and watering trees is a holy practice that propitiates God, ensured plant propagation. It was participation that worked with religion acting as the incentive.

Without peoples"involvement, no amount of effort can help sustain the environment. What has gone wrong today is that this essential element, the 'peoples"dimension"is largely neglected. Religion was an effective social marketing tool that was used to involve people in environment management. Today environment management has become the responsibility of governments; of technocrats, scientists and now industry.

The environmental degradation we see all around us today is also the result of our casual attitude towards any kind of collective responsibility. This is reflected in an old Indian parable: Once, a small village had no rainfall for a long time. As wells and reservoirs began drying up worried villagers were advised by their village chief to propitiate the rain god. The villagers assembled at the central well for prayers. A loud voice from the well commanded that each village household should pour a bucket of milk in the well at midnight. The villagers agreed. The village chief, however, thought that he could get away with pouring just a bucket of water - after all, who would know? So he quietly poured water instead of milk and went to bed.

In the morning when the villagers peeped into the well, they found not a drop of milk there. Everybody had done exactly what the village chief had done. Besides the point that it was just as well that the well got some water this way, the point is that no one really bothered about sticking to the collective decision taken that day - each one acted independently, and dishonestly.

We need to recognise that the dynamic interaction between man and nature is continuous and calls for regular monitoring. Recognising environment-related problems as 'ours"and not 'theirs"is the first step towards strengthening the man-nature bonding.

.

.

See also: Peace of Mind, Peace on Earth, Life and Beyond, Love and Happiness, Body Mind and Soul)