Religious Beliefs and Attitude Towards Conservation of Natural Resources: A Philosophical Study

Abstract

The environmental changes that we see today are the result of our own interference in the nature and our attempt to control it. Most of the environmental problems faced now are caused by man himself. Earlier when man used to live in harmony with the nature, there was a certain respect and fear of the nature as is evident from the many religious traditions and philosophies in the world. In every religion in the world, nature found the place of the mother or the giver of life. However, with the advancement of technology, man developed a sort of god complex and started exploiting the nature for its own good. But it failed to realise that defiling that on which his life depends will in turn cause harm to him. Until recently, people were not aware of, or did not take seriously the harmful effects of economic development on the environment. In recent years, however, due to the warnings rounded by science about an impending ecological imbalance, philosophy became intensively aware of the environment we live in, and much attention has been paid on issues related to it. Thus, today, the movements to conserve environment have gained momentum throughout the world. Felling down of trees even trimmings or converting them into pollards – ignites strong sentiments. A nuclear experiment or emission of industrial effluents into rivers precedes protest marches and strong letters to editors. In each one of them, the issue is the deleterious effect of technology on habitat. The question that occupies our attention is how we should save our habitat? Hence, the need for the revival of the old religious philosophies and environmental ideologies is needed. In this article, we try to highlight some texts and archaeological evidences of ancient India which can eminently reflect the perspectives of environment, forest and biodiversity conservation of our forefathers.