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ॐ नमः अनिरुद्ध सरस्वती
What Makes Humans Unique?
Is it our capacity for thought and emotions? While complex thought on this planet is indeed a human phenomenon developed through social contact, nearly every animal is capable of at least certain rudimentary emotions and intelligence in line with evolution.
Is it our industrious nature and dexterous attitude? Ants, bees and termites amongst others are far more industrious than humans relatively in their own lives.
Is it because we are God’s greatest creation and lord of everything below us? Being on a tiny dust speck rotating eliptically around an ordinary star in a far flung corner of the galaxy, we should not harbour such fraudulent theories in mind.
According to Hindu darśanas, the distinguishing faculty that humans possess is the faculty of Viveka: the ability to navigate Dharma while avoiding Adharma. Beyond ordinary thought, viveka is cultivated through śikśa, and this is the ability which advances one on the path of Mokśa. Any society that trusts in the liberation theory (Mokśa) as opposed to the salvation theory (Judgement), embodies two (non-exclusive) characteristics: It acknowledges the sacred unity of all life, emanating from the Parā (Ultimate source) and returning back to it. Secondly, it does not suffer from the delusion of an eternal material Hereafter, which licenses the abuse of the Here.
The Ṛṣis of Bhārata had laid down a 4-step framework of Puruśārtha, namely: Dharma, Artha, Kāma and Mokśa, based on which all human desires were sought to be harmoniously addressed. Although this framework was not the only option around, most other paths (Astika and Nastika) returned to this sustainable Vedic path on their own in due time, which is why this path was called Sanātana.1
After monopolistic ideologies started gaining ground in certain parts of West Asia two millennia ago, much of the world was slowly engulfed in a state of toxic ignorance called the Dark Ages. Its indoctrinating effect was total, and even when it diluted in Europe post their Renaissance, it left its imprint in various spheres. One such imprint was the reductionist approach incorporated into science. Ruthlessly shredding an object into its base ingredients so as to learn its inner workings was the hallmark of this approach, and this method took a heavy toll on our humanity.
The effects of imposing this model (unlimited growth) on reality as a whole, human and social, are seen in the deterioration of the environment, but this is just one sign of a reductionism which affects every aspect of human and social life. We have to accept that technological products are not neutral, for they create a framework which ends up conditioning lifestyles and shaping social possibilities along the lines dictated by the interests of certain powerful groups. Decisions which may seem purely instrumental are in reality, decisions about the kind of society we want to build.2
The resulting material advancement aggravated our thirst for knowledge, but we damaged the entire ecosystem in our misdirected quest.
The Dhārmika Way
We know everything because we begin by knowing ourselves.3
-Ancient Indian Darśanik Iarchus to Greek philosopher Apollonius during the latter’s sojourn in India.
The word environmental first originated in the 1920s, as part of the Nature vs Nurture debate on human nature’s origins. It acquired its ecological sense in 1972 when the adverse impact of human industry on the biosphere became apparent.4 It was not so that humans were oblivious to the environment before, but the heady progress heralded by untempered science created a tunnel vision of utopia, which still persists. Environmentalism then came to denote the ideology advocating for restraint in the consumption of humans, and to preserve the biosphere. Still, development was viewed as a process of economic activity in which countries move from “traditional civilisations“, through a transition of industrialisation towards “tertiary civilisations” in which service sectors dominate.5
The motivation of this form of environmentalism is humanism and pragmatism. However, this is also the reason that it has been unable to capture the imagination of much of the population. A consumerist lifestyle marketed by endless allurements can easily overcome the will of the masses unchecked by any tradition. The shallow understanding of the Self, that of man’s conception as just a physical existence with no past or future, inevitably leads the individual to seek out the best gratifications available. YOLO.
In Bhārat, the idea of human nature has been conceived differently. Five sheaths form the human existence: The Annamaya Kośa (Physical body), the Pranamaya Kośa (Energy body), Manomaya Kośa (Mental body), Vijnanamaya Kośa (Wisdom body) and Ānandamaya Kośa (Bliss body).6 These are higher truths of the human existence available for verification by enlightened beings. Harmony in all the kośas is the requirement for one to become established in the state of bliss, and any act of mindless violence towards self or the other hinders in its attainment. Having realised this, sages helped society banish the bane of anthropocentrism from the collective consciousness since long. Furthermore, the ideation of devatās as tattvas allowed formation of sacred bonds with the rest of nature like trees, animals, rivers and rocks.
Today however, Indians have been disconnected from these knowledge systems of their ancestors. An unsustainable mode of life has been advertised as the pursuit of happiness throughout the world, and projected as the culmination of human accomplishments (brilliantly caricatured by animator Steve Cutts in his short video here). Studies suggest that Humanity could sustain itself with just 80 percent of the planet’s current resources if every person lived like an Indian7. But increasing affluence has turned the middle class and above Indians into consumers in the pattern of the West, which is a threat for the world.
With increasing number of people moving towards ever growing cycles of consumption, the finite resources on the planet face a severe strain. The need for food flattens forests to create arable land and the need for water desiccates soil leading to desertification. The debt on finite non renewable resources generated by mass opulence in the present has been thrust on the rest of the living creatures and onto the future generations of humans. The countries on the lower index of human development face the most pertinent risks of climate change, war and famines as resources get scarce. To rely on science alone to rectify this problem without behavioural change is beating around the bush.
Dharma, based on the Dhṛ dhātu implying ‘That which sustains’, prescribes the duties and responsibilities of the creatures based on their nature and dispositions. Humans, being capable of svadharma through viveka, must account for all life impacted whenever they start a project. In India that consciousness has been kept alive through various practices such as pūjā before every endeavour, alongwith pūjā of every tool used. This may appear unnecessary and irrational to the modern mind, but advancement without secularization has been very much possible (and desirable) as evidenced by civilizations of the past.
The Challenge
When productive capacity grew faster than consumer demand, there was very soon an excess of this capacity and hence, there were few profitable domestic investment outlets. Foreign investment was the only answer. But, insofar as the same problem existed in every industrialized capitalist country, such foreign investment was possible only if non-capitalist countries could be “civilized”, “Christianized”, and “uplifted” — that is, if their traditional institutions could be forcefully destroyed, and the people coercively brought under the domain of the “invisible hand” of market capitalism. So, imperialism was the only answer.8
Modernity is like the churn of the ocean which produces many things, good and bad. The technological breakthroughs and the return of individual agency have undoubtedly benefited humanity. To prohibit it from reaching the unreached sections of the society would be a crime. But the deliberate injection of it into such sections, through denigration of their traditions and proclaiming modernity as the messiah must be checked. A commendable instance in this is the Indian government’s treatment of the Sentinelese tribe, who are left alone on their island as a State policy.
To respect the boundaries of nature and allow habitat space to other creatures, while veering humans off from the self destructive path is the challenge before environmentalism. The two pronged approach of infusing viveka through śikśa and checking the many factors which promote wanton consumption are needed. A quick look at marketing, planned obsolescence and mindless scaling can help analyse the consumerist issues we face as a collective and help devise solutions for that.
Seeing the unnatural alteration of landscape around us today in the form of mining, urbanisation, industrialization etc., we must objectively analyse the benefits and drawbacks of any project with respect to Life as a whole before embarking on it. Perhaps through a framework measuring harmony with Ṛta as opposed to using only GDP as a metric. Many villages in India still retain the principle of coexistence with nature amicably. More than their conservation efforts, lessons can be learnt from them on their ethics, and such must be tried to be replicated by people in their lives. An example of balancing modernity with environmentalism maybe seen in Japan, which has seamlessly tied infrastructure with natural beauty.
The real world challenges in the restoration of the dhārmika path are many, and the original factors which led to its loss through colonizations have only become more widespread and amplified with the passage of time. Therefore more than the State, it is for the people to temper their desires which arise with the accumulation of artha, and put it to use in the form of service to others. Living consciously is the true essence of Indic environmentalism.
Saṃdarbha
- Samskriti ke Chaar Adhyay by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar
- On Hinduism: Reviews and Reflections by Ram Swarup
- McDonald, C. (2015, June 15). How many Earths do we need? BBC News; BBC News.
- Etymonline. (2022). Etymonline.com
- Stueber, H., & Wurth, S. (n.d.). Service Economy Fallacy - Competitiveness of European economies faced with growing “Asian Powers.” Retrieved January 18, 2023
- Yoga Ayush Ministry, & Yoga Ayush Ministry. (2022). Yoga. Ayush.gov.in
- McDonald, C. (2015, June 15). How many Earths do we need? BBC News; BBC News.
- History of economic thought by E.K Hunt