Hinduism and Judaism : Ecological Concerns

David Kinsley, Hinduism, Ecology and Religion, (Prentice Hall, 1995), 54-67.

Eric Katz, “Judaism and Ecological Crisis”, in Worldview and Ecology, Philosophy and the Enviromented.by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John A. Grim ed. (Orbis Books, 1994), 55-70

Christopher Key Chaplle, “Hindu Environmentalism: Traditional and Contemporary Resources”, in Worldview and Ecology: Religion, Philosophy, and the Environment ed.by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John A. Grim, 113-123.

A.  What does Judaism say about ecology and environment?

We have to recognize that starting point of Judaism’s point of view about nature, ecology and environment is their acknowledgment that this universe is God’s creation, as a result of God’s creative power. Human should have obedience, as part of humanity, as the servant of God’s creation, and not only to conserve the world of nature, but to enhance it as copartner with God. In Judaism, their worldview about ecology and environment, will be found in a spesific areas of Jewish’s law and practice that concrete in their daily activity, rather than philoshically inside their rules and priciples. Nature is a realms in which humans interact with God, as one of spheres in which God meets humans personally and called them to take responsibility of nature itself.

       Usually we misunderstand the message of Genesis 1:28, esspecially with God’s commands humanity to subdue the earth. Usually human misunderstanding that command as a permission to do exploitation to the nature. The truth, Torah thus limits the human’s right to “subdue” and use nature. This command is not about to unbridled dominon. Humans have permit to do all their a ctivities in earth such as building, agriculture, mining etc but still humans have their limitation. Dominion does not mean unresticted domination. Humans are the steward of the natural world, not its owner. Stewardship’s roles are to take care and maintance the natural world. Humans’ roles are to do conservation to the world and wisely use all natural resources, not for doing domination-destruction or preservation to the nature. Humans can not dominate over all the natural world resources because humans do not have this world. This world and its natural resources belongs to God only. This is a general  theocentric world view that will be expressed in many ways throughout Jewish rituals and practices. Like in sabbatical (both sabbatical year and ordinary weekly sabbatical) and the Jubilee traditions. Traditions that is strongly emphasize the idea of stewarship. Those imposes a strict limit on human activity and achievment. Humanity is no way posesses dominion over that nonhuman world since it does not even possess dominion over its own activities. So stewardship strongly implies notion  of responsibility, for the steward is responsible for the condition of the entities in his care.

       There are some enviromental practice, including the general health and well-being of the human community as it is situated in the natural environment, like in Deuteronomy 23:13-15 (about burial of human sewage in wartime) or principle of yishuv ha-aretz (the settling of the land) which mandates both restrictions on the type of animals that can be raised and the type of trees that could be used for burning on the sacrificial altar, which arrange an open space around all cities in Israel in which agriculture and building would be prohibited (They call it migrash. This law makes Jew set their homeland to balance the economic, enviromental and religious needs of their society carefully). With this law, Jews already made a good quality of the environment of their life. We can say that Jew at that time already make good planning for their towns and cities.

       Judaism law concern the human relation to divine plan. Nature is concieved as a divine plan or intelligence, which is not to be altered by human activity.  Like in Leviticus 19:19 we can find  a prohibition against the hybridization of plants and animals, and on wearing two types of cloth. This law reflects that Scripture will not permit a destructive act that will cause the extinction of a species (ie. Lev 22:28, Deu 22:6). Their concern for aminals can be found in their other fundamental principle called tza’ar ba’alei chayim or the pain of living creatures. This principle become a basic ethical treatment of the environemnt. It is the basis for the compassionate treatment of animals. It requires a concern for well-being of living being – as an universal compassion. (ie. Deu 22:10 ).

       Other important principle among Jew people is bal tashchit or do not destroy (see Deuteronomy 20:19-20). It is a basic general and fundamental principle regarding human actions wihtin non human and natural environments. This law entered deep into Jewish consciousness so that the aversion to vandalism became an almost psychological reflex and waton destruction was viewed with loathing and horor by Jews. The purpose of this law is to maintain respect for God’s creation. One of the scholar ties this law to the laws of sabbatical year and the Jubilee year – the reaffirmation of God’s ownership of the land.

       In Judaism, all natural object are valued, and cannot be destroyed because they belong to God. They are sacred, not in themselves, but because of God’s creative process. The quality of lovingkindness is the basis of all creation. It is God’s steadfast love that maintains it. All creation is linked together in a bond of unity which humans must act to preserve and not to destroy. It said that nature is not to be considered holy, but neither is one permitted to act ruthlessly towards it, needlessly to ravage it and distrub its integrity. Every natural object is an embodiment of the creative power of God and therefore sacred.

B.  What does Hinduism say about ecology and environment?

Many Hindu sciptures said clearly that the world is perceived as being alive with forces, powers, spirits and dieties that express themselves through natural phenomena, and natural world is pervaded by spirit with whom it is necessary to establish rapport.

For example we can find it in hymns dedicated to the deity Agni. Agni, means “fire” (from Sanskrit) can be understood to be a powerful deity and a cosmic principal that pervades the creation. Agni is the fundamental creative energy that “heats” the waters of chaos. The heating up of the water that produces creation of the world, or enable creation to proceed. Agni becomes more a cosmic force than a individual deity or divne personality. Agni is also desribed as a force or energy that pervades entire creation, as a force or energy that pervade all creations. Agni is to be present with, or in every living thing and in this sense to“know”every living thing. Agni is the principle in the world that allows, encourages and propels growth itself. Agni is the principle of  life and growth. Agnis is being associated with the sacrifical fire that formed a central part of Vedic ritual. Plants and animals were offered into the sacrificial fire and these burnt offering fed Agni, with transmitted them into other deities. These human’s offering are required to offer gift to deites to strengthen them so they can continue  their function. Agni provides the link between humans and gods and transfomers of the offering into energy acceptable to the gods. Life feeds on life, and this contiual feeding requires the digestive fire that transforms organic matter into life energy. Agni, in Vedas also is being described as a destructive and purifing agent. As a fire, Agni is usually understood as a process of purification in which a body is rid of impurities and transfered into spritiual being, fit for its journey.

Briefly we can say that in Hinduism, reality all of nature, all of universe as sacred. Hinduism see that the universes is as a living being – world as an organic thing. There are three description in Hiduism for universe. (1) Purusa and the creation of the world. It was caused and formed by and from the sacrifice of a giant anthropomorphic being. The universe is an interconnected whole in which each part is depenndent upon every other part. The completed universe is images as a living organism. (2) Hiranyangaarbha (the golden egg). The universe was being created from a golden embryo of golden eggs. Because of that, this universe interconnected and pervaded by the same vitality.Brahmanda (a Brahma egg) is a great deity whose principal cosmic function is to create universes. (3) The Lotus. Lotus is Hindu’s image for universe. Brahma emerges from the center of lotus and proceeds to create the countless universes. Lotus, like the other organic images conveys the intuition that all of reality is a living whole that is changing and charged with immense energy. The universe does not consist of dead matter passively awaiting human perception, development and manipulation. The universe is vibrant, organic, ever changing and often willful.

Hinduism has the idea of the sacrality of the land which is India landscape. Hindu identity is defined and determined by being born and living in India. The earth is referred to as a great female deity named Prithivi. She is described as stable, unmoving, dependable, patient which is all characteristics of the earth itself in Hinduism. Earth is a a great goddess, a being who bears and nourishes all creatures. Other idea is that the earth bears and feed human beings and in return they are responsible for behaving in ways that are inoffensive to the earth.

A related idea about earth is Bharat-ma or Mother India. Indian subcontinent is defined and perceived as a mother who protects and nourished her children. Pollution adn mistreatment of the land is disrespect actions against Bharat-ma.

There is other goddess called Sati. She commits suicide and her corpse is dismembered and distributed throughout India. There are many shrines and temples are identified with certain part of Sati’s body. So it means, entire India landscape is concretely associated with the physical body of a goddess.

Sacred rivers. There are many sacred geographical features in India including rivers. The word for a sacred site is tirtha which meand both a place on a riverbank and a crossing point on a river. The most sacred river is Ganges which flows out of the foothills of Himalayas and meanders across the northern plains to the Bay of Bengal. It said that Ganges river is originate in heaven. Ganges’s water is a most sacred water that can be offered to deities.

At most of village in Hinduism community, religion is ofter dominated by a local deity, who closely associated or identified with a spesific village. From people’s point of view, their village, town or locale as belonging to the goddess. The goddess / deity precedes the village. She created it. It is understood that the village is as physical extension of her body. Goddess’ body is the village itself. She is rooted in the soil of village. The village and villagers might be understood as living within or upon the body of the village goddess. She is their mother. The important understanding here is that there is a strong tendency in Hinduism to perceive the local landscape, local village, as sacred and holy. It is the nourshing and sustaining aspect of the land and the locale that is emphasized in references to the local deity as mother. Village inhabitants are the children of the local goddness and, as such honor, adore, and revere her for giving them life, health, well-being and habitation. Villagers understand themselves to stand in reciprocal relationship with local land represented by the village goddess. Land creates, nourishes, gives identity to village dwellers. They are children of local mother goddess that owe respect toward her, which is given in terms of sacrifices and festivals. Rituals that involving blood offering are for returning land’s vitality.

Self-realization : human organism is intrinsically, essentially and intensely related to the wider world, indeed that the human organism and the wider world are in some sense identical. So Hindu’s monistic style of thinking has interesting ecological implications. (1) Human body as a microcosm of the universe. Body contains the entire universe in distilled or miniature form. Here, the spiritual quest, spiritual fulfillment and religious maturity can be found in process of self exploraion, self awareness and self knowledge. Truth is within, not without. The religious journey is primarily an inward, not an outward process. (2) Monism (advita) : Atman and Brahman.  There is the ultimate principle called Brahman. Without Brahman nothing would exist. Brahman is being itself, although in its most intense form Brahman is also conscious and blessful. There is nothing beyond Brahman. Gods are simply manifestations of Brahman. Upanishads concerned with the nature of human beings. Human beings possess a spiritual essence or self that is named Atman. This spiritual dimension, or soul underlies our very existence and we would not exist without it. Atman is declared to be identical with Brahman. So according Upanishads, each individual is one with Brahman. This philosophic vision has two important implications  (1) when one discover one’s true identity, which is one with Brahman, and with all beings, by peeling away and discarding one’s false identity as a limited, ego-centered, individual being. The notion of onelself as Atman / Brahman, puts one in touch with a wider world by affirming one’s identity with that world. (2) Hindu’s monistic vision fosters a sense of union or communion with other people and other species as well. Monistic vision encourages people to embrace rather than conquer or control the world that care for the environment. Proctecting the nature is felt and conceived of  as protection of our very selves.

Reincarnation (samsara): an induvidual passes through countless lives that span immense cosmic cycles. Samsara means flowing together. This concept includes all species of beings. Samsara underlines the idea that all life is held in a mutually related web, that all lives are somehow connected. In samsara, a general tendency for life to evolve in to higher forms. In cosmic perspective, lower forms are realated to us and we to them.

Nonviolence (ahimsa): is a high premium placed in Hindu teachings. Nonviolence is not limited to how one treats other people. It also applies to the treatment of other life forms. In general, one is supposed to inflict the minimun amount of violence on one’s environtment. To do violence to another is, in some sense, to do violence to oneself.

The sacred cow: hindu reverence for cows in many expresses the centrality of nonviolence in Hinduism. Worship of the cow is taken as symbolic of reverence and respect for all forms of life. There are arguments for cow worhip tradition such as  cow can be used as a draft animals, provide a right amount of power for small farms that dominate the Indian economy. Cow’s dung futhermore is widely used as fuel for cooking etc. Basicly cow convert items of little direct human value into product of immediate utility.

C.  Conclusion

From all explainations above, we can have some important notes

1.      Judaism emphasizes that everything are belong to God, the Creator of universe. God creates this universe. God pointed human to become God’s copartner to conserve the nature, and also to enhance it. Human can not dominate the universe because everthings belong to God. Humans are only God’s steward who have obligations to take care and maintance the world. Judaism’s concern to ecology issues can be found not only in philospohy area, but can be found on their laws, rituals and daily activities. For example, on principle of yishuv ha-aretz (or on principle of tza’ar ba’alei chayim (compassion for all living being, or an universal compassion) or on princple of bal tashcit (do not destroy). All natural object in universe can not be destroyed because they belong to God.

2.      Hinduism emphasizes that world and all the universe as a living being, as being alive with  forces, powers, spirit and dieties that express themselves throught natural phenomena. Monoism idea in Hinduism help Hindu’s people deal with ecology and environtment. Human is related to wider world, even in some sense identical. Brahman is ultimate principle. Without Brahman we can not anything. Brahman is being self. Human being possess a spiritual  essense named Atman. Atman is declared to be identical with Brahman. So it means every individual is one with Brahman, and because of this idea, people is being encouraged to embrace with the nature, rather than to conquer and controling environtmen. Human body is a microcosm of the universe. Hindu people also see themselves as children of mother nature / earth. They understand to stand in reciprocal relationship with local land. They, as a children owe respect toward mother nature.. When they do harm to the nature, it means they do harm to themselves.

3.      There is similarity between those two religions in tern of their concern to environtment. Both religions teach not to destroy nature, give respect to nature becase as human being, people are part of all living being who share earth. They encourage people to embrace with the nature, taking care of it and off course, to enhance it.