Green Spirituality
One Answer to Global Environmental Problems and World Poverty
by
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Losing our connection with Nature
In the West, it has taken only about five generations--the Industrial Revolution heralding the advent of materialism and consumerism--for people to have largely lost their connection with the natural world. Such is the disconnect from Nature created with our urban lifestyles, some people believe food is manufactured in a supermarket and milk in a carton. From this loss of connection stems our blindness to how Nature actually works, to its delicate networks and interdependencies and to just how dependent on Nature mankind remains. What emerges is alienation from Nature, a loss of respect, our brutish exploitation. Yet, defended by our imagined separation, we fail to register any serious regret as we push ahead with our despoliations. Many spiritual traditions originated in natural settings. So to reflect on what they say about how we are intrinsically connected with Nature is at once poignant, humbling and illuminating.
Hinduism
An attitude of respect for Creation is reflected in Hinduism as all beings are seen to emanate from God. Also, because of their belief in transmigration of souls, Hindus believe that human beings have taken animal and plant forms in previous lives. Their belief that all living things in Nature are connected is mirrored in the new understanding of Nature’s web of life that is emerging with our growing understanding of her subtle ways such as the miracles of symbiosis.
“For the world is a living whole, a vast interconnectedness of cosmic harmony, inspired and sustained by the One Supreme.” ~ Bhagavad Gita X.20.
“He on whom the sky, the earth and the atmosphere are woven and the wind, together with all life-breaths, Him alone knows the one Soul.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.5)
“We came from a source of pure consciousness and everything is connected with this.” ~ Professor Yaineshwar Shastri, Amdebadad University, Amdebadad, Gujarat, India.
“Hinduism teaches us to understand the laws of Nature and respect them.” ~ Swami Dharammanda, Rishikesh, India
PHOTO Q
Swami Dharammanda
Buddhism
The Buddhist view of Nature is helpful in terms of ecology and sustainability. Buddhism teaches that the idea of separateness is an illusion. The health of the whole is inseparably linked to the health of the parts and the health of the parts is inseparably linked to the health of the whole. Buddhist practice makes one feel one’s own existence has no greater importance than another’s.
“Our Planet is our house and we must keep it in order and take care of it if we are genuinely concerned about happiness for ourselves, our children, our friends and other sentient beings who share this great house with us.
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About the Book
The urge to live in harmony with Nature has never been stronger, yet humanity’s onslaught on the Planet reaches new levels every decade. In Green Spirituality we visit India’s wisest souls in search of the root causes of man’s destructiveness toward Nature. We tell the stories of how our spiritual traditions have sought to provide the wisdom to guide us. For practical answers our pilgrimage moves from India to the pioneering eco-village communities of which many members have their own spiritual practices.
For Chris Philpott, green educator activist with 28 years in Agenda 21, Transition Towns, Campaign against Climate Change, Green Spirituality and Inter-faith, this book is a lifework. It has taken him 13 years to research and write. He felt honoured with the Foreword from Dr Vandana Shiva, the international speaker, author and environmental activist.
Find inside: --succinct accounts of the hazards facing our Planet; --how our distorted values play out in world impoverishment; --how pollution migrates to poor countries; --profound wisdom and abundant inspiration in the stories behind the main world spiritual traditions. Easily understood presentation enables the reader to make positive and informed choices helped by practical hints and websites. Includes wise words from over 100 spiritual leaders the author interviewed throughout India in 2002. Explores the dreams that inspire eco-village communities, living examples striving towards sustainability.
“Sustainability is as much a spiritual imperative as it is a political and economic challenge. Chris Philpott admirably highlights this dimension in his book Green Spirituality.” Satish Kumar, founder of Resurgence Magazine, author of Earth Pilgrim, 2009.
“Chris Philpott’s book will provide a unique insight into the spiritual changes we will have to make if society is to survive the global warming threat. I highly recommend him.” Mark Lynas, author of the acclaimed Six Degrees, 2008.
About the Author
Green Spirituality author Chris Philpott is fascinated with Nature and feels concerned for the Planet our home which humankind seems intent on destroying. Why are we so self destructive, asks Chris. To get answers, he set off to Africa and on to India to talk with some of its wisest to gain from their wisdom on how we can address these crucial issues facing us today.
The germ for the project came to Chris in 1972 when he learned about the then famous Club of Rome report Limits to Growth, the first to highlight the impacts of a consumer society and to warn of the impossibility of unlimited growth within a finite system.
Chris’s involvement as educator activist in the green movement goes back 28 years. Chris is a regular campaigning organiser and participant in local and national issues as wide ranging as climate change and recycling as well as an initiator in biodiversity projects with children, local grow-your-own, LETS local exchange trading, his local Transition Town as well as meditation, inter-faith and green spirituality groups. He has contributed to Agenda 21 and the Green Party locally and nationally.
He has given talks on Green Spirituality at UK Green Party national conferences, the Big Green Gathering, the Climate Camps, the Campaign against Climate Change Forums and the Birmingham Inter-faith group. He is available for workshops on green spirituality.
Other hats Chris wears include workshop leader, public speaker, musician-performer and classic clown with which he entertains youngsters. His band, The Eco Worriers, entertains with Eco-music and lyrics.
His research for Green Spirituality took Chris to a UN conference in Cape Town and on to India where he spent time with 130 spiritual leaders from Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist traditions whose wise words are woven throughout the book.