I'm what you may call a 'recently awakened Hindu' (or as someone may use a derogative stereotype 'Bhakt'). A bit of sarcasm at the beginning always helps! Yet, it's not the Modi or the BJP I'm re-discovering but the cultural and spiritual heritage that has been ingrained in the ethos of 'Bhartiya Sanskriti' that I'm re-discovering.
On a side note, if you want to re-discover Narendra Modi, I highly recommend the book Modi, Muslims and Media by Madhu Kishwar. And if you really want to understand the data science driving the rise of the BJP I'll recommend The New BJP by Nalin Mehta.
Today I'm talking about the aspect of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) that venerates and celebrates different aspects of one's life. This help to keep the civilizational memory alive in its own unique way.
Worship of Nature
Indians (Hindus) love to venerate the surroundings. Some may argue that if such was the case then India's public hygiene and civic sense will be higher and at par with the west. True! But there is another side to that lens that is marred by centuries of 'loot' by invaders and colonialists. After all, there was a reason India was referred to as the 'golden bird' in ancient times.
As J Sai Deepak in his book 'India that is Bharat' describes "ability to think as a species that is not removed from nature" and "it (nature) was meant to be lived with in harmony" as something of common concept in indigenous cultures like natives in Americas and India. The worship of nature symbolizes this harmonic relationship between humans and nature. Mount Kailash, Gangotri (origin mother Ganges river in the Himalayas), 'puja' of Banyan Tree (also in Buddhism where Siddhartha Gautama attained 'bodhi' under a tree), the face of God in the silhouette of Tirumala Hills, worship of Mother Earth (Bhumi Devi) and numerous other such examples. This introduced spirituality and ethics in the relationship between nature and humans. The manifestation of divinity in nature cemented that bond between the two. The natural outcome of this relationship is respect and preservation of nature.
Sustainable Living
India was left poor by continuous spates of invasions and colonialism. Although this argument isn't as black and white. Yet, there are figures from Angus Maddison's book 'Contours Of The World Economy, 1-2030 AD' which put ancient India's GDP at 25% of the World's GDP in the 1500s to less than 4% by the time the British left. Even if we take this with a pinch of salt, there is historical evidence that ancient India traded with the world for millenniums beginning with the Indus-Sarasvati Valley Civilization exporting carnelian beads, weights, pots of ghee, and cotton with the middle-eastern civilization of Mesopotamia. There is a 2,000-year-old Greek manual that details trading with western India describing how Indian merchants along with their Arab counterparts controlled the trade in everyday commodities like grain, rice, sesame oil, ghee, cane sugar, and cotton cloth. Hence, we can safely assume that ancient India (Bharat) was a key trading partner of ancient civilizations that made India a 'sone ke chidiya (golden bird)' (सोने की चिड़िया).
I got sidetracked a bit. Let's come back to sustainable living. Even a cursory look at Indic spiritual philosophies that have existed for thousands of years will reveal stress on a deeply harmonious relationship with the world around us. In fact, the core goal of anyone delving into Hinduism is to identify the true nature of the self. This true self is referred to as 'Ātman' which is translated as 'Self' which is pure consciousness, unlike Abrahamic philosophies which have a philosophical construct of 'Soul'.
One of the important rituals for a Hindu is 'Deva Yajna' (देव यज्ञ) i.e. offering one's homage to Gods and natural elements. The debt one accumulates by consuming food provided by nature for nourishment must be paid back by performing these daily rituals. So the relationship between nature and humans is rooted in harmony. This leads to natural preservation and reverence for nature. Even in modern times, the relationship trickled down to small steps every Indian would do in their household, whether that's using nature-friendly, biodegradable jute bags for decades before plastic flooded the Indian market as well. The Better India recently carried an article on 'Things our grandparents used that we need to bring back which included items like earthen cooking ware, coconut palm brooms, Datun (Neem leaves for brushing teeth), plates made from dried Sal leaves, etc.
Conclusion
We need to reduce the burden of waste we are dumping on this beautiful planet - our only home. The movement in Western countries to move from artificial to natural products is welcome. This was part of the lives of ancient civilizations. As industrialization took over the Western world and subsequent colonization spread to the rest of the world we lost that bond with mother nature. We need to develop that bond again and treasure this pale blue dot that sustains not only our physical life but also makes it possible for us to traverse the spiritual journey that we so desperately need.
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