In India, traditions have played a vital role in bringing about conservation of natural resources and in keeping alive in the minds of the people reverence for nature. "Vedic ecology believes the Earth is not inanimate but a force of consciousness that helps all creatures evolve....Bhoomi pooja [earth-worship] before laying the foundation of a building is performed to ask Mother Earth's forgiveness for disturbing her," writes Sangeeta Venkatesh (Life Positive, May 2005). All creatures draw their sustenance from Mother Earth. Venkatesh writes:
It has taken millions of years for the Earth to evolve into her present state. She has perfected the web of life during this time. This web of life exists not as a haphazard assembly of competing species but as an interwoven and interdependent, mutually supporting tapestry of life. Thus, to pull one string would mean affecting the whole web; pulling at a dozen strings simultaneously would upset the overall ecological balance. Yet, Mother Earth remains tenacious....
The Purushasookta states that humans, gods and nature were integral parts of one "organic whole."
For centuries, ancients in India have considered forest resources as precious, and they conserved and protected them through the tradition of sacred groves—what the ecologists describe as "social fencing." Sacred groves were "tracts of virgin forest ranging from a few trees to dense forests spanning several hundred acres," which the tribes and communities dedicated to and considered to be the residence of their local deities. Yet another tradition seeks to give protection to trees of the genus Ficus, prominent among them being Ficus religiosa or the Ashvattha tree, mentioned in the Gita. Women in India created art in the form of rangoli [designs] with paddy, near their doors, so that birds and ants could feed on them. Tribal traditions in India encourage mixing of harvest seeds amongst families, which affirms that biodiversity belongs to everyone. Today, we have forgotten these valuable traditions. Venkatesh writes:
As humans our view of the environment has turned completely anthropocentric. We assume that it is our divine right to milk its resources to fill our needs and decide upon the fate of a piece of land and the species it supports. Hence, it is not surprising that the quality of life for all species is deteriorating in direct correlation to the degree with which we exploit our natural resources.
The need of the hour is to approach the preservation of the planet spiritually. Spiritual ecology is an insightful and empowering answer to the alienation and destruction wreaked by a worldview that sees humans as separate from the whole.
"Earth is an entity and not a mere lump of gross matter," writes Mr. Judge. Mr. Crosbie explains: "There is no such thing as gross matter existing of itself. All forms of matter are the productions of different degrees of intelligence. The earth is an entity because it is a combination of many degrees of intelligence in their evolved forms." (Answers to Questions on The Ocean of Theosophy, p. 51)
Traditions, though some of them appear meaningless, preserve historical facts and spiritual truths. Mr. Judge observes that people are spurred by the personal, selfish idea of each one becoming better, greater, richer than his neighbour, losing sight of Shri Krishna's advice in the Gita, which speaks of interdependence among all the creatures on this earth. The "wheel of sacrifice and brotherly love," set in motion by Krishna, must be kept going. It refers to the "principle of reciprocity." We are advised to nourish the Gods by sacrifices, so that "the Gods may nourish you; thus mutually nourishing ye shall obtain the highest felicity" (Gita, III). Man is responsible for the evolution of the lower kingdoms. He has to raise every particle of matter to the nature, stature and dignity of self-conscious godhood.
Berkeley physicist Charles Townes, a Nobel laureate and also the winner of the John Templeton Prize for Progress toward Research about spiritual realities says: "Advancing our understanding of spirituality is more important...." Faith need not be associated only with religion and spirituality. He believes that a scientist would flounder without faith, which he needs to start the work and then to carry it on. In his opinion science and religion should not be viewed as opposed to each other. He has deep faith that science and religion will gradually converge in the future, writes Philip Clayton (The Economic Times, April 25, 2005). Science is concerned with finding out how the universe works and what it is made of, which leads to understanding the meaning and purpose of the universe—something religion is attempting to understand. "Thus, science sheds more light on spirituality," observes Townes.
Only true science can shed more light on spirituality. Science—in the true sense of the word—must cover all forms of knowledge. "Science does not therefore deal only with matter, no, not even with its subtlest and obscurest forms. Such an idea is born merely of the idle spirit of the age" (Light on the Path, p. 32). Modern science restricts itself to acquiring knowledge by experiment. "The field of scientific investigation is bounded by physical nature on every side," observes H.P.B. Not only is there a need for scientific religion and religious science, but there is a need for the synthesis of science, religion and philosophy. Modern science deals only with phenomenal nature, not taking into account the noumena. For real synthesis, knowledge and power must go hand in hand with beneficence to man.
The custodians of the higher knowledge are equally by both motive and development almoners of the divine....The discoveries of the age are already whole centuries in advance of its ethical culture, and the knowledge that should place still further power in the hands of a few individuals whose ethical code is below, rather than above that of the ignorant, toiling, suffering masses, could only minister to anarchy and increase oppression....If consensus of religion, philosophy and science is possible, and if it has ever been reached in human thought, that must long since have passed the boundaries of all creeds and ceased to dogmatize....No proposition stands apart or can be taken separately without limiting and often distorting its meaning. Every proposition has to be considered subservient to the synthetic whole....The time must presently come when the really advanced thinkers of the age will be compelled to lay their indifference, and their scorn and conceit, and follow the lines of philosophical investigation laid down in the Secret Doctrine. (U.L.T. Pamphlet No. 3, pp. 12, 17-18 and 25)
As for faith, Light on the Path says:
The sceptical laugh at faith and pride themselves on its absence from their own minds. The truth is that faith is a great engine, an enormous power, which in fact can accomplish all things. For it is the covenant or engagement between man's divine part and lesser self....The use of this engine is quite necessary in order to obtain intuitive knowledge; for unless a man believes such knowledge exists within himself how can he claim and use it? (pp. 49-50)
"We search for happiness in eager anticipation and joyful memories, but we are better off paying attention to each moment as it passes," writes Carlin Flora (Psychology Today, January/February 2005). We are seldom able to anticipate the impact of major life experiences. We expect a future event to give us lasting happiness. But it has been observed that after experiencing happiness for brief moments, we settle back into being as happy or unhappy as we started out. "Most of us have a happiness 'set point,' fixed by temperament and early life experience, which is very difficult to shift." Linda Carstensen, a professor of psychology at Stanford, believes that meditation can cultivate a mind-set that helps to ward off thoughts of past and future, and helps to focus on the present. Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology at Harvard, observes:
In the quest for happiness, most of us try to guess what the future might bring, then project our current selves—with all of our hopes, quirks and predilections—into that unknown. We use a fuzzy image of the future to make all kinds of decisions....
The good things are never as good as we imagine they'll be; the bad things are never as bad. We think of ourselves as both more fragile and more easily satisfied than we really are. We overestimate the impact of the good turn of events: We think that a fresh career or a new relationship will permanently change us, when all it does is provide a short-term mood boost. On the other hand, we are also much more resilient than we give ourselves credit for. Most of us do recover emotionally from life's traumas, whether it's the death of a close friend or a bitter divorce.
Gilbert explains that instead of ever wanting new things to make us happy we must learn to differentiate between lasting pleasure and short-term pleasure. Psychologist Daniel Kahneman observes that there is something sad about people who live their lives wanting to be elsewhere. "Enjoy the little things: Being pleased frequently has more influence on well-being than being intensely happy once in a while," observes Kathleen McGowan.
Happiness, which depends upon outside things and conditions, at last turns to dust and ashes in the mouth. Dust is the form of soil in which nothing is growing or can be expected to grow. Ashes remain after a useful thing is burnt out. In Light on the Path, we are asked to be happy, "as those are who live for happiness." There is a great difference between those who seek happiness and those who live for happiness. In the first case happiness is the goal, and when happiness has been made a goal, then, it forever eludes the person. Whereas, being happy is like holiness and wisdom, which does not come to people who are conscious of it. Happiness and holiness are built-in, but we need to give them a chance to express. We need to fulfil certain conditions to experience happiness. The three aspects of the One Reality are Sat (Being), Chit (Consciousness or mind) and Ananda (Bliss). "The appearing together in full harmony of Being and Consciousness is Bliss or Ananda," writes Mr. Judge (Notes on the Bhagavad-Gita, p. 99) Ananda is unconditioned happiness and does not, therefore, depend upon happening of this or that thing. Happiness that arises out of ordinary consciousness is conditioned. We have to learn to differentiate between Preyas and Shreyas. Lord Buddha advises:
If by surrendering a pleasure of little worth one sees a joy worth having, the wise man will give up the pleasure of little worth and look to securing the deep joy. (The Dhammapada, verse 290)
The true monitor is within....Ten thousand Adepts can do us no great good unless we ourselves are ready, and They act only as suggestors to us of what possibilities there are in every human heart. If we dwell within ourselves, and must live and die by ourselves, it must follow that running here and there to see any thing or person does not in itself give progress. Mind, I do not oppose consorting with those who read holy books and are engaged in dwelling on high themes. I am only trying to illustrate my idea that this should not be dwelt on as an end; it is only a means, and one of many. There is no help like association with those who think as we do, or like the reading of good books. The best advice I ever saw was to read holy books, or whatever books tend to elevate yourself, as you have found by experience. There must be some. Once I found some abstruse theological writings of Plotinus to have that effect on me—very ennobling, and also an explanation of the wanderings of Ulysses. Then there is the Gita. All these are instinct with a life of their own which changes the vibrations. Vibration is the key to it all. The different states are only differences of vibration, and we do not recognize the astral or other planes because we are out of tune with their vibrations....The important thing is to develop the Self in the self, and then the possessions of wisdom belonging to all wise men at once belong to us.
—W. Q. Judge