Environmental consciousness in vedic literature assignment

With the advent of modern civilization, development and industrial growth, Man has developed a rivalry with nature. The personal and emotional cord between man and nature has already been lost during the process of growth and progress of mankind. But, the human body made of five elements can not survive without Nature. This crude realization raises many questions including question of ethics, human as well as environmental ethics to be taken up seriously.

Eighteenth century onwards people, scientists, thinkers, philosophers and activists have set stage for the environmental consciousness in response to the rapid industrialization causing dramatic environmental degradation. The modern environmentalism springs up to an ideology of “ scientific conservation,” earlier visualized by Wordsmith and Keats as emotional relationship with nature.

India, since time immemorial, has been propagating the environmental awareness through its ancient texts like Veda, Brahmas and Puritans, in simple terms of man’s relation with nature. Man in Vided period worshiped and prayed the natural phenomena with due regard, surprise, fear and love. The Vided seers were not only conscious of the purity of natural environment I. E. Earth, water, air, light, space etc. But also of human mind and spirit They prescribed silence to void noise pollution as well as the disturbances at the level of mind and spirit.

The myth of creation and attribution of divinity to nature, division of universe, the concepts of earth, water, air, sky, mind, animals, birds, plants, herbs etc. All avouch for the environmental concerns of Vided Literature. The present study will be a modest attempt to explore the indigenous knowledge and beliefs about distinct human relationship with Nature, as depicted in Veda, in order to understand, inform and direct human development towards a sustainable future.