A Hindu-Jewish Eco-Theology
Several weeks ago, I attended a religious service. No, it was not my usual service attendance at a synagogue on Shabbat, rather, I was going to a Hindu temple ( the American Sevasram Sangha in Jamaica, Queens) with my Hinduism class. It was my first time in a Hindu temple and I was looking forward to experiencing religious rituals completely unfamiliar to me. While this is exactly what happened, I also, unexpectedly found myself being introduced to a little of Hindu eco-theology.
My class was privileged enough to meet with the Temple’s pandit (guru). In the midst of our talk on the theology and traditions of Sanatana Dharma (meaning “eternal way”, a more preferred name for “Hindusim” by many Hindus), the pandit told us that the issue of Global Warming is a pressing one. Unsustainable treatment of the Earth goes against much of Hindu belief.
While the pandit did not go into detail of Hindu eco-theology, I’ve been on the lookout for glimpses of it in my readings of Hindu sacred texts. One example that stood out for me is an excerpt from the Upanisads which states, “Now, take these rivers, son. The easterly ones flow towards the east, and westerly ones flow towards the west. From the ocean, they merge into the very ocean; they become just the ocean. In that state they are not aware that; ‘I am that river’, and ‘I am that river.’ In exactly the same way, son, when all these creatures reach the existent, they are not aware that ‘We are reaching the existent.’ No matter what they are in this world-whether it is a tiger, a lion, a wolf, a boar, a worm, a moth, a gnat, or a mosquito-they all merge into that….that is the self and that’s how you are…”
This notion, that all beings share a common identity with each other and the world, is a good example of Hindu eco-theology and may be why Hindus find it important to protect and preserve the environment they themselves are an integral part of.
This particular passage reminded me of something that Maimonides discusses in his Guide for the Perplexed. Maimonides says, “Know that this universe, in its entirety, is nothing else but one individual being; that is to say, the outermost heavenly sphere, together with all included therein, is as regards individuality beyond all question a single being..:”
I always find it beautiful when connections can be made across varying cultures and religions. I now see that distinct ways of life, Hinduism and Judaism, can find at least some common ground on the idea that the world and all it contains is a single entity. That piece of eco-theology teaches that humans are not independent agents that can use the rest of creation solely for our benefit. Shared eco-theology will do us all good. We can use such common grounds to create and bolster inter-faith efforts. After all, isn’t the point of environmental work that nature knows no boundaries?
