Dharmic Ecology

The whole earth is sacred. Earth, which is a well-endowed, beautiful Goddess, the wife of Vishnu, the Lord who sustains the universe. Such a Goddess, who deserves our reverence, must forgive us for we step on her so carelessly. The poet thinks of the earth in such lofty terms. The earth, so patient, so passionate, [...]

MEERUT: Family members of murdered Muslim gaurakshak, Dilshad Bharti, fear for their lives even 16 months after he was allegedly shot in the head by the beef mafia. But that has not stopped them from continuing his fight. The family has been instrumental in sealing more than 200 illegal slaughterhouses in Saddiq Nagar area alone. [...]

Also Attending Daily Evening Prayers at the Chandi Mata Temple in Chattisgarh with devotees are a mother bear and her four cubs who also after aarti take prashad from the Pujari ( temple priest ) and do 9 parakrama of the temple before leaving to go back to the hill . Also read Wild bear [...]

No river on our planet probably evokes the range of powerful religious as well as filial emotions in a whole population that the Ganga does. No river is probably more polluted and desecrated. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged during the elections to clean the Ganga, it was metaphorical and literal – the promise of [...]

A landmark effort by the Indian state of Karnataka to connect isolated protected forests could lead to the building of Asia’s largest unbroken forest, writes Jay Mazoomdaar.It’s been all about connecting the green dots. Since 2012, the southern state of Karnataka has declared nearly 2,600 sq km (1,000 sq miles) of forests as protected areas, [...]

“Change in social and religious values are now posing a danger to the sacred forests,” says Prof. C.G. Kushalappa Erosion in people’s beliefs in nature worship, religion and social values are posing a threat to the sacred forests–devara kadu–that are conserved patches of forests that lay undisturbed, according to experts. “Religion played a very important role [...]

As the stars of their cruel little roadshows, sloth bears danced to the piercing sounds of the damru for hundreds of years. Orphaned by poachers and trained by the Qalandars, a nomadic Muslim community, these bears trudged through towns and villages to earn their masters a meager livelihood. “Kajal was the first dancing bear I [...]

An octogenarian engineer-turned-sadhu has staked his life once again to stop the damming of the holy river Environmental engineer and former IIT-Kanpur professor-turned-sadhu, Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand (formerly GD Agrawal), 81, has not eaten anything for three-and- a-half months. By the time this article will be published, it will be 107 days since he started [...]

For the Hindus the Earth is sacred as the very manifestation of the Divine Mother. She is Bhumi Devi, the Earth Goddess. One of the reasons that Hindus honor cows is that the cow represents the energies and qualities of the Earth, selfless caring, sharing and the providing of nourishment to all. Hindu prayers are [...]

It's time for the people to stand up and let the politicians and big business know that we will not let our heritage, religious beliefs and environment be trampled over like this. This episode is in stark contrast to the morals and symbolism provided by the Ramayana which tells the story of how divinity, humanity [...]