Towards a Sustainable State (Dharma Rajya)

In an earlier post, we had taken a photographic tour of some routine practices followed in India even today, primarily in rural areas, and to some extent even in urban areas, which reflect the essence of the age-old sustainable Vedic culture. It has been evolving over millennia and advocates living in sync with the surrounding environment, while adhering to universal principles applicable to all. Let's take another tour of such sustainable practices, through photos clicked during my field outings. Water, one of the five basic building blocks of life, called Panchmahabhutas in Indian culture, has always been respected in our country, and rightly so. As long as a community is dependent upon the local water body to satisfy its various needs, the same is revered and protected as can be seen in the form of myriad crystal clear streams, ponds and wells in rural areas. Those of us who get tap water from the municipality, should learn something from our rural brethren. Many house...

India's Vedic culture has essentially been a nature worshiping civilization that has always advocated a Dharmic way of life, which means living in tune with the cosmic laws, the natural phenomena and all living and non-living beings around us. This has manifested in myriad ways - from reverence towards the sun and rain to respect for the local sacred groves where the patron deity of the place is supposed to reside, and from paying obeisance to mountains and rivers to worshiping various plants and animals. There is scientific and / or spiritual significance to the beliefs and practices followed since time immemorial. Today, let's take a pictorial tour of some sacred plants of India and the ecological services provided by them, through photos clicked during my many field outings. Coconut tree is rightly called Kalpvruksh - the tree that provides all that one wishes for. No wonder it is respected and the fruit is offered to the almighty at the time of any auspicious occasion....