------------------------------------------------------------------------
**** WWW.GOANET.ORG *** A N N O U N C E M E N T ****
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Launching Goanet-sports - Dedicated to Sports in Goa and Goans in Sports
Get your free subscription at:
http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-sports-goanet.org
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indian Religions Naturally Care For Environment: Jesuit Scholar
By SAR NEWS
PATNA, Bihar (SAR NEWS) -- Indian religions, especially Hinduism and
Buddhism, have substantial theological sources and practical norms on
environment, said Indian Jesuit scholar Father Jose Kalapura, at the
International Conference on 'Caring for the Environment: Role of
Religion and Identity', June 22-23, at Leiden University, the
Netherlands.
The conference organised by the well-known European Asian study
centre, the International Institute for Asian Study (IIAS), Leiden,
was attended by 12 scholars from six countries.
The conference was co-sponsored by IIAS, Institute of Environmental
Sciences, Leiden University, the Netherlands, and Centre for
Asia-Pacific Studies, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
The conference focused on the changing climate of the earth and the
role of religions in caring for the environment and discussed the
threat of global warming due to environmental pollution.
The present threat to the environment is manmade, the speakers
highlighted. It is a global concern and responsibility of all to
protect the environment, the conference stressed.
On the role of Hinduism and Buddhism, Father Kalapura said these
religions have always held the Earth as Mother and have had great
reverence for the environment. From Vedas to Upanishads to later
scriptures like the Gita, one can see the theological bases for an
inclusive universe, involving all beings – living and dead, moving and
still. Man is just one species among the innumerable species on the
Earth.
That aside, practical or lived Hinduism has rites, rituals, feasts and
festivals which automatically care for Mother Earth and involves the
use of leaves, fruits, plants and animals in day-to-day rituals, he
said.
Similarly, Buddhist scriptures and ethical norms for daily life
involve great respect for the environment. In fact, Buddhism is known
as 'ecological religion,' he added.
However, in modern times there have been a lot of negligence and
crises due to aggressive use of nature, deforestation, pollution,
etc., he pointed out.
Environmentalist and Irish missionary in the Philippines, Dr. Sean
McDonagh noted that some vested multinational corporations influence
scientists not to say the truth on global warming. "But from our own
experience we know that the temperature of the earth has increased. On
Christian responsibility," he said, "we have tampered with God's
creation. We need to something urgently to stop the degradation of
God's earth."
It is time humans got back to their religions in order to protect the
environment, said Dr. Kalapura, also director of Bihar Social
Institute, Patna.
Last month, Father Kalapura presented a similar paper at another
International Conference on Religion and Culture, attended by over 400
scholars on Asia, from May 24-27, at Mahidol University, Bangkok,
organised by the South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study
of Culture and Religion.
Earlier, Dr. Kalapura had designed a Graduate-level Certificate Course
in Patna University (Patna Women's College) on Ecology and Religions
and was awarded the International Templeton Award from Berkeley
University, USA.
